When a child is born, he has the least of the worries in the world... still he chooses to cry. And perhaps the shrill sound is the sweet sound that spurs increased affection in the bosom of his near and dear ones. A child is above all social barriers. One can hardly find an uncompassionate soul that hesitates to help a child in crisis. Children are the true embodiment of innocence and unconditional love. When you do something for a child, what do you expect to get in return? Gratitude, maybe! And thus the source of your action remains pure love, unadulterated by the shades of reason and expectation. You might doubt the reality of my statements, but ask yourself, how many times have you actually paid an able-bodied beggar who is in his middle ages, in contrast to a small unkempt lean and young kid, seeking alms in broad daylight?
It is not your fault, neither mine, nor your neighbour's. Its just the way the world has taught us to see things. We need a reason to do something. Gone are those days when a single heart beat could spur an action, before the mind could reason about its repercussions. To a point it is perfectly rational to think with the brain and not from the heart. But too much rationale seems to wipe out compassion out of the hearts of men. And it is the sole reason behind the wide failure in human relationships, the increasing number of youth psychological disorders and suicides. There was a time when sacrifice was a strong solution to a lot of problems, but today, people find pleasure in replacing it with suicide, which happens to be the ugliest of the social sins. The world today is very selfish, and the people in it are doing exactly everything in their power to fuel it harder!
The Bajaj Tempo came to a sudden halt. I was awoken from my trance. I was dreaming.
It was very dark outside. The only light I could see was the street light shining down upon a small shade. A poster beside it said it was a restroom for passengers waiting for a bus. As the husband and wife, alighted from the tempo, I wondered if they would get a bus at this hour. I glanced at my watch.
Half-past eight, the hands showed.
"Thank you very much", the man said, with eyes filled with extreme gratitude as he grabbed my hands and shook them vigorously. "God has sent you to save our day!..."
I was at a loss of words, after the events of the evening. I gave an appealing smile. His wife made her best efforts to thank Sophie, given her delicate condition. She was probably in her second trimester, guessing from the difficulty she had in moving herself from the vehicle.
They had moved under the shade by the time the driver revved the engine and slowly moved the tempo back on the road. I stared at the smiling faces of the couple, glowing under the street lamp, till they grew too small to focus in the surrounding darkness.
As I shifted my gaze to Sophie, I could see she was already staring into my eyes.
"Thank you, Prafulla", she said, in a very soft tone, sparkling with satisfaction. "Thank you, for supporting my decision... else I would have regretted this day forever..."
I slowly took her hands into mine and spoke softly into her ears, "Thank you, Sophie dear... You saved the day!"
As I stared into her eyes longer, I could see them glittering... this time, not with excitement but with tears... tears of joy. A teardrop trickled down her cheek, as she spoke in a shaky voice, "What the hell do we idiots cry for?!"
The words kind of stung me. She was very true.
What all do we cry for? For a toy car in childhood? For a fancy dress? Or for a boyfriend or girlfriend that was not even a true friend. We youngsters cry for love... But if I ask any teenager in the present generation, what love is, I am pretty sure, its no more than something from the Lost & Found Box. I wonder if they will ever experience what love actually is! I do not claim to have mastered the art of Loving, but I can very well assure that its not confined to expressions like caring and giving or even sex!
Sophie had been passing through a very tough time. It is a phase we all pass through in adolescence. Yes, the feeling of falling in love for the first time is priceless, so is the agony of a breakup. Sophie loved the guy very much... much more than I can ever explain in words. But it was not same for the guy. He loved her... yes, or maybe he just tried to put up with her affection! Maybe he was just too intelligent to express his love or indulge in sweet romance. It seemed as if all he got was a mind, totally detached from the heart, which hardly did anything more than just pump blood to his veins. I don't know how Sophie fell for such a guy, but then love is blind... isn't it?
I could hear her heart beat out for him, and see the pain that it inflicted upon her delicate body and soul. What could I do to make her understand that what's gone was never yours, and what's really yours will never leave you? It pained me everyday as I saw her wither under the agony of her emotions. I did not know a girl more cheerful and enthusiastic than Sophie, and yet she showed no signs of cheer, even though her birthday was approaching. Yes, for her, the birthday was not just a day, but a very special day... and she loved to celebrate the entire week in merrymaking. But this time things were different. Of all the things in the world she needed to think about, she spent most of her time worrying if her ex would call her and wish her Happy Birthday! What an idiot!
Nature is the best Healer. Just the way a baby crawls into his mother's bosom and all his sorrows disappear, similarly, one should lose oneself in the bountiful folds of Nature and see all worries vanish. She soothes the soul and heals all scars from the heart, such is the glory of mother Nature.
I had to make my move.
I had heard about a place near Durgapur where Nature had laid out her glory in all forms absorbable by human soul. The lush green forests surrounding the vast bluish tract of water, ornate with picturesque hillocks painted a picture of a tranquil beauty that could consume the soul of any man, filling the heart with such joy that all worries and troubles would get washed away.
And this was the place where Sophie should be on her birthday, I had decided...
Sophie had shifted her gaze back to the world outside the window. It was dark.
The inside of the tempo was dark too, and we could hardly make out each other's faces in it. But I had no difficulty in making out her face. As I stared at her, I could see her eyes, still wet with the tears, but shinning with content. The wind played with her hair as I watched her getting lost within herself.
She had beautiful hair. As the hair scrambled across her face, she would occasionally make an effort to tuck them behind her ears, revealing the star studded earring from beneath her locks.
I had bought her the earrings from a local tribal shop at Mukutmanipur. It looked beautiful on her.
I watched her as she slowly sank in slumber.
What an awesome day it had been! Every inch of the trip was a memory in itself. And my achievement? I had made Sophie happy. I had succeeded in putting the long lost smile back on her lips. Back in the river, she laughed liked a carefree girl as the wind swept her face with the raindrops, replacing her worries with the glories of her life. At the park, she was like the deer that spread the musk all over the forest. As I watched, amazed by her stunts, I knew Sophie was back... the Sophie I have always known...
It was quite late by the time we made our way back to the bus terminus, only to find that the last bus for the day had already departed! There was no way we could spend the night there. We had to get back home somehow. As we waited hoping that something will come this way, I found Sophie was the least worried about the crisis! A good sign, I thought.
After quite sometime of waiting, a tempo happened to halt before us.
"Where to?", the driver threw the question with such air, as if he had deliberately come for us.
"Durgapur... ", I said, "Will you go?"
The driver hesitated for a moment and then he threw an offer.
"Seven hundred rupees, for the trip... there is hardly any passenger now, and this is the only vehicle you can get now... so think before you refuse."
"Seven hundred rupees, for the trip... there is hardly any passenger now, and this is the only vehicle you can get now... so think before you refuse."
His reasoning was obviously clear, but his price was a bit too high to accept in the first attempt. I tried bargaining, to get it down to five hundred bucks, but he stuck like a leech to his words.
Damsel in distress. I had no choice, but to accept it...
However, the driver went out to see if he could get any more passenger, so as to reduce the load on us.
As, Sophie and I waited in the tempo, my eyes searched the crowd, eagerly trying to spot a passenger interested in sharing the tempo with us.
Luckily, I could see a couple walking slowly towards us.
"How far will it go?", the man asked.
"To Durgapur", I said, naming my price confidently, "a hundred rupees per person..."
His heart sank.
He dug his hands into his pockets, and after a a few seconds, drew out a fifty rupees note.
"This is all we have", he said in a desolate tone. "Please let us board the vehicle... We need to go home tonight..."
The man continued, "I came for my wife's treatment, and we have no money left, not even for food, this is all I can spare... this is all I have..."
My eyes now shifted to the woman. Till now I hadn't paid much heed to her, but now I noticed that she was pregnant. She looked very weak, her eyes, as if she hadn't slept for nights. I was moved, but not enough to oblige for that fifty-rupee note.
I looked back at the man, and said in a soft tone, "See, we too don't have enough money to make the journey. And the driver will go for not a rupee less than seven-hundred bucks... So, there is little I can do to help you. I am sorry..."
I could feel the harshness of my own words. I knew perhaps I have made a wrong choice by not helping him, but something held me back from obliging him. I sat back in my seat and glanced at Sophie, who had been listening intently to our conversation.
"So, what's the deal?!", she asked.
"Its illogical to pay for them...", I said in a confused tone. "And besides we don't have the money either..."
Sophie nodded, seeming dissatisfied with my reasoning.
Still confused about my decision, I waited for the driver to return.
Outside, the man helped his wife settle down in a chair in front of the pan shop and began to look for the driver. After a few minutes, I saw the driver walk up to me.
"So, are you taking them with you?", the driver inquired in a sarcastic tone, "... for fifty rupees?"
"No, I can't", I replied hesitatingly, "...but I want you to arrange something for them. Maybe you could persuade them to pay a bit more!"
The driver gave an awkward smile and went off to talk with the man. I waited anxiously for the crisis to be settled in favour of the man. I felt bad as I saw the man fold in hand in front of the driver and begging for a ride.
Poverty, the most prevalent of all maladies... and the most agonizing...
From the look on both their faces, I could make out that the matter had been settled. I wondered what price did the man agree to pay.
It did not remain a surprise anymore when I saw the woman hand over her gold earrings to the man, reluctantly.
"It will get you about five hundred rupees...", the man claimed as he handed them over to the driver. "You pay me three hundred in return..."
The driver willingly pocketed them and handed the cash back to the man.
Finally the couple boarded the tempo.
As the woman eased herself on the seat of the vehicle, she was constantly touching her ears, feeling her earlobes... as if trying to get accustomed to the sudden void created by the unfortunate turn of recent events. There was a gloomy look in her eyes... a sadness that only she could feel... a painful look of helplessness.
It was perhaps their wedding earring, and maybe the only pair she had... and it was all gone in a matter of seconds! It was a sacrifice she had to make... for the sake of the life she carried in her womb.
It was perhaps their wedding earring, and maybe the only pair she had... and it was all gone in a matter of seconds! It was a sacrifice she had to make... for the sake of the life she carried in her womb.
A Mother... a Wife... a Woman...
I felt a pang of pain pierce my heart.
We often encounter such grave situations in movies or novels, and there I was, staring right at it... and being a part of it! The expressions of the woman were so strong that I almost went numb.
What a selfish bastard I have I become!
We often encounter such grave situations in movies or novels, and there I was, staring right at it... and being a part of it! The expressions of the woman were so strong that I almost went numb.
What a selfish bastard I have I become!
I did not know how to react. My heart and mind were, as if, in a battle, struggling hard to make a choice. I knew very well that everything going in front of my eyes was not right at all. But the dilemma overpowered me and I stared at the woman... my expressions going blank.
As the driver got into his seat, preparing to leave, I felt a sudden shake in my left arm.
Divine intervention.
As the driver got into his seat, preparing to leave, I felt a sudden shake in my left arm.
Divine intervention.
It was Sophie who made the move. I shifted my gaze and caught her looking straight into my eyes. Her eyes were now enlarged, throwing a mixture of excitement and fear at the same time.
"Tell the driver to stop right now...", Sophie declared in a confident tone. "I cannot let this happen before my eyes. I can never be happy if I sit here watching someone's sign of marriage being sold out, and do nothing! I don't want to spend my life regretting being part of this evil Prafulla..."
I just knew what to do. Sometimes when the heart and mind are too confused to make a decision, we must rely on a Divine Intervention. And today it was Sophie, saving my day!
I knocked on the driver's window and motioned him to come out. As he came to the rear window, Sophie drew out a five-hundred rupee note and handed it out to the driver.
"Give the woman her earrings back! I shall pay for the whole trip...", Sophie nearly screamed the words in excitement.
The driver came out of shock as I explained to him to give back the lady her assets. He was amazed to see such show of moral fiber! Without asking any further question, he obeyed spellbound.
At this point the man showed some objections.
How can a noble man take such a favour from a stranger!
But Sophie had magic in her voice. She made such a show of compassion that perhaps even the greatest of saints would have bowed before her. The man had nothing more to say. He silently handed back the three hundred bucks, as the driver returned the earrings to his wife.
The smile and happiness that spread over the face of the woman as she put her earrings back is hard to describe in words. It was a feeling that soothed the heart. Just the way a mother feels while nursing her baby, or a child feels while tending to his pet, it was a similar feeling of satisfaction and achievement.
A journey to remember...
I don't remember when I had dozed off as well. The plethora of thoughts, the weight of the emotions combined with the rocking motion of the tempo could make anyone lose oneself to the subconscious. I felt a hand ruffle my hair. It was Sophie.
As I sat back, upright in my seat, I heard her whisper, "We have reached, Prafulla..."
I could see the lights growing outside as we neared the city entrance. The tempo slowed down gradually and finally came to a halt in front of the City Centre. We gathered our bags and got down on the road.
I felt the cool breeze hit in the face. Being a rainy season, the air was moist and fresh.
As I paid off the driver, he uttered a few words of praise and gratitude for Sophie's actions. He felt happy to see such maturity in the actions of the young generation, who are otherwise assumed to be crazy.
"Never accept a lady's ornaments in exchange for cash...", Sophie said in an assertive tone, "even if you need to give a free ride!", she laughed.
The driver bid adieu and drove off.
As Sophie and I walked past the closed shops, I grabbed her hand. She felt so soft and warm. She looked into my eyes and smiled. None of us said a word, though we both knew what was racing down our hearts...
After all, I had succeeded in giving her a day she would never forget. She had her birthday gift, something that would stay with her lifelong. And my achievement? What more could have I wished for than to see my best friend happy again!
"Tell the driver to stop right now...", Sophie declared in a confident tone. "I cannot let this happen before my eyes. I can never be happy if I sit here watching someone's sign of marriage being sold out, and do nothing! I don't want to spend my life regretting being part of this evil Prafulla..."
I just knew what to do. Sometimes when the heart and mind are too confused to make a decision, we must rely on a Divine Intervention. And today it was Sophie, saving my day!
I knocked on the driver's window and motioned him to come out. As he came to the rear window, Sophie drew out a five-hundred rupee note and handed it out to the driver.
"Give the woman her earrings back! I shall pay for the whole trip...", Sophie nearly screamed the words in excitement.
The driver came out of shock as I explained to him to give back the lady her assets. He was amazed to see such show of moral fiber! Without asking any further question, he obeyed spellbound.
At this point the man showed some objections.
How can a noble man take such a favour from a stranger!
But Sophie had magic in her voice. She made such a show of compassion that perhaps even the greatest of saints would have bowed before her. The man had nothing more to say. He silently handed back the three hundred bucks, as the driver returned the earrings to his wife.
The smile and happiness that spread over the face of the woman as she put her earrings back is hard to describe in words. It was a feeling that soothed the heart. Just the way a mother feels while nursing her baby, or a child feels while tending to his pet, it was a similar feeling of satisfaction and achievement.
A journey to remember...
I don't remember when I had dozed off as well. The plethora of thoughts, the weight of the emotions combined with the rocking motion of the tempo could make anyone lose oneself to the subconscious. I felt a hand ruffle my hair. It was Sophie.
As I sat back, upright in my seat, I heard her whisper, "We have reached, Prafulla..."
I could see the lights growing outside as we neared the city entrance. The tempo slowed down gradually and finally came to a halt in front of the City Centre. We gathered our bags and got down on the road.
I felt the cool breeze hit in the face. Being a rainy season, the air was moist and fresh.
As I paid off the driver, he uttered a few words of praise and gratitude for Sophie's actions. He felt happy to see such maturity in the actions of the young generation, who are otherwise assumed to be crazy.
"Never accept a lady's ornaments in exchange for cash...", Sophie said in an assertive tone, "even if you need to give a free ride!", she laughed.
The driver bid adieu and drove off.
As Sophie and I walked past the closed shops, I grabbed her hand. She felt so soft and warm. She looked into my eyes and smiled. None of us said a word, though we both knew what was racing down our hearts...
After all, I had succeeded in giving her a day she would never forget. She had her birthday gift, something that would stay with her lifelong. And my achievement? What more could have I wished for than to see my best friend happy again!