The Cab Chronicles: Solving the Mystery of Women

 ‘The heat is increasing incessantly. How are you bearing it?’

‘Don’t ask Karthik. This place is turning more into an oven nowadays’, Arvind said wiping the perspiring sweat from his face. 

‘It’s time to start. Who are we waiting for still?’ exclaimed Joseph. 

Just then, Mani knocked at the cab door. He was talking on his phone hence he opened the cab door & diligently dropped his bag in the seat & went out again, continuing his phone conversation. 

‘Now that’s what I call the marriage syndrome’, said Arvind.

‘What’s that’, Joseph asked excitedly?

‘Well, you see the time after a person gets engaged, is the happiest time’?

‘For a person?’Joseph interjected.

‘No, the telecom company’, sighed Arvind. 

Karthik couldn’t hold back his laugh & said ‘Rightly said so, Arvind.’

Arvind continued. ‘Before getting engaged, work remains a big part of the person’s life. After engagement, his phone becomes a big part of his life. The amount of time on the phone increases accordingly, which gets duly reflected in the phone bills. I saw Mani thrice today & on all the occasions, I saw him talking on the phone’

‘Yeah, telecom companies do everything at their disposal to create avenues for people to come together, so to cash in on the emotions.  I have a hunch that the months preceding the time of the year when marriages happens most, would be the most profitable quarter for the Telecom providers.

The driver entered the cab signaling we were ready to leave now. Karthik signaled Mani to board the cab, who was busy walking to & fro still lost in his phone conversation. It took a while to catch Mani’s attention, but eventually he noticed & came back. 

‘Sorry guys to keep you waiting. Just busy on a call’, said Mani

‘No problem. Carry on’, said Karthik. 

The cab started & the driver switched on the A/C which provided a big relief to all. Since Mani was on the phone, the whole cab remained silent.

Surprisingly, Mani wasn’t talking at all. I mean he wasn’t speaking much. The two words which we heard were ‘Yes dear’, ‘No dear’ that too used very infrequently. 

Sometime just to break the monotony of the conversation, Mani would speak up few other words such as ‘Uhmm’, ‘Yea yea’. The longest sentence which he would have spoken was for 4 words. ‘Is it? Then fine’. 

After 20 minutes of conversing, Mani abruptly ended the call. Joseph had dozed off listening to ‘Yes, No dear’. Karthik surprised by the sudden end of the call asked ‘Is all well’, Mani?’ The end of lullaby (phone conversation) seemed to have its effect on Joseph, who woke up. 

“All is well, Karthik, replied Mani. Why do you ask?’ 

‘It seemed strange that you ended your phone abruptly after what seemed to be an engrossing conversation’.

‘Oh, that. My phone charge is completely off’.

‘Oh I see. How are the marriage arrangements coming up?’

‘Going on pretty well. A lot more stuff to finalize still, so plenty of things at our hands. Even now, we were discussing about the printing of marriage invitations’

‘Ohh. That’s nice’, remarked Joseph wondering from which angle would the conversation qualify as a discussion. 

‘Yeah. We had a healthy discussion. She was sharing her inputs on various things and I agreed with her’, said Mani.

Arvind, Karthik nodded in quiet agreements, as if empathizing with Mani’s state. 

“So what happens after the marriage syndrome?” Do we have any cure for that, asked Joseph.

‘Well, you see. It’s quite a paradox. The solution for Marriage syndrome co-incidentally is Marriage itself’ replied Arvind.

‘I don’t get it?’ Joseph asked quizzically.

‘Well, Joseph it’s like this. For anyone inflicted with Marriage syndrome, it’s like a phase. The symptoms start withdrawing after marriage. The amount of time spent on phone reduces till a point where you would be happy to leave your phone. 

‘I agree. I feel that the amount of time spent on phone before & after a marriage follows a bell curve distribution. Increasing until a crest & then decreasing eventually to zero. 

‘Is it?’, wondered Mani thinking which point of the bell curve he was currently in. 

‘Practically speaking, the marriage syndrome is meant to help the guy and girl get to know each other. 

But nothing could be farther from the truth’ remarked Karthik.

‘I don’t think so. We get to know others the more we talk. We identify each others interest, likes, dislikes etc. Don’t you think so?’ asked Mani.

‘Well my boy, that’s the myth. One figures that it is normal to understand someone after spending time with them, but in case of women, it’s not applicable. I can say with experience that with woman, the longer the time you spend with them, the harder it will be to understand them. Actually, this topic is quite worthy of a PhD thesis. So much unexplored & undefined. The fact that no man has solved the mystery yet, speaks of the insurmountable challenges that lie ahead.’

‘Why don’t you both share some insights from your experience on ‘What to do & what not to do in a marriage, so as to avoid unhappiness in life?’ asked Joseph. 

‘I hope we could do that. As is the case, the more you think that you have solved it, the more you realize it’s unsolved. It’s complicated’, Arvind said. 

‘Maybe, but there may be some general insights which you would know. At-least that will help us avoid the pain points’, Mani asked eagerly. 

‘Well, there may be few axioms which if followed to the letter would help you avoid some amount of trouble. ‘ said Arvind donning the sage mode ready to share his gyaan!

‘So, what is that axiom’, asked Mani.

‘Remember the one & only most important axiom ‘She is always right’. No matter what the situation is, what the place, just keep this one thing in mind. She is always right. Just agree with her & life will be ok for you. ‘ said Arvind. 

‘But, what if she had made some mistake & you need to correct it?’ asked Joseph

‘Well, God save the person who is courageous enough to point a woman her mistake & moreover tell her what to do. That’s the quickest suicidal way. Not only you earn the wrath of the woman for a lifetime, you end up being the reason for every bad thing that happens. She will not rest until she has earned her revenge. Keep that in mind’

‘Uhmm’, Mani murmured wondering if has done anything like that yet. 

‘Don’t worry Mani, based on what we heard today, your conversing style is pretty good. If you stick to that, I doubt if you will ever make that mistake’, Karthik said jokingly. 

Arvind continued, ‘That said, it doesn’t mean that just agreeing with her will ease things out. You have to exhibit that you will be for her in any situation when she needs you. 

‘How can one tell that she needs me’, asked Mani.

‘Well, that I can’t say. I have thought about it from all possible logic & I have never been able to understand how one can figure that out‘

‘I completely agree with you’, Karthik replied. ‘Once, I had an office meeting late into night. When my wife called & said that she thought she was feeling little uneasy & wants to see a doctor. Since I was busy, I told her ‘That it would be nothing & that in some-time, she will feel better’. I couldn’t speak for long because of my meeting but I told her we will see about it once I reach home. I think she kind off said that she wants me to be at home immediately, but I didn’t give it much importance then. I reached home little late & being tired went to sleep. It was in the morning when I remembered about her health and asked how she was feeling now. All I got was a glaring look & ‘Nothing’ reply.

‘Was that all that happened’, Arvind asked inquiringly? It seems that you got away with it easily.

‘Well, that was just the beginning. The morning tea & breakfast surprisingly for the next 3 days was sour & bland. In order to save further trouble, I told my wife that I wanted her to rest & that I will eat at office itself.’

‘I get the idea here. If you had reached home when your wife had called you, wouldn’t that have made her happy? Next time, you can rectify your mistake & things will be easy from then on, isn’t?’ remarked Joseph. 

‘Even I thought so. But with time, I realized that it is impossible to figure out when a woman needs you. Few weeks later, something similar happened. I was on my way to office early for a meeting, when my wife called me & said ‘she was feeling a little uneasy and thought she had fever’. My intuitive mind quickly activated & recalled my previous conversation with her. I thought she expects me to be with her now & I shouldn’t miss a good chance to show how much I cared for her. I called up the office, cancelled the meeting & quickly reached back home. Any idea what I got in return?’

‘A big smile? A hug?’ asked Joseph

‘Nope. A glaring look again!’ replied Karthik dejectedly. She said I was stupid to cancel an important meeting for which I had started early & for which even she had got up early. She remarked ‘you should know how to prioritize things. you needn’t have come.  

I told her that since she was feeling uneasy, I thought of being with her. She replied ‘you shouldn’t waste your time on small things like this. If I hadn’t woken up soon, I think I wouldn’t have felt uneasy’ - indirectly blaming me for the outcome. Karthik seemed to choke as the old memories came back to haunt him. 

Joseph had dozed off again. Listening to all the contrasting realities would have taken a toll on his already tired mind & body, so he had retired to sleep. Mani had a perplexed look in his face as if weighing the incidents & wondering what to infer from them. 

‘All said & done, does a solution exist?’ asked Mani in a despaired tone, since things were looking bleak no matter how one looked at it. 

‘Don’t worry Mani, remarked Arvind. You get used to it after a period of time. It’s like the stock markets, one day you see it reaching heights & the other day, rock bottom. In due time, you began to expect it & when that happens, the reality somehow seems better than your worse expectations. You will learn in due time.’

The cab driver slowed down as we got near to Karthik’s drop point.  His phone rang at the same time. He picked up his phone & as he got down, Mani could hear him say ‘Yes dear. You are right’!

‘That’s experience speaking’ remarked Arvind as we bid adieu to Karthik & went ahead with the journey.

The Stranger – Part III

Read Part I & Part II of the Stranger series.

I was left speechless on hearing that his son had passed away. Hearing it made me feel more pity for him, who was already in such a bad state. “Iam sorry to hear that, Baba”, I replied. The fact that my cousin was in hospital in a highly critical state was a troublesome situation for my family, hence I could empathize with him completely. I didn’t know what to say to him.

“He is not there anymore. He has left his parents all alone in this nasty world, saying so he started coughing again along with rivulets of tears flowing down his face. 

“Why don’t you take the medicine now?. Hope you had your lunch” I asked trying to change the subject.

“Yes, I had something in the morning” replied the old man.

As he took the medicines, the bus to the main bus terminus arrived. Being a weekend, the bus was crowded with passengers having with their own plan for weekends. We got into the bus & somehow reached one corner of the bus and held to the support railings. 

“India is so different from Bahrain. The roads are much better, people are so nice and everything goes on smoothly there”, he said.

Not wanting to let Bahrain score against India, I interjected “India is one of the diverse nations and the world’s largest democratic nation too”. 

Yes. India is certainly rich in diversity & culture, he said

Not only that, India also has huge deposits of varied natural resources, I said proudly & regretted the moment I said it. 

No wonder, you still import petrol from OPEC, he quipped. Life is better in Bahrain compared to Saudi. Or for that matter any other Muslim nations. But at the same time, one has to adhere by the state ideals. Though we aren’t an authoritarian state, we expect people to respect and live by the code as directed by our King & state. 

“Oh, Bahrain has a King too”, I asked.

“Yes, he replied looking at me as if I was mentally challenged person. We have a King who lives in a luxurious palace. You know what I had the fortune of meeting our King in person. The company I work for is owned by the King’s eldest son. So, being a head of the division I was asked to visit the palace once to submit a report to my company head (the eldest prince). 

I was trying hard to imagine the old man as a head of a division. Probably dressed up in formal suits & shoes. “So did the King meet you?” I asked.

No. I was waiting in the main lobby when I saw our King. He was returning back to palace from some work, he said. He looked at me & smiled as he went in. I will never forget the day.

I was wondering why this guy was going crazy over getting a smile from the nation’s King. Then I realized that in India, the frenzy fan following for any actors/actresses will definitely beat that of his King. 

“There would be lot many women in the palace, quipped a nearby passenger, thinking that the King’s role was to enjoy & move around with women all day. I looked around to see who had asked the question & saw that half a dozen passengers were looking at us intently. I realized that the topic of King had invited the curiosity of few nearby passengers who were glued on to our conversation. 

 “Oh… Actually No, replied the Old man. Our King was meeting with foreign dignitaries that day & was coming back from meeting them. That’s when I met him, replied the old man.

Disappointed at not getting an answer for his question, the man tried again “The King would have many wives with him always, isn’t?”

The old man gave a puzzled look. He wants to know if the King had many wives & if all of them stayed in the palace, I rephrased the question for the old man.

He has few, not many wives and they reside in the palace with him, he said.

“I heard from my friend that electronic items are available very cheaply there. Is it true?” asked another passenger nearby.

“Well, not really. But we do have ample supply of those goods hence the availability at low cost, said the old man. Few more passengers took part in the conversation. It seemed as if I was hosting a reality show with the old man as the guest. The old man was slightly surprised with the new found fame still 

was patiently answering all the questions. 

Thinking that if the conversation went forth, people would start asking random questions on Bahrain women & goods to the old man, I asked the old man “I think we have reached the bus station. So where are you planning to go now?”

“I will be going back to Kerala now to our ancestral home. Now that our son is not with us, I will have to go & look after my wife who is alone there, he said. Since the topic had changed from the King to Kerala, the passenger’s interest faded away and they got back to their normal routine of dozing & gazing outside. 

I nodded my head in agreement. I was finding it hard to console a guy who has lost his only son & hence thought it is better to stay silent rather than saying anything. 

“Son, I would need a small help, said the old man.

Yes, Baba. Tell me, I said

“I would like to borrow some money to go back to Kerala. The money which I had in my purse was stolen by those thieves. All my money is in my bank account in Bahrain which will take a week’s time to be transferred back here. Meanwhile, it will be helpful if you can lend me some money for the bus

ticket. I will send the money to you, as soon as I get my money, he said. 

“No problem, Baba. You can give me the money later. I don’t have the money now. I will withdraw it from the ATM machine and give it to you, I said.

The bus had reached the main bus stand. Getting out of the bus, we enquired the place where Kerala buses will start. The conductor directed us to a spot. We asked the driver about the ticket fare to Kerala. “Normal fare 195, Non A/C pushback -290 & A/C- Rs.650”replied the driver as if reciting a hotel menu. “There is a last bus today & it will leave in half an hour”, he said. 

I told the old man to wait near a shop so that I can go & withdraw the money from the ATM. After withdrawing the money, I came back & extended Rs.1000 to the old man. 

The old man gave me a quizzical look. 

“I know Baba. I suggest that you travel in a push back seat instead of a normal one. You would have to sit straight in a normal seat which will be highly inconvenient. Also, you would need some money to buy something once you reach there.”

“Thank you & God bless you, Son. You are very caring & considerate.” Give me your address so that I can send some gift to you. That is the least I can do for you, replied the old man. 

“Now, that is not required, Baba” I said.

“No, no. I insist.  Tell me – would you want a digital camera or a TV”, he asked.

“Well, if you say so, a camera would be fine, I said. I have been planning for few months to get a camera. Now that, the opportunity presented itself, why not make the best use of it. Thinking so, I wrote out my name & address in a piece of paper and gave it to him. 

“Let’s go & get your tickets, Baba” I said.

“It’s not required, Son”. You have really done a lot to me today. I don’t know how I will be able to repay you. I will have something to eat and then buy the ticket. I don’t want to hold you from your journey. You have your own bus to catch now.

I realized that I was yet to get a ticket for myself. Generally, I book the tickets online & hence have a ticket. Since, it was an impromptu travel decision; I was yet to find out the bus schedules. “Are you sure you don’t want me to accompany you till your bus”, I asked.

“No Son. I think I will go & call my wife & tell her about my journey now. And I will inform my company to about my resignation. Then have some food before boarding the bus”

“Okay, Baba. It was nice to meet you. Take care” I said. 

“You too Son. Thanks for everything. Come to my home in Kerala if you ever come there”, he said with a smile & went off in the other direction.

I reached the ticket area & bought the tickets for the bus to Chennai. The bus was supposed to leave in 45 minutes. Since I didn’t have any work to do & the downpour was still continuing outside, I decided to wait in the bus until then. I kept my bag & sat down in my seat listening to the music in my iPod. The other passengers started walking in gradually. My weariness overtook me and I slowly drifted off to sleep. I thought about the condition of my cousin & mumbled a prayer that he should get fine. Then, the old man image appeared in my dream. “Poor guy. His situation was so pitiful. He had been working so hard abroad to save money for his family & for a better future but now all of that is just an empty dream.  It’s always better to spend your time with your family; Time spent with family is much better than spending time running behind money”

As these thoughts were flashing in my mind, my last conversation with the old man played out.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to accompany you till your bus”, I asked.

“No Son. I think I will go & call my wife & tell her about my journey now. And I will inform my company to about my resignation. 

Hold on. What did the old man say “call his wife & office?” During our earlier conversation, the old man had said that he had lost all address which he had. How can he call someone without having their details? I wondered. 

“Don’t be stupid. It’s his home & office number. He may remember it, I thought. 

“Let’s assume he can do that. But then he said he didn’t remember any other information during our conversation. How can he remember their details now?” I wondered. 

I looked at the watch. The bus to Kerala was supposed to start by 7pm. It was 7:05pm now. My bus was still filling it; hence an idea occurred to me. I went out and ran to the place where the Kerala bus stood, hoping the bus would still be there. I spotted the bus around the corner. The bus conductor had gone to get something and the bus was still waiting near the gate. I dashed on towards the bus. As I climbed in, the bus driver shouted “No seats available; Get out”. I just barged in & glanced around at the passengers hoping to find the old man. I couldn’t find him anywhere. The passengers gave me a scornful look.

The bus had started to move. The reality of the situation dawned on me. As I got down from the bus, I heard the song which was playing in my iPod. It was Frank Sinatra’s & it went 

“That's life, that's what all the people say…”

The End...

The Stranger – Part II

Read the first part here

Iam not sure if it was the old man’s tone or the fact that the tears were flowing across his face that made me listen to him without reacting back. People generally react by shooing away a stranger or be indifferent to him. But somehow, seeing the old man made me feel that I could relate to him on something. But I wasn’t sure what that was. Since we were standing at such close proximity, I could get a clear look at him. His age seemed to be slightly over 50-55 and he had very few hairs left on his head, a sign of old age. His face seemed crinkled with tensions and worldly worries and he sported a beard which grew uneven across his face. He was visibly thin made more visible by the fact that he was wearing an over sized kurta. The picture was complete with an old leather bag hanging on his shoulders which seemed to sag a little due to some heavy object kept in the bag.

“What do you want, Baba”, I asked him. (Baba is a salutation used to address elderly people)

“Help me out son.  I came here to visit my son but I have been tricked & my stuff stolen from me, and left like beggar on the roads. Saying so, he coughed violently. 

I thought that since he has come to visit his son and that he must have forgot his son’s address and got lost. Bangalore is a big city to find someone without an address or a contact number.  So, he basically wants me to help him find his son. A difficult task but at-least I can direct him to a police station. 

“Baba let me see what I can do”. Do you know where your son lives? Any address or other information?

“I had just an address with me. Now I have lost that too. That doesn’t matter now.” He replied 

coughing.

His coughing seemed to re-occur frequently. I was amazed by how his fragile body could withstand such a heavy onslaught of bouts of cough. I asked him “Your coughing looks pretty bad. Are you alright?”

“Iam unwell & I haven't taken my medication for the last 2 days. In addition, this bad climate seems to be aggravating my situation”, replied the old man.

That’s too much of a gloom for a person to handle. Bad health, bad climate, lost hopelessly in a new place – a recipe for a perfectly un-perfect situation for any person.

“Why don’t you take some medication? That will improve your health”, I replied. 

“I have my personal doctor’s medication list but I can’t buy them” he said.

“Why? Aren’t the medicines available here?”  I asked

“I don’t have the money to buy it”, he said and started coughing again.

He seemed to be in a real bad shape and his frequent coughing was taking a toll on him. Definitely not a good place for him to be standing in the rain. My heart reached out to him, so I asked him “How much does the medicines cost. Let me have a look at that list”

The old man gave me a small chit from his bag. Few medicines were scribbled across the sheet. “Let’s buy these.” Saying so, I asked him to follow me and took him to a pharmacy shop across the road. 

The old man seemed to be startled or at least that’s what his face expression seemed to look like. The pharmacy was crowded but then this is the time of the year when the pharmacy guys makes a killing. The worse the climate, more the number of people who fall sick & hence more customers. As we waited for our turn, I asked him how he had turned up here.

“My son was working in the company here. 5 weeks back I got a call from India, saying that they wanted me to come down here regarding some important thing. My wife is old and is bed ridden in Kerala, that’s where our ancestral house is. They had conveyed the message to her initially. Because she is old, she couldn’t travel here. Last week, I got an emergency courier informing about this. I was busy with my work hence couldn’t get leave immediately, still I let my boss knew about the emergency and rushed back here”.  The crowd at the shop had lessened in the meanwhile, and I used the pause in our conversation to inform the pharmacist to give the required medicines. The pharmacist packed our medicines and I paid for the bill. Coming out of the shop, I handed the medicines to the old man.

“I thought all the people here are evil. Fortunately, even good exist. Good people like you”.  I didn’t know how to react to that one. I said “It’s not like that. There are a lot many good folks too”. I suggest that you take some medicines now. It will improve your situation. Saying so, I gave him my water bottle and he took few medicines and gulped them down. 

“My son would have been the same age as you now. He too was caring and understanding as you are“. Being made the point of adulation again, was proving to be embarrassing for me again. To divert our conversation to another topic, I asked him what had happened next after he arrived in Bangalore.

“I reached my son’s office and inquired about my son. They directed me to go to another office nearby to meet someone else.  I reached the place & when I tried to enter the office they said that I have to leave my luggage outside before entering it.  There was no one outside except two young people so I asked them to take care of my luggage and I went in. I was told to sign few papers after which I would be allowed to meet my son”.

He paused for a moment. 

“After signing the papers, I met my son & when I came out, all I could find was this old bag. Those tricksters had taken away my money, belongings, clothes etc. I looked all around but couldn’t find anyone”.

The old man really seemed to be very naive. Trusting someone with your belongings without any proof meant a clean sweep of one’s stuff. “By the way, did you ask them about the papers which you were asked to sign? 

“Oh, that. “I didn’t get time to read it, as they were forcing me to sign it quickly. They said that it’s routine paper work for any visitors. I was more interested in meeting my son, so I didn’t bother much about it”.  

There you go again. Signing a paper without reading it in India meant one thing. Being made a complete fool. I didn’t want to bother him further by saying this could mean more trouble later. This man seemed completely out of place. I got curious to know which part of India was he from as staying in India and still being oblivious of all these facts. “Where do you work?”

“Bahrain”, he replied.

So he had traveled from abroad and found himself in this situation. No wonder, the beard explained the place he came from. Then I recalled that he had said that he had met his son. Then why the hell did he leave his son. All he had to do was to go to his son’s office and meet him. His son would take care of him.

“You said you met your son. Why did you leave him there and returned back”, I asked

“I haven’t left him there. I have him with me”, saying so, he took out a small pot from his bag.

“What do you mean”, I asked him.

The old man said “My son died last month in an accident in his firm”. It dawned on me that when the old man had said that he had met his son, he had meant his son’s ashes in the pot which he had collected from his son’s company.

To be contd...

The Stranger – Part I

The day began as any other day except that it had rained the night before and now a slight drizzle was greeting the morning visitors. I walked up to the balcony to take a breath of fresh air and lazily looked out at the roads. There was some traffic in the roads. It was ‘Friday’ today and as people have plans for the weekend, they tend to get back home sooner and hence to leave sooner, many start for their office quicker in the morning.

‘Not getting ready for office yet, Arjun’ said Ganesh, who was my roommate.

‘Yup. In sometime. Just observing something, I replied. 

‘You and your observation, God only know what you observe’ said Ganesh smilingly. Ganesh makes fun of me saying I had an inclination to observe everything and anything under the sun. It’s just that I get lost in the thoughts seeing something, which I end up explaining as observation to him. 

‘So what plans for the weekend?’ Ganesh asked breaking my chain of thoughts. 

‘Dunno. You tell. Iam fine with anything’ I replied. 

‘Ok, how about watching a movie and then hitting the mall’ asked Ganesh.

That was our favorite hangout place which had its own benefits. With less out-flow of resources (read -money), the potential gains were extremely high. All that was required was time to spend and we had loads of it with us. ‘The usual plan, ha?’ Iam fine with it. Chalo, I need to get ready now.  It’s 8:15 now. The cab pickup is at 9:00 am’. Saying so, I came back into the room and started to get ready. 

Within 30 minutes I was ready. ‘I will call you in the evening, once I leave office’, saying so I started off for office. The cab was waiting at the scheduled place for the pickup. A 15 minute walk to the office took 45 minutes to reach the office because of the morning traffic rush. Still, one can use the extra time to catch some additional sleep.

By 9:45am, I was in my cubicle all set to begin the routine day. It’s been 3 years I have been working as a software engineer and the routine was coding, debugging and testing. 30 days a month, 365 days an year. By then, one gets used to the normal routine. That day would have been another routine day except what happened next. My phone rang. I looked up the display and saw my uncle name. Strange for him to call me at this time, thus wondering I picked up the call.

‘Namaste Uncle. How are you?’ I greeted him

‘Iam good, Kutti. How are you? How is your health?’ [Kutti was my pet name at home]

‘Iam doing well. You tell me, how are everyone at home?’ I asked.

I expected the usual reply of everyone well at home etc etc. Instead I was greeted with silence on the other end. 

‘Uncle, is everything alright?’ I asked.

‘No Kutti. Chitti met with an accident yesterday night. 

I was stunned. Chitti was my elder cousin & he was very close to me. Words were hard to come. ‘How is he now?’ I asked.

‘He has been taken to the hospital. It’s a very serious one and he is critical. All are coming to see him. So thought of informing you. It would be nice if you can come to see him during the weekend’. 

‘Ok. I will be there for sure. Have you informed Dad and Mom?’

‘Yes, they are on their way now’.

‘Please be hopeful. I will pray for his quick recovery’, I said. 

‘Yes Kutti. Our prayers are for his quick recovery. You come home safely. See you tomorrow. Bye’, saying so, Uncle ended the call. 

The rest of the day passed in a daze. My elder cousin, who was 3 years elder to me was more than a cousin to me. We had stayed together for 5 years when we were young. Later, we used to visit each other often and the bonding became tighter. After schooling, we didn’t time to see each other much but we used to connect up over phone. He pursued medical stream while I choose engineering as my interest.  We were planning to connect up in few months, but it never occurred to me that I will be meeting him in such scenario. 

In order to escape the Friday evening rush, by 4pm, I told my manager about the situation and he accepted my request. I went home by 4:30 and by 5 pm had packed the things required for the journey. I checked my purse and saw that I had only 250 bucks left. “I will withdraw money from the ATM for the bus tickets, after reaching Main Bus stand” thinking so, I left for the bus stand with my bag-pack on my back. I called Ganesh on my way and told him about the situation and my plans to leave for my hometown.  The downpour had increased meanwhile, so I opened the umbrella & held it in one hand and continued walking carefully on water logged road. It was cold outside with a slight breeze of air. 

Thinking that having a hot tea would be a good idea, I stopped at the Shanti Bakery which was our favorite eat-out destination & ordered a cup of tea. While I was waiting for it, my eyes fell upon a person moving in the road. I wouldn’t have noticed him if he had been moving like everyone else, he was moving in a wayward manner, and was walking front and back. Sipping the tea, I tried to get a better look at him. A closer inspection revealed that he was old & was trying to get the attention of the passer-by’s. It was as if he was trying to ask something to others. But people were quite pre-occupied with their own thoughts, so very few noticed him or stopped to listen to him. But the man kept on trying. “I wonder what he is asking for” thinking so I paid for the tea and started off. 

I walked on for few feet and then crossed the road to reach the bus stop.  I was reminiscing about my childhood days, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back to see the same old guy standing before me and his words were ‘Son, Please help me!’

To be contd…

Que Sera Sera

Que Sera Sera means Whatever Will Be, Will Be.

There lived an old man and his son near a mountainous area. They belonged to a tribe which consisted of 30 other families. The tribe’s primary mode of occupation was cattle rearing. Cattles were used not only for their livelihood but other avenues of revenue generation such as farming, transportation etc. Among the cattle, the sheep constituted the majority of the cattle followed by horse. Since the majority of the revenues came from renting their cattle nearby village, the wealth of a family was determined by the number of cattle they possessed, which it turn reflected the social standing of a family among its tribe. The tribal man had 5 sheeps and 1 horse which he had obtained from his father and had continued the same occupation since he was young. He too had trained his son in the same occupation. The young son specifically looked after the horse while the old man cared for the sheeps.

One day, the old man received a note requesting him for few goods from the nearby village. He instructed his son to leave for the village. The young son left in his horse along with the goods. While returning, due to the continuous journey, he stopped in a place for taking a brief nap. When he woke up, his horse had vanished. He wondered if the horse had been taken by some bandits or if it had run away. Mulling over this, he reached home and conveyed the sad news to his father. Possessing a horse was a matter of pride among the tribe and losing the only horse affected the old man’s status in the village. When the villagers came to know of the news, they all remarked “How unfortunate. What are you going to do now”? The old man remarked “Que Sera Sera”. The villagers nodded silently and left but internally they mocked him. Maybe he has become very sad and hence replying like this. 

Months went by. One day, the young son woke up and opened the door. He was surprised to see his horse standing outside his home. More surprisingly, there stood a female horse along with his horse.  His horse had gone into the jungle along with a female horse and now it had returned back home.The son ran to his father to convey the good news. The villagers were surprised by the turn of events. They went to the old man and congratulated him. Now his status had increased in the tribe. Having a male and female horse was perfect as they would produce more horses. ‘Your life has changed now. This is an occasion for big celebration, they remarked’. The old man smiled and replied ‘Que Sera Sera’.  The villagers wondered what the old man meant. Instead of celebrating with them, he was playing it down. Crazy old man, they said and went away.

The young son started training with his horse and its companion. During one such training, the son took the two horses to the mountains and while on the way back, he tumbled and fell down. Due to the fall, he broke his leg. Somehow he reached home and was hospitalized immediately. He underwent therapy but the doctors said that the young man can’t walk normally again. He would have to limp for the rest of his life. When the villagers came to know of the news, they met the old man and offered their condolences. ‘Poor guy, it must be really hard on you to see your son in this state’ remarked one fellow. The old man had a grim face. He felt sad about the state of his son and felt sorry for him. He just replied ‘Que Sera Sera’.  

The son got well and resumed his daily work. Though he couldn’t walk normally as before, he got used to moving around with a limp. Few weeks later, the messengers from the King arrived in the village. They had a message from the King. There were rumors that the neighbor king had plans to attack their country.  In order to have his army at full strength, the king had passed a declaration making it compulsory for all the young people to come forward and be a part of the army. For all the youngsters volunteering, their families will be awarded 5 gold coins. The villagers were excited on hearing the news. All the youngsters from the village were able to join the army and were awarded 5 gold coins. Everyone except the son of the old man. The villagers remarked ‘You won’t get the gold coins since your son’s leg is broken & he can’t join the army. The old man replied ‘True. My son can’t fight properly due to his current state and volunteer for the army’. ‘You would have been lucky had your son been in good health’, said the villagers. ‘Que Sera Sera’, replied the old man. 

The youngsters were taken to the city capital as part of the army. No news came from them for two months. The villagers wondered what had happened. Then one day, a messenger from the King arrived there.  He announced that ‘the neighbor king had attacked their kingdom.  The war raged for 2 month and finally with great difficulty, they were able to subdue & defeat the enemy forces.’ The villagers cheered.  ‘But there is sad news. In the war, many of the young soldiers had died while fighting for their country. & others have been badly injured. ‘Saying so, he read the list of soldiers who had died in the battle & those who had been injured. All the bereaved families would be given some compensation from the King’s treasury. The villagers were shell-shocked. For the next two days, the whole village mourned the dead soldiers. The old man & his son visited the bereaved families and expressed their condolences. They said to the old man ‘Please apologize us for mocking at you before. We have lost our only child’. The old man consoled them and said “Que Sera Sera” and walked on…..

P.S: Life has its up and downs. We don’t have control over what might happen in our life but we do have control over our reactions to it. Understanding that all events (both happy and sad) are transient would be a source of everlasting joy in our lives.

The Letter - Part II

Letter - Part I

I sat down on the bed with the letter in my hand. It was completely unexpected... I had always loved movies with a twist, those mystery,thriller movies which keep you guessing whats coming up next.The irony is that we enjoy those moments ,as long it happens to someone else,when we too are in the same boat, its to thrilling to enjoy the thrill. I never imagined in my wildest dream that my life will be taking a twist like this. And to top the icing on the cake, this day has to be on my birthday.

It was now 9:45. Then my eyes fell on the mobile which lay off. I recalled that i was going to charge it yesterday when i got the damn letter. I switched it on and put it on charge. After the start up tune,the phone came to life. There were a series of beeps, signalling the receiving of messages. Messages from my friends and well wishers who will be wishing me happiness,joy and a long life... Long life !! 20 seems to be a long life indeed...

I kept the phone in my bed and went near the window. A cool breeze of air was blowing. It was so soothing ,so serene so as to engulf me in its arms. Only that i didnt feel like enjoying any of these. I felt i would have been happier if i would have cried. Strangely enough i wasnt crying. Maybe,i have been always taught that no matter what happens in your life, no matter how many stones you get, no matter how bad the life treats you,your life is in your hands. There is always something positive , you only have to keep your eyes open.

Since, i had seen Dasvidaniya, a Bollywood movie, in which the movie's protagonist gets to know that he will be dying in 3 months. He makes a list of 10 things which he has always dreamt of doing. Basically, he fulfills his wish list and dies peacefully. Well, in my case i didnt have that option too. It was more a fast track Dasvidaniya in my case. Not 3 months but 24 hours....

People say its wiser not to reinvent the wheel. i thought of doing what our Dasvidaniya hero had done. Making a list of things which i want to do most. Since, i was the youngest child of my parent's 3 children, i was confident that they will be taken care by my elder brothers. Then, i wanted to pursue higher studies, for which the time i had was not sufficient, so that goes off from the list. Then... The challenge here was that i had everything i wanted.

My parents had ensured that i was well taken care in that regard. So what else... I was musing on that, when my Phone went off... "Tujh me rab Dikta hai,...." - the melody song from "Rab ne Bana di Jodi" movie. It had to be her. I had kept that ring tone for her calls. The irony here was the fact that "Rab" had given me a visit few hours back, so the word "Rab itself (meaning God)" brought jitters to me.

Anyhow, i picked up the phone and came the fresh voice of her - "Happy Birthday Arvind. God Bless You." I was tempted to answer "Well he has", but then thought the better of it and mumbled a thanks.

She asked me - "Where were you yesterday night. I kept on calling your mobile but it kept saying the receiver phone is switched off. What happened ?

I explained that my cell phone charge had died down and the current had gone out. I put the phone on charge now only."

Oh, ok fine. So whats the plan for today...

I thought " Well, pack up my bags for the trip". But said - I dont know. Have to be at home, i suppose. Ma has some plans.

Oh, ok. I wanted to meet you for sometime. Tell me if you can meet me today. [We had an understanding about my birthday.I had told her before that on my birthday we usually go to visit my grand parents, then temple, then orphanage.She respected my plans and didnt push me much on it]

But the last thing i wanted to do was to meet her. I knew that i wont be my normal self if i meet her today. So i wanted to avoid meeting her at all cost.. I said - Hey, Ma calling me. Will call you shortly.

OK, Wish you a Blessed Day.Sweet Kisses,saying so, she kept down the phone.

I clutched the phone close to my heart. A tear ran down my face. I knew that the only thing i wanted to do was to meet her. And bless her for a fruitful and a happy life. If i could have any wish fulfilled today, i would wish for a happy life for her. If not with me, then with someone who would love her with all his heart and give the world to her. I called her again.

Hey, whats up, she asked.

I said - How about meeting at the coffee shop, at 4pm ?

Wow, Thats so nice of you. See you soon.

I got up from the bed and starting getting refreshed. Then i put my favourite dress and went down. Papa had left early regarding his business. Mama was reading a book. As soon as i came down, she got up and planted a huge kiss on my cheek. God Bless you , my sweety. Papa said sorry about not being able to be at home today.He has some important meeting with his clients today. He told me to wish you on his behalf..

Thanks Mom i said bringing up a smile.

Come on, have your breakfast now. I have made your fav dish today .

I had few morsels and got ready to go to grandparents place.My grand parents were also ready in the home by the time we reached there. I took their blessings and grandpa/ma gifted me a gold chain, Grandma said it will make me more handsome. Grandma was always like this. Nowadays she has taken to giving lectures on finding a suitable girl for me. It will be sometime before it actually happens,but i suspect that she was the real reason for making love blossom in my heart. Due to her persistence talking,i had began to get thoughts that maybe its not bad to have a girl friend. Thats when i met my dream girl and whatever happened next is all known. It was 3 pm now. We started to the temple to offer prayers to our family god. Ma and grandparents prayed for a long life for me. I could only laugh at the irony of it. Then i bid my grandparents and Mom adieu and told them to proceed to the orphanage as i had some other work to do.

It was close to 4pm when i reached the coffee shop. She was already waiting for me there. Very much like her. Always on time, sometimes before time too. She gave me a hug and a short kiss and wished me happy birthday. We took our usual place in the coffee shop, the corner one with a small pool nearby it.

Do you remember our first date, in this coffee shop, i asked her.

Yes, how can i forget. You were blushing redder than a carrot.-She said.

I wasnt blushing. - i said back.

No. You were.. , she said.

We spend some time remembering the times, reliving the memories of our being together. Then she gave me a present. It was a triangular glass crystal with a red heart glowing inside.

I looked in to her eyes and gave her a smile. We just kept looking at each other.I had read somewhere that the closer people feel to each other,the lesser they need to talk. Emotions have a way of expressing and i think we understood each other perfectly well. I think she must have guessed that something was bothering me.

Whats the matter,Arvind - she asked.

Nothing dear, i replied. Trying hard not to lose control.

No, something is there. You can tell me - she said.

Do you love me - i asked.

I love you more than i love myself - she replied.

Iam very lucky in that regard. But i want you to promise me something. - i said.

What do you want me to do - she asked.

Promise me that you will love yourself more than me. Promise me that you will be happy no matter what happens.Promise me that you will carry on in your life and take care of yourself. I felt like a fool telling the above things. Yet, the only reaction i got from her was a strange stare. Not the stare again. She gives these kind of stares when its like she knows what Iam up too. Well, iam sure she wouldnt have known this, know about what had happened to me 24 hrs back.

She slowly replied -

Arvind, i dont know what to say. I never imagined that i will meet a person like you, and i consider myself lucky for that. Yet i want you to promise me the same things which you have asked me. Can you promise me that ?

I was tempted to tell her about what had happened 24 hrs back, that by tomorrow i wont be in this green earth. but i didnt want to scare her off. The last thing which i wanted to see on my last day was see her crying. I just smiled and shook my head. I found it hard to see that she was saying my dialogues. 'That she wanted the best for me'. Something was bothering her, but since i wasnt a good mind reader as her,i was left guessing about her botherations.

It was close to 7pm.The waiter came,kept the bill and went back. Its my treat for you, saying so she paid the money.

Well, time to say good bye - i said.

Seems so. Wish you a long and a Happy life. Saying so, she left.

Iam not sure if i saw it, but i think i saw a tear in one of her eyes. Someone had said that If there is one thing which is unpredictable in this world, you can be damn sure it will be the girls. I pushed my chair and was about to get up,when i saw she had left her handkerchief in the table. I reached across to take the kerchief. Something white in color fell down. It was a letter. It opened it and it read:

Dear Asha,

This is to inform you that your life validity expires in 24 hours.....
......

Epilogue: Thats the way she was. Not only she didnt show her sorrow to me, but to keep me happy on my birthday she acted as if nothing had happened. No wonder my instincts had always told me "She was the one for me".

The End.

The Letter

The man stood near the window with his hands folded..He had a calm demeanor and was smiling benignly. I couldn’t really understand how could he be smiling on this occasion.

A few moments earlier....

The charge in my mobile had dried up. I was just going to put my phone on charge when the electricity got cut. If there is one thing in India which you can say with certainty, it is the fact that when you have an important work to do, you can trust the government to cut it off... Cursing them for the nuisance, i lay on the bed and spend the rest 15 minutes to curse those guys with well learnt curse words.

I presume i was about to doze off when i felt a hand tapping my shoulder. I woke up to see a man with a letter bag at his side. He introduced himself as "God" and took a letter from the letter bag and gave it to me. He then went on to say 'You have 24 hours to live and that we will be departing to heaven/hell tomorrow'.

All i did was to keep staring at him. He told me to have a look at the letter and went and stood near the window. I opened the letter and read:

Dear Arvind,

This is to inform you that your life validity expires in 24 hours. One of our people will come down to meet you and you will be sailing in the "Ship of Departures" along with other inmates. Kindly plan your schedule so that you finish off whatever you want within this validity time. No luggage’s will be necessary as everything will be available in the ‘Home’.

Your final destination aka Heaven/Hell will be decided based on your liabilities and assets which you have accrued over your life time.

Hope to see you tomorrow.

Regards,
God.

All i could say was "Is this some kind of joke"... All he did in return was to keep staring at me. I repeated my question again. he asked me "What do you think". I told him "I don’t think people receive termination letters informing about the remaining life time. And what is this, Liabilities, assets. I never knew that material assets and liabilities are valued in after-life. 

"Very typical of humans", remarked the God. You haven’t heard about the termination letters before because you get it only once. You don’t live to tell about it. And the assets and liabilities which i mentioned are the good deeds and the bad karma which you earn in your life time." This came as a complete shock to me... I never knew that the final day can come just like that. I had lived 24 years of my life time and had never bothered to think about the so called good deeds and bad deeds. I had hardly known any hardships, since i was provided with all luxuries. 

A lot many questions were running in my mind. [As in why he had come delivering this information when he can send across someone else, What had i done to get this call so early, Wasn’t he supposed to be wearing a white suit, as Morgan Freeman does in Hollywood movies]. I assumed i could guess the reason for his coming alone to deliver the information. After all, it was recession time now, so there could have been job cuts there also. Currently i was concerned about my situation, so i was wondering what to ask him, when suddenly there was a pop sound and Gosh, the man simply disappeared before my eyes... 

The feeling you get when someone next to you pops off in thin air makes you feel that even you can pop off anytime. You fear to tread another step not knowing when you will pop off. No wonder, the people in the medieval ages used to haunt the witches and considered them as outlaws. And the feeling when someone has informed you about your demise and has suddenly left you alone gives you no little consolation. Well, i never had hoped for this in my wildest dream. 

I kept the letter in the diary on the bed-side table and then kept staring at the ceiling. Why me. It’s not fair in any way. and Why now ?? Why now when i had found my dream girl. It’s been 3 months since we met. It was an instant liking from our first meet and i knew that if there has to be a girl in my life, it has to be her. She had all the good qualities which a Man could aspire for in a girl. I had proposed to her 1 month back and she had accepted it. We had planned up so many things for our future...The big bungalow, the children we would have, the fun trip….So many in the to-do list. But, it seems life had other plans. No wonder, people say Life is unfair. This is not fair, this is not fair.... I kept on muttering the sentences....

"Sleeping till 9am on your birthday and saying 'it’s not fair' isn’t fair too" - came the voice of my Mother. She tugged the bed sheet and woke me up with a birthday wish and a sweet kiss. I looked at her as if i was stunned. Birthday, oh, yes it’s my birthday today. I made up a smiley face and mumbled a thanks... Get ready soon, son. It’s your DAY today. Don’t you have plans for today.. Come-on get ready, son...God Bless you, saying so she left the room. 

I sat on the bed and tried remembering what had happened.. What about the letter, the God visit and the message... Was it a bad dream after all. I couldn’t express the happiness i felt at that moment. A dream, a bad dream, Gosh, it had felt so real... Thank goodness. Pushing the bad thoughts away from the mind, i threw the bed sheet away and got down on the other side. Then i saw it. A small white envelope was pointing out slightly in my personal diary!!! The whole room seemed to freeze. 

Slowly, with shivering hands i reached across to the dairy and took out the letter and opened it. 

It started "Dear Arvind,

..............

To be contd....

P.S: I had written this before. Posting it again for the benefit of the current readers. Hope you liked it.

The First Love – Part V

The First Love - Part I
The First Love - Part II
The First Love - Part III
The First Love - Part IV

When the school started off again, those were the best times of my life. The next few months just flew off. We started spending more time together. We were together in the class, during the break times & when the class was on, we would still be speaking to each other in a coded language. After class, we took a walk in the ground, before our evening tuition sessions started. Even though she had said that she preferred being friends, i could see that this was turning out to be something else. People say that things work out if one is persistent enough. And I was a personification of persistence. I would make use of every opportunity to proclaim my love for her. Whenever I used to do that, she would be indifferent most of the time. You know the kind of reaction which the deaf people give, as if they hadn’t heard anything. And sometimes she just laughed it off. The one thing unforgettable was when she got jealous of the whole thing. Well, to be honest we had a big laugh at it at a later period. It happened this way.

Once during our tri-bed conference, I was ranting off the fact that Keerthana wasn’t accepting my proposal. We have been talking but she really didn’t give any reaction as if she liked me or loved me. Gopal suggested that I should try out few flattering techniques, showcasing my love for her. Prabu pitched in saying why not write a love letter for her, this time describing her beauty and comparing her with the Nature and remarking how beautiful she was even when compared to the Sun, moon etc etc. Generally, Girls love when someone gives them a compliment, but they get floored when they are told that they are the best compared to everything that’s in the world. I guess, telling a lie to make someone happy isn’t that bad ! Prabu’s idea was a masterpiece, except for a minor mistake. Gopal too joined me in writing it. Don’t get me wrong, he wanted to write a love letter to Geetha, so in order to lessen the efforts, both of us decided to write the letter together. Actually, I protested to this idea, but Gopal quoted the physics concepts of saving energy and increasing efficiency, blah blah.

So that was it. We sat together and composed the love letter as if two master craftsmen were preparing their greatest art. In the end, we took the main draft of the letter, and prepared two more copies of it. On one copy I wrote Keerthana’s name & on the other, Gopal wrote Geetha’s name. We then put the envelopes in respective covers. The next day after the class got over, I and Keerthana were taking a walk in the ground. She had gone to drink water, when I slipped the letter into her bag. I had to meet our class teacher so I went off after telling her. I was thinking that she will get a pleasant surprise when she finds the letter. Little did I know what happened. I was much fortunate than Gopal, who had to bear Geetha’s wrath in real time!! They were in the canteen & she had went off to drink some water. Meanwhile, Gopal inserted the letter into her bag. Then he went off to the nearby shop saying he will get some chips. When he came back, Geetha exploded and gave him some tight slaps. He didn’t understand what was happening. Few minutes back they were talking sweet things, but now it was a tense situation. What had really happened was that our letters had got interchanged. The letter content went off something like: I love you more than I love anything else, You look more beautiful than your friend (yes, we should have mentioned the friend name, which we didn’t). Even if I get a chance to be with her, I will not trade places etc etc. This idea (ridiculous idea) was suggested by Gopal, saying that this will showcase how truthful we were to our lovers. The problem was, my letter to Keerthana started off like “Dear Geetha” and Gopal’s letter to Geetha started off like “Dear Keerthana”. So Geetha ended up thinking that Gopal had discreetly wanted to give the letter to Keerthana, which she had found out.

In my case, Keerthana reaction was a bit different from expected. Till now, I had only heard about the power of non-violence but hadn’t had any opportunity to experience it. Now I got to experience it in real time. Poor British people, they wouldn’t have thought of the power of non-violence before their mighty weapons. In the end, the non-violent stance of the Indians had completely disarmed them. In Keerthana’s case, it was a slight modification of non-violence concept. She had hated violence and hence, she adopted the non-violent mode: Crying. As soon as I met her during dinner, I asked her “So, how is Geetha”. I don’t know why I asked about Geetha, but it was just a casual question, considering Geetha hadnt come to have dinner along with keerthana. She broke into tears. It took some time to understand what had happened, and clear her doubts away. But one good thing had materialized. The incident went onto show how possessive she was about me and how she didn’t like the idea of me with someone else.

Our final exams were coming up in sometime. Prior to that, we had a two week vacation or study holidays, as they called it. Her parents had called her back during that time. I couldn’t imagine why her parents had called her at this period, and I missed her deeply. We had got used to be with each other that it was feeling weird to be without her. I told Gopal, Prabu that Iam going to see her again. They thought it was a crazy idea going out during the exams time. Still, I had made up mind. I left the next day and went to my friend’s place. I went and waited near the road junction. She was returning back from shopping and as soon as she saw me – she started crying. I mean, I expected her to be surprised and give a surprised look, yet wondered if crying was supposed to be the extreme reaction, when someone gets surprised. Then she told me what had happened. Her parents had called her back because they were planning to get her married once she finishes school. She had got a good proposal and her parents had wanted her back home for that reason. I couldn’t say anything. She just continued crying. I wiped off her tears and hugged her. I held her face close and said – No one can make you do anything, if u don’t want to do it. Just tell your parents that you don’t want to get married so soon and that you want to study more. They will yield to your persistence.” Our faces were so close that I could see her iris in a magnified way. And when she was crying, she looked more beautiful with the tears decorating her further. We don’t know what happened, but the next moment our lips had met and we started kissing each other. It was sometime before we realized what we were doing, and since we were standing in the road, we restrained ourselves.
The next thing we see is her mom standing few feets away from us. What we didn’t realize that while we were kissing, her mom had been nearby. She had come in search of Keerthana, and had found us doing it. Her face was a mix of evil glare & angel weeping. Believe me, you wouldn’t want to look at that kind of stare. Keerthana broke away from me and went to her mom, who dragged her back. I came for the next 2 days but couldn’t get to meet her. My friend advised me to go back to school and study for exams. She came for the exams but didn’t even speak with me. The whole week was excruciatingly slow. Because of the rigorous exams, I couldn’t even catch up with her. After t exams got over, her parents came to the school and packed her things. Gopal told me that she was leaving her room. I hurriedly ran towards the main gate. When I reached the main gate, she was sitting in the car. I cried out ‘Keerthana, I want to speak to you’. Her father, a tall man with broad shoulders, (in short, a giant) came towards me and said – Next time, I see you disturbing my daughter, you will really feel sorry for doing so. Go and mind your own business’ Then they just left off, and I could just watch as the car speeded away to distance and become a speck in the long road that lead away from the school.



Ding dong. Ding dong. The door bell rang…

‘Madhu, go and see who is at the door’, I said.

“No daddy, please tell what happened next’, murmured Sankar.

‘That’s for later, go and see who is at the door. Sankar you go and ask your mom to bring something to eat for the guest.’

I had completely forgot. We had invited Gopal’s family to come over to my place and we had planned to go out for a dinner. The time had passed away so soon that I didn’t realize that it was 6’0 clock.

Gopal and his wife came inside and sat in the sofa. ‘How is life, Vikram’,he asked. ‘Geetha aunty, Dad was telling us your school days story”, said Madhu.

“My goodness, how long many times do you tell it to your kids”, exclaimed Gopal.

“What can I do. They never seem to get bored of it.” I said

“Papa left the story in the middle, how Mom had left with her parents on the last day of the
school”, said Sankar in a sad tone.

Just then Keerthana came out of the kitchen carrying a tray. “Hi Geetha, Gopal how are you”, she asked.

Keerthana, she was just the same as the first time I saw her. Her beauty, her smile, were the same as yester years. As the saying goes, if you truly love something, you set it free; if it comes backs it's yours, if it doesn't, it never was. My love was true.

“Dad, tell na what happened then”, Sankar murmured again.

“Sankar, You have heard it many times. Now go and get ready for going outside. The story of how I met your Father again is a long story. We will hear it some other time”, saying so Keerthana came and sat beside me.

If there is one thing which a man can ask for, it is to live along with the girl of your dreams. And I was blessed indeed. As someone said “If you truly love someone with all your heart, the whole world conspires to help you achieve your dream”

***************************** THE END***********************************

P.S: I would like to extend my thanks to my friends Preeti, Madhavi & Uday sankar for their threat that if the story had a bad ending that would be my last day in earth. Hope you liked the ending. Thanks to all who liked the story and followed it up from the start and gave genuine feedback.