Page 114 of 12 Years
‘Bro, no. Not her dad’s cable factory. Her parents’ home was bad enough. In the factory, they’ll probably tie us up with electrical cables and electrocute us.’
‘Us?’
‘Bro, if you’re doing something that stupid, I’m obviously not going to let you go alone,’ Mudit said.
‘I love you, Mudit,’ I said.
‘I love you too,’ he said as he blew on a spoonful of hot porridge. ‘But no gay stuff between us, okay?’
I laughed.
‘You’re meant to laugh, man. When life screws you over like this, we comics are supposed to make material out of it. Not sit and cry.’
‘I’m not crying. I’m doing this rationally. I need to leave Mumbai.’
‘For a break?’
‘No. For good. I can’t be here, Mudit. I’ll end up doing something ridiculous …’
‘You’ll run away?’
‘Call it whatever. If it helps my sanity, so be it.’
‘What about me?’ Mudit said.
‘That’s going to be the hardest part about leaving this city. You’re here.’
‘Then don’t go.’
‘You could visit me. Or better yet, just move with me.’
‘How can I? I have the club and everything else here.’
‘I know.’
‘Where are you planning to go anyway?’
‘I want to work again and make some good money. My best bet is something related to my previous job. Start-up investing.’
‘Venture cap? Private equity?’
‘Yeah. I want to work for a few years. Re-establish my contacts. Then I want to set up my own start-up. Something that has the potential to scale and grow big. I want to make solid money this time. No selling out early to buy a stupid suburban house in the Bay Area.’
‘Money, eh?’
‘What?’
‘Nothing. I thought you never cared about money. You left money and came to Mumbai. To follow your heart.’
‘And where did following my heart lead me to? Doom. It’s better to bring back the cold, rational and, hopefully, rich Saket.’
‘I prefer the warm, emotional one,’ Mudit said, ‘who cares about feelings more than numbers.’
‘Feelings suck, man. They lead you nowhere. I’m done. I need to find the highest-paying job that I can get.’
‘Where? You going back to the US? So far away?’
‘No. The US has Raashi. Mumbai has Payal. None of these places. Plus, the taxes in the US are too high.’
