My last post was a story that I wrote, the main theme of which is surmised in its title ‘When the Universe Conspires…’. The basic premise is from a very famous book called ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho, which states that the entire Universe conspires to help you achieve your dream. The dream could be to be with the person you love, to climb Mount Everest, or simply to play the piano well! It might be something that you might not have even dreamt of, but the Universe guides you there as it will make you happy. It’s a very beautiful thought, and one that I firmly want to believe in.  

I am also a great believer in destiny. There is a reason to everything that happens, and we are all part of a much larger scheme of things. But having said that, I also believe that not everything is cast in stone by God as far as our respective futures are concerned. There is something which is intentionally left in our control, and a greater power helps us by giving us signs – nudging us in the direction of our dreams!

It is the interpretation of signs which has left me befuddled, mystified or as the great N S Sidhu puts it ‘mesmerized & bamboozled’. What is coincidence and what is a sign is a matter of great confusion.

Let me give a simple example. I am traveling in a bus and happen to think about someone. Suddenly, I look out of the window and see that person’s name starring at me from a nearby signboard meant for something else! I might have traveled along that route several hundred times, but never ever have I looked up at that signboard, until today just as I was thinking about that person. Even if I say that it was a sign, it was a sign for what? You toss a coin and its either heads or tails – it gives you a decision. You see a sign…and then what? What is it supposed to mean?

There have been several such small instances. To summarize, every time it has been me thinking about someone or something, and the Universe seemed to have overheard my thoughts, and threw back such as unmistakable reference to my thoughts, that its seems scary!

Now if only I could interpret these signs…..

When he had told Kunal earlier that day about what he planned to do next, he could sense the disbelief. ‘Man, I can’t sleep if don’t hear about an ‘illion’ a day, be it a million, billion or a trillion!’ said Kunal. And Ajay had retorted ‘Your illions have made me forget what sleep really means’

He finally reached Kunal’s place & hastily rang the doorbell. Unscheduled meetings were occupational hazards in this line, and Kunal had one to attend today before he could make it home for the planned celebration. Nevertheless, he had told his New York colleague to come to his place on time. The weatherman had predicted snowfall later that evening, and he didn’t want Ajay to get stuck. 

Kunal’s wife opened the door. Ajay looked up, and after experiencing what was now becoming the habitual 2 second emotional turbulence, he said ‘Hi Priya’. As he walked in, he thought to himself ‘O God, do I deserve this? What do you have in mind?’

‘It’s been a long time’ said Priya as she watched Ajay settle down on the sofa.

‘Yaah…3 years, 9 months , 14 days, 6 hours & …23 minutes going by IST’ as he glanced at his watch

‘You remember….’

‘Maam, its not often that a person gets engaged’

‘How is Nishi?’   

‘Oh she is doing good. She’s just started her own consulting firm’

‘Wow. That’s cool. What about kids?..’…

‘Sara was born a year ago. Don’t go by her sweet name…she’s quite a brat!’

Priya managed a smile

‘So when did you move to New York?’

‘Three years back. Needed a change of scene…new place, new people’

The sound of the doorbell broke the conversation. It was Kunal back from office

‘Hey Ajay…sorry to be late man…you know how it is!’

‘Don’t bother’

‘So you met Priya. I’m glad I brought you here. With all our late night calls, she always used to suspect I am having some long distance fling…add stuff like that to your occupational hazard list!’

‘Oh don’t worry darling’ said Priya, sounding sarcastic…’ I am sure you have had your hands full with local affairs to deal with’

There was an odd silence before Kunal burst out laughing ‘Ajay I tell you…men will be men…and women will be women!’  

Over dinner, Kunal told Priya ‘You know…our man is leaving the firm…and heading back to India!…why don’t you con him into staying back…I wont be half as good without him around’

‘Better prospects I suppose…’

‘Ohh no…he’s been hit by the creative bug…on his way to becoming a playwright I suppose!’

‘I don’t know…and I don’t care…will take things as they come’

Later that night after dinner, Kunal & Priya came to drop Ajay at his hotel.

‘Thanks guys for the lovely dinner…not sure when I’ll get the chance next’

As Kunal started his car, Priya told Ajay ‘Do convey my regards to your wife. I guess she must be in the same boat as I am, when it comes to workaholic husbands’

Ajay smiled and said ‘At least she ain’t complaining yet!’

Some months later, as Priya boarded the NY-London-Mumbai Air India flight, she noticed a familiar face.

‘Nishi….’

‘Hey Priya…’

‘How are you?’

‘I am doing good dear…where did you disappear!’

‘Ohh…didn’t Ajay tell you that we met’

‘No..when was this?’

‘Last winter when he had come down to London’

‘Ohh…I haven’t met him for a long while’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Yaah, he’s come to NY only once since he went back to India’  

‘You guys are not staying together?’

Nishi looked confused ‘Didn’t he tell you? We never got married!’…and with those words, Priya got the shock of her life

As the words sank in & Priya told her about the meeting with Ajay, Nishi proceeded to fill in what had happened

‘On our engagement night when I went in to keep the ring, I realized I had forgotten the cupboard keys on the table. As I was coming back to take it, I overheard your conversation. But I didn’t tell Ajay about it. I realized what had happened and wanted to give him time to get over it. But your thought never left him. He was never the same again. So after a month, I told him that I knew about both of you, and its best we don’t go ahead with this. I even called you up then, but it was too late. Uncle told me about your arranged marriage with Kunal, and that it had happened very quickly and you had left for London immediately. I felt terrible & so did Ajay. But we continued to remain good friends. In fact, we moved to NY almost simultaneously. That’s where I met Andrew my husband, and then Sara happened’ pointing to the peacefully sleeping baby beside her. ‘Ajay still loves you Priya. I don’t think a day goes by where he doesn’t think about you. He tried to immerse himself into work to forget you – but then this universe conspired to make you bump into each other again. Perhaps when you asked about me, he realized that you didn’t know that we didn’t marry, so he must have pulled along’

Priya had tears in her eyes. As Nishi comforted her, Priya said ‘I divorced Kunal 2 months ago. He remains happily married to his illions…’

 (Six months later…)

‘Lemon juice or Apple juice’

The voice sounded too familiar to be true. But Ajay was getting used to the ways of Mr. Universe. He looked up to see Priya smiling. There was a glow on her face, and it seemed that time had stopped when he had first seen her…

Ajay saw the pouch in front of him, and opened it. In it was written a note in a handwriting that was unmistakable

‘For almost five years, I tried to stay with a man who never loved me. And tried to forget the man who perhaps loved me for every minute of it. Life is short, and I don’t want to miss the train now…’

As the flight landed, Ajay handed over a note to Priya as he was getting off the plane. After seeing off all the passengers, Priya opened it & smiled. It said ‘Let’s change the mode of transport. I am waiting outside in my car…’

Part 2:

But as she passed on that lemon juice to him, Ajay noticed something that he had always dreaded…she was wearing a ring, and it just didn’t seem just another ring. Fate indeed, was at its cruel best! As she moved ahead with her trolley down the aisle, Alex nudged him and asked ‘Is she your…?’. ‘Naah’ – lied Ajay, ‘I just happened to look at her badge’

That weekend, as Alex had promised, he introduced him to Nishi. Alex had mentioned to Ajay that she had just fallen out of a relationship. She was very good looking and as the conversation went on, Ajay found her to be incredibly sensible & mature – and wondered what an idiot someone might have been to lose her.

As time went by, Ajay & Nishi came closer and decided to tie the knot. They called their close relatives & friends over for the engagement ceremony. The engagement got over, and the junta soon left after wishing the couple. But there was someone that Nishi was eagerly waiting for. It was her best friend since childhood and Ajay had spoken with her once over the phone but never met her. And as she entered, Ajay realized that  fate was yet to have the last laugh – what was Pinkoo on the phone was none other than Priya herself!

As they started chatting, Nishi asked Priya ‘Did you get the ring?’ ‘Yes’ said Priya and handed it over. Ajay stood there shocked. It was the same ring – an image etched in his mind forever. Nishi smiled and told Ajay “It’s the same ring that Gautam had given me. We broke off over the phone and Priya was there with me. I couldn’t bear the sight of it and Gautam was not around for me to go and throw it on his face. So I gave it to Priya to keep it for me. Back then, there was a lot of sentiment attached with it, but today its just another stone for me. Gautam’s mother is in town and I will arrange to send it across to her” And with these words, she went inside to stash away the ring safely.

Ajay’s mind was swirling now. Priya said “You are an awesome speaker, Ajay. Are you still part of the Youth Forum?”

Ajay, trying to regain his composure, said “How do you know about it?”.

“I heard you speak at the general body meeting. I was very impressed by your thinking. I tried to make my way through the crowd towards the podium to talk to you, but couldn’t reach you”

“Ohh…”

“Yaah..and there was one more thing I wanted to ask you”

“What?”

“Why did you ever get off the train that day?”

Ajay froze. She knew?!?

“That day when you were running beside the train compartment like a madman, I caught a glimpse of you. Then I saw you at the youth forum. And then, in the flight again. But when you addressed me as Priya – it suddenly became clear to me. I have been used to men trying to make some talk, looking at the name on my badge. But that day, I had lost my badge & had pinned up someone else’s name. You could never have known, but for…”

There was a silence that seemed like eternity

“I realized & since I couldn’t talk about it then, I left that note for you in the pouch. Silly me! Since then, I have been looking for you in airport lounges and on flights but in vain. I even asked the Youth forum, but they didnt have your contact. And when I found you, it’s like this. Please never ever tell this to Nishi, I don’t want her to have any wrong notions”

“Weren’t you wearing that ring when we met in the flight?”

“Yes I was. Nishi was at the airport that day when she gave the ring to me, just before I was taking the Pune flight. I didn’t want to keep an expensive thing like that in my handbag. So I thought the safest thing would be to have it in front of my eyes by wearing it then”

And with these words, Priya left

Ajay slowly ambled back to his room. He took out his travel bag, and found that unopened pouch. Inside it was a note that said  “You started to catch up with a train 2 years back. Am glad you finally are on board!” - Priya (tel number)

Ajay sank on his bed and thought to himself  “I didn’t catch up with the train that day. I actually got off it”

Presenting ‘Chatakdar Batata Sev Puri Chat’….

It just didnt look this amazing…it tasted even better…lucky to have managed the photo opportunity before the contents vanished!!

I am my biggest mystery

In the perennial process of discovery

As much as I am faithful to my choices

Is my mind on its fleeting voyages

A sense of destiny beckons

Whispering in my heart an echo of glory

I reach out before I have begun

A step in faith’s direction

What was clear yesterday has been cleared away

Questions have answers, but are they the questions anyway

I see the world passing by

Have I slowed down and they started to fly

As the layers of thought pile on

On the sands of time those winds have blown

I turn around & redeem myself

In a path that I can always call my own

(Short story that I wrote a couple of years back. Any resemblance to characters alive & ready to kick my butt is purely coincidental ) 

Ajay saw her for the first time, in a train on his way to Khandala. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. There she was like an angel, in the midst of all that chaos that typifies the sleeper class of a train through India. He wanted to keep looking at her; he wanted to be oblivious of the fact that there were other people around. But the aisle was crowded, and all he could manage was a few glimpses when the human chain in between them made a movement.

Soon came the Khandala station, and he so desperately wanted her to get down there with him. But as the train came to a halt, there she sat lost in her thoughts. Sadly, Ajay made his way towards the exit. He got down, and was beginning to move towards the station gate, when it hit him. The train had started so he just dropped his luggage and ran towards the compartment door from where he had just exited. People standing at the door thought he was one of those freaks that likes to catch a running train and he saw a couple of hands reaching out towards him. But he was not interested. He ran alongside the train for what seemed an eternity, at a speed which was much beyond what he deemed were his physical limits. But then, he got to see what he wanted to and dropped the chase at the end of the platform. The occupant of seat 34 according to that barely legible reservation chart just beside the compartment door was F22 Priya J

————————————————————————-

Two years had gone by since, and many trips along that route were taken, but he had never seen her again. The train journey to Pune was no longer a time to take a nap. Instead, his eyes remained wide open and searching, through countless reservation charts and sleeper compartments. He was eligible for air travel – business class, but then, in matters of the heart, which he had hopelessly lost in that dingy train, there is no room for logic. Alex, his colleague and good friend, who used to accompany him on these business assignments, thought he had completely lost it. Poor guy, every time he used to tell Ajay on how they were not utilizing their CTC (that’s corporate lingo – Cost to Company), and threaten to boycott his company. There were times when Ajay really scolded himself for what he was doing. It seemed silly, stupid, crazy whatever. But he didn’t care. So be it. Should he have gone and talked to her at that time? But what would he have said…?

Finally the day came when they were headed to Pune to do their final client presentation. Henceforth, Ajay would have no periodic excuse to go to Pune now. But as fate would have it, due to excessive rains, the trains that day got cancelled. The highways were also reportedly in a bad shape. Since they had to make it on the same day, they decided to take the flight to Pune. On their way to the airport, Ajay decided that he should take this as some kind of a ‘sign’, and take her out of his mind. So he told this to Alex, who reacted as if he had just won a medal at the Olympics, and after his initial jubilations told Ajay that he should now look forward to the weekend where he would introduce him to someone that he would fall in love with on first sight! Ajay’s thoughts were different – love at first sight happens only once, and guess he had used up his quota for this life. 

They boarded the flight and promptly switched on their laptops to fine tune the presentation. As they were deliberating on what their recommendations would be, came in the refreshments. ‘Apple or Lemon juice’, asked the airhostess. Ajay looked at her, and after about 2 seconds during which his face would have shown a multitude of emotions including disbelief and happiness, he said ‘Lemon juice please…Priya’.

It all begins the night before

A cauldron of emotions bursting galore

Churning the life that has slipped by

Making many a soldier sigh

I wake my way into the dawn

With all my mental faculties gone

Thinking of the day that lies ahead

I don my attire as the papers bled

I, as always, never standing a chance

A veteran rookie in his favourite stance

But I put the mask of bravery on

Just to fight out my opponent’s scorn

Visions of sympathy engulf my mind

Success in it can you hardly find

But I see my coach looking on

His hope makes my resolve strong

The meek bell ends a deafening roar

The sound of silence soothes no more

The champion moves like an ace

Reality hits me in the face

The contest ends before it starts

People seek their way to play darts

The game makes for entertaining prose

And I get another broken nose

Twenty years is a time too long

Today I am not even half as strong

I open my mouth for one last lie

But the want to fight will never die

There existed life, unknown to the inhabitants of Mother Earth, about a million light-years away from the Milky Way, in a galaxy called Balleria. Similar to the planets in our solar system, it had several round colorful celestial bodies floating in space, each having some kind of a life form on it. On one such planet called the Blue Ball, there existed a species bearing a close resemblance to the human race. They were called (would you believe it!) the HU-mans. (Pronounced as hue mans)

            The HU-mans were not exactly known for their patience. They had long brushed aside the process of natural evolution in favour of a technology called FGT (Frenetic Genetic Tactic). The idea was to endow the HU-mans with qualities that their great grandfathers wouldn’t even have dreamt of. The landmasses of Blue Ball subsequently were all rechristened in a way that reflected the USP’s (Unique Selling Proposition, for the uninitiated) they had come to acquire as a result of this engineered evolution. So we had StrongLand, a place where people had the strength of an elephant, WittyLand, where people were so brilliant that they could solve 99 simultaneous equations in as many seconds, HealthyLand, where the average life expectancy now stood at 151 years, and BeautyLand, where people had the physical features to die for.

            But that was not all to Blue Ball. For, amidst all the hoopla, there was a place in an isolated nowhere called No-man’s-Land. It was called so, not because that no civilization existed there, but because the HU-mans which lived there were very ordinary, not particularly attractive, and of average intelligence. They had stayed away from FGT and the likes, and they could also be called the original HU-mans. Their contact with the outside world was very minimal, and not much was known about the ways of this land.

            In due course of time, it so happened that the cumulative strength, wit, health and beauty of the four premier lands started to decline. Though a lot of pioneering work had been done in the field of FGT, the scientists and engineers of Blue Ball were all at sea in trying to understand what was going wrong. They even called in consultants from their friendly neighbours Red Ball and Green Ball but to no avail.

The representatives from each of the lands met for an emergency meeting at the headquarters of ‘yoU-n-whO’, a body devoted to the advancement and betterment of HU-mans, to decide on the future course of action. Here they brainstormed again as they had done on several occasions in the past, but soon realized that they had exhausted almost all their options. Until one member suggested that there may still be one place remaining to look for. But all the ensuing optimism died an instant death when the name of No-man’s-Land came up. However, after a much-heated debate, the  ‘yoU-n-whO’ decided to send a team of four delegates, one from each of the premier lands to No-man’s-Land in search of that elusive solution.

The following are excerpts from the personal diaries of each of these individuals.

George (from HealthyLand)

The journey to No-man’s-Land was a long and arduous one. From the moment we embarked on it, a sense of frustration and skepticism was prevalent. Personally, I was very upset at having been chosen for this good-for-nothing excursion. When the great Dr. Smith (winner of the highest honour in medicine, the Yes-bel Prize) could not break new ground, what help could these ordinary mortals provide us with. They perhaps would not have even heard of FGT. When we finally reached there, it was late in the evening and Jolly was waiting there for us. Jolly was to be our guide in No-man’s-Land.  Since this was supposed to be a covert mission, we had come with the ruse that we just wanted to know more about this land and its people.

Jolly first took us to Happyville, the nearest village where we could relax for the day. The village folks there proved to be excellent hosts. Having a bath in the hot water spring there was absolutely amazing and a welcome change from the scented bubble baths that I was used to at home. Jolly said that it was believed to have a lot of medicinal value also.

We had a hearty meal that made my taste buds stand up and dance in delight, a far cry from the calorie labelled, genetically engineered mundane stuff that made up our staple diet. The village jester then regaled us with his jokes, which kept us laughing through the night. The sound of laughter was music to my ears, a music seldom played back home. Nantie, one of the village elders later told me that though enjoyment was the sole purpose of these joke sessions, one of the healthy side effects was a slight increase in one’s life span. Now that was some revelation for me.

Later that night, we all were invited to a birthday party that was happening in the village. Joining in the celebrations, we had barely danced for an hour or so before we so-called genetically superior HU-mans got tired. But the village folk continued to dance through the night, oblivious to time and tiredness. That is when it hit me that their zest for life was so much that it far superceded the effectiveness of any energy tonic that could be bought in the market. For the first time in my life, I wanted to be like them….

Nicholas (from StrongLand)

Yesterday was great. I never had enjoyed myself so much. In all the bonhomie, I almost had forgotten why I was here in the first place. I asked Jolly if he knew who was the strongest HU-man on this land. He pondered on it for a while, and then took me over to meet Simon. Simon was from the neighbouring village of Joyville, which was also the residence of the strongest man on the island.

At daybreak, Simon and myself set off for Joyville. On the way, my curiosity got the better of me and I asked Simon about some of the feats that this person was known for. But Simon just smiled and told me to be patient.

When we finally reached there, Simon took me to a small hut on the outskirts of the village. There he called out for someone named Albert. Out of the hut came a very aged man, with a creased face and a frail body, clearly in the evening of his life. Simon looked at me and said, ‘Sir, this is your man’. I stood there shell-shocked.  What was this, a joke??? Didn’t I have enough of them yesterday?? Even Simon standing besides me looked ten times stronger than him. That is when Simon, with his now characteristic ‘I-know-what-you-are-thinking’ smile, proceeded to tell me the exploits of Albert.

            Albert was born almost blind. But he was gifted in what they called the spirit of adventure. He was so full of life that his handicap could barely dampen his enthusiasm. He was very fond of mountaineering and in the rugged and hilly terrain of  No-man’s-Land, it was daunting and nearly impossible for someone like him to pursue his passion. But the guy was mentally so strong that he took up the challenge.

One fine day, he and three of his friends set out to realize the dream of every mountaineer, to climb the highest peak of Mount NeverRest. Having started from base camp very early in the morning, they were barely half way through when suddenly a thunderstorm hit them. In the resulting chaos, they lost contact with each other. Albert’s three friends found their way back to base camp, but there was no sign of Albert. Fearing the worst, they got back to climbing early next morning and returned to the same spot where they had split. But there was no sign of Albert. Suddenly they all caught sight of their flag which Albert was carrying. It was fluttering atop the highest peak of Mount NeverRest. Albert, born blind, had become the first HU-man to have scaled the summit on his own. Since then he had been a part of several expeditions to Mount NeverRest and even led some of them. He had become a living legend.

One of the things that drives mountaineers in scaling peaks is the view from the top. If only I could see what Albert saw….

Margaret (from BeautyLand)

From the moment that we landed in No-man’s-Land, I hadn’t seen a single person whom I could say was beautiful. I was pretty disappointed. But the disappointment gave way to joy when I saw that portrait. It was that of a beautiful young woman, so good looking that I could have easily mistaken her for a BeautyLander. It had been been sketched by Elvis, who made paintings for a living. But the work was so good and the sketch so lively that he had never quite been able to put a price tag on it. On further enquires, I came to know that the work was done several years back and the lady in the portrait was Sheila who lived in a village called Careville, not far away. All excited and raring to go, I set off immediately.

            On reaching Careville, I found out where she lived and promptly proceeded to meet her. But to my utter disbelief, I was greeted at the door by the most ugly and disfigured face that I had ever seen. It sent a chill down my spine and I fainted there itself. When I regained my consciousness, I found myself in her house. And got to know her story.

             Some years back, in an accident, part of her face had been badly burnt. If something like that had happened to someone back home, he or she would have committed suicide, rather than living with that appearance for the rest of their lives. But not Sheila. She had devoted her life to an orphanage that she had since started. Though still unmarried, she had attained the bliss of motherhood by showering her love on the children under her care. She had struggled to run her orphanage, which often encountered funding and other such problems. But she had continued to face them with a smile. In the evening, when she narrated the story of princes & fairies, she had each one of them in a trance. It was as if she had taken them with her to another world free from the troubles and worries of everyday life.

            Later, when I saw the children hug her and kiss her good night, I realized something. That for these kids she was probably much more beautiful than that woman in the portrait. If only HU-mans could see such beauty…

Mark (from WittyLand)

Today is the last day of our stay in No-man’s-Land. I, on my part, spared no effort in trying to find the wittiest HU-man on this planet. But I haven’t been able to do so. And neither have George, Nicholas and Margaret been able to find answers to the problems that face us back home. But in the process, more questions have been raised in our minds. About the validity of the very questions whose answers we seeked in the first place. I came to this place expecting nothing out of it. But it has given us something that I had never even considered expecting…hope. Hope, that recounting our experiences back home would open a few more eyes as it opened ours. Hope, that the questions raised out of them, would not remain unanswered. Hope, that the future generations of HU-mans wouldn’t be as self-centered as we were and would not fall victims to the kind of uncertainty that we had created for ourselves. Hope, that we would live to see the day when the race for attaining more strength, more wit and more beauty has ended and nature has taken back its rightful place, at the center of all existence.