Coincidence.. repitition.. mystery - fun and embarassment

DISCLAIMER: This has happened in real life, and resemblance to any character, living or dead, is not at all happenstance. Story is completely real, even though it might seem surreal to some of you. I am not responsible for that. Some names have been changed to honour privacy, that's about it. And now let me continue :)

My name is not changed. In first person singular, its "I" :) In third person it's "Aniket".

THE GENESIS OF CONFUSIONS. (Sunday) My home:
Situation: Monsoons, Sunday afternoon, 1500 hours. I am sleeping. Cell phone rings. I wake up, caller's number looks familiar though recalling right away results in a failure. Green button in action, receiver next to my ear.

I: Hello?
Mr. Kumar: Aniket, this is Mr. Kumar, Dilip's dad.
(Dilip is my pal, so I need to be alert while answering)
I: Yes tell me.
Mr. Kumar: Aniket, actually Dilip was supposed to send you regular updates via email. What did he say in the email you received? You had told me that Dilip had mailed you. It's been a while since I have heard from him.
I: Well.. err.. Mr. Kumar, you see, what I will do is get in touch with you tomorrow. It so happens that I did not check my email in 2 days.
Mr. Kumar: Okay Aniket, call me back and let me know.
I: Sure. Hangs up.

I am totally clueless about what is happening. Reason being I hadn't talked to Dilip for weeks now. Neither with his dad. So which email are we talking about? I thought like sleeping again, but when a friend's dad calls you, the least you should do is gather correct information and reply back. I start punching in numbers furiously, those who I and Dilip know in common, are called up. The first thing I ask is about Dilip's whereabouts and if he is in good shape. None of the common friends happens to know about any ill happenings per se. So far so good.


ONE DAY LATER (Monday). My office:
Emails shot off to more people whom I know in common with Dilip. Numerous offline messages sent to Dilip on Yahoo! messenger. By evening, I am waiting in desperation for Dilip's response. Progress so far: One friend tells me he is currently in the United States. And I get frustrated. Dilip's parents expect a feedback from me, and Dilip hasn't even told me where to look for. End of Monday, no response from Dilip. I call up Mr. Kumar twice, can't get through. I don't try further.


SIX DAYS LATER (Saturday) My home:
By now, Dilip has responded to my offline messages, conveying me that he is the United States, coated with an apology. Dilip doesn't know of my telecon with his dad as yet. Saturday evening - raining heavily. Cell phone rings, Mr. Kumar calling. The number is not stored yet, but the digits were etched in my memory.

I: Hello?
Mr. Kumar: Aniket.. this is Mr. Kumar. So..
(I cut him short)
I: Yes Mr. Kumar, I actually had a word with Dilip. He is..
(Mr. Kumar cuts me short)
Mr. Kumar: Yes, how is he?
I: He is doing fine. He said he will keep sending regular updates.
Mr. Kumar: Yes yes, you had told me. So did you get the batteries? More importantly, last time you'd said that the other one would be cost effective. Can you get the one you think is better? Please try and get them tomorrow. I'll be waiting. Hangs up.

I could not make head or tail of what Mr. Kumar said. I wanted to say "huh?" but then I couldn't. After all, I could be at fault here. Simply because I did not ask Dilip what all I was supposed to do in his absence. Please note, the previous sentence was in full sarcasm. You can expect Dilip to forget the most important of things and shrug it off saying "Oops". Hall of shame.


ONE DAY LATER (Sunday) My home:
It's pouring heavily. 1030 am, I clearly recall. Sitting in my balcony, I was lazing. Cell phone rings. Yes, you guessed it right.

I: Yes Mr. Kumar?
Mr. Kumar: When are you coming over Aniket?
I: Err.. well.. how about noon? Or maybe in an hour's time if it is urgent?
Mr. Kumar: Ya. I'll be waiting.
I: Okay. Hangs up.
I carelessly forgot. Time is 1600. As you would have guessed, the cell phone rings.

I: I am..
(cut short)
Mr. Kumar: Aniket, it is raining heavily right now. It is okay if you cannot make it now. Maybe next Sunday. And thanks for the information you gave about Dilip from his email as well as resolving the cost issue of the batteries. Get the one that costs lesser as we discussed.
I: Well, okay!
Mr. Kumar: Ya. Hangs up.

Goes without saying that I am extremely perplexed at what's happening. I am being told that I gave some information. I was also finding it a bit weird that I discussed something about the lesser cost. The cost issue was indeed brought up in the previous conversation, but then there was no conclusion. Everything seems to be in place except me finally giving those batteries. I did not give it a thought, simply went ahead and got 4 AA Duracell batteries. Next time he'd call me, I would immediately go to Dilip's place and hand them over.


TWO DAYS LATER (Tuesday) My office:
Cell phone rings (Can we abbreviate this to CPR? Next time onwards).

I: Yes Mr. Kumar!
Mr. Kumar: Hey Aniket, thanks for the batteries. It's good that you got them right away. Thanks!
I: Wha...
(cut short)
Mr. Kumar: Hangs up.

Good adjectives to describe my state at this point: Bewildered, flummoxed, awestruck.


FEW DAYS LATER. I continue to be in the same state mentioned above. No transition. I chat with Dilip on Yahoo!. As I state the facts, he goes into splits and uses up all emoticons Yahoo! has to offer to express extreme amusement. Plot thickens for me, his amusement makes me think laterally - was this all a cooked up plan between dad and son to fool a friend or something? Seems difficult given the level of familiarity I had with his dad. Dilip reveals it finally. A thing that was very basic. Which I had forgotten, but owing to it the fun part extended over a period of time. And the coincidences made it further funny for all of us. Except for Mr. Kumar, who was seemingly a bit embarassed about the whole thing. Reasons:

o There was another Aniket in the picture (Aniket Aryamane)
o Cell phone name sorting technology. Dilip, before embarking to the US, had added my number to his dad's contact list. In alphabetical order, I started preceding Aniket Aryamane since I was listed as "Aniket (EBC)" - note the parentheses.
o The tasks to be done and Dilip's whereabouts were being asked to me
o Aniket Aryamane was doing all the tasks expected by Mr. Kumar, and sending over the info, on a daily basis
o I was getting updates (the why's how's and thanks too) on my cell

And it all finally ended. I bashed up Dilip (using words of course). He continued to laugh eternally. Our friends did too.

My state transition diagram:
Cool (before things happened) -> Tense (Dilip's whereabouts not known) -> Anxious (what to get, when to do tasks, which ones to start with!) -> Bewildered (me not doing anything and receiving thanks from time to time) -> Normalcy Restored (after Aniket Aryamane's facts were brought to light).

Further interesting facts:
o I am yet to meet Aniket Aryamane in person, the one who was responsible for my bewildered state
o I am yet to speak with Mr. Kumar after all that happened (both of us are equally embarassed about how we reacted to things)
o LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST: I still have the 4 AA batteries for Dilip :D

When are you collecting them from me Dilip?