“ALL is Well…………...” My ipod played one of the recent Hindi movie song stored in it while I was jogging today morning.
5 days earlier - on the day I was supposed to catch a train to Mangalore at night to attend wedding of my cousin - I still didn’t had breakfast even after 11 am. The train was at 8.50 PM. I’m still glued to my system even after 7.30PM trying to close the work and leave for the day. I forcefully closed the work, packed food from nearby restaurant and catched auto. “Flat 40 Rs” he told before boarding. I looked at watch, it was 8.10 PM. Flat 1 hr to deadline. I boarded the auto without saying a word.
“Hey” I said waiving my hand to one of my cousin standing near the door of the hall. I barely remember anything about yesterday after I had food in train and slept. I had successfully made it to Mangalore by catching the train amidst the entire circus. My cousin tried to reply something which I was not able to grasp. My mother shouted at me to go and have breakfast soon as it is going to get over now. I rushed towards the basement of the hall with my uncle and elder bro leading me. As soon as I sat in one of the long long tables set for serving food for guests, I was served a plate of breakfast containing traditional south Indian idly, sambar, chutney , vada and a sweet. I lifted my head to take a look around. Not many ppl were there in the hall that time. As I rotated my neck in different directions I found that I have slight headache due to journey tiredness. Thankfully the train service to Mangalore from Bangalore had just started a couple of years earlier. Train being the best option for night journey, I don’t remember when I traveled to Mangalore last time in bus.
The wedding muhurat was actually at evening 7 PM. But they were completing other traditions now in morning. My Cousin – the Bride was looking weak and dull due to fever. She was given some medicine to be able to go thru the wedding day. It looked as if a broken car has been repaired temporarily in a small country side garage to be able to drive and reach the next city where it can be repaired in big showroom. There were only few people around. Most of them our relatives. The Bridegroom was dressed in traditional silk dhoti tied in a complicated fashion.
Few years earlier – when I was still a kid – I had attended similar function with my mother in Mangalore. We had shifted to Mangalore just a year before since my father got transferred there from Mysore. I sat beside my mom in a hall packed with ppl, all of whom I had never seen till then. The reason why I didn’t know many of our not-so-close relatives is all of them were permanent citizens of Mangalore, whereas I was born and brought up in different parts of Karnataka owing to my father’s transferable Govt job. They come to my mom, ask something related to family, exchange a few words and go. Some of them cared to give a smile to me when my mother mentioned about me. Otherwise I was not counted among the huge guest presence.
“Hey you are son of Shobha rite? Your name??? Ummmm Vishwas correct?” I said Yes. “Ohh nice to see you son. Where are you now??.........” series of questions. This was in today’s wedding function where though I was sitting away from my mom, I was recognised and subjected to sort of mini- potential-bridegroom interview. As they were telling something about me, the thought I mentioned before crossed my mind putting a question mark.
I completed half a round of jogging. My legs were straining. It was quite given the fact that I jog for 4km every day. I took turn now to complete another half…..
As I turned and crossed the road holding umbrella in one hand and mom’s hand in another, a white Toyota Quallis passed by. Mangalore being coastal city witnesses heavy rainfall during rainy season every year. It was one such rainy day when I was going somewhere with my mom. I told my mom that I remember the lady sitting in front row of the car. “Yes, she is related to us like this……” I didn’t give much attention to know the blood relation that my mom explained. But I kept wondering why she didn’t notice us at that moment as she could have helped us by dropping us home.
“Vishwas…. Vishwas…..” it was that same lady shouting my name at top of her voice standing at the stage of wedding hall. I rushed to the stage. “Come to the green room, let’s take group photo”. There was chaos inside the small green room behind the stage. Everyone wanted a prominent position to stand and face the camera flash. As I struggled to find a place for myself, the thought I mentioned above crossed my mind putting another question mark.
I had completed one full round thus covering distance of 1km now. I started another round. An elderly couple sat at a bench giving out a tiring sound.
“I guess we last came to your home on may be a year back right? Sorry Shobha we hardly find time to come to your home. Though we come to chinmaya mission nearby your home every month, we won’t get sufficient time to come to your home. Please don’t mind ok, keep visiting our home whenever you get time.” One of my aunts said in one breath. She was housewife and her husband – my maternal uncle is manager in Corporation bank branch and going to retire this year end.
Exactly some 5 years ago – on a rainy day in Mangalore I was watching TV at noon after having lunch. My mom was just back from some function of one of our far relatives. I couldn’t accompany her owing to my crucial 12th STD exam preparation. Suddenly somebody knocked the door. As my mom went to open the door, I looked out of the balcony window. It was still raining and the clouds were so dark that one will fear whether there will be cloudburst now. I went back to hall. “Finally I made it Shobha. Every time I come to Mangalore I would hear some or the other person saying that you shifted here last year as your husband got transferred from Mysore. So each time I plan to come but used to cancel at last moment due to some stupid reason. This time also driver told it might rain heavily, but I ignored him. And you know what; it was not difficult to come to your bldg in rain. But after reaching, I read in the board below that your flat is in 3rd floor and there is not lift!! Just last year only my leg joint got operated for arthritis you know. But now I’m ok. I can slowly climb up the stairs. So managed to come.” She laughed for a while before coming to halt. It was so nice to hear her talking. She was talking very slowly owing to her age. A person close to the door in opposite flat could hear her breathing; she was tired to that extent climbing up the stairs. She was the owner of a very big enterprise in Mysore and their annual turnover was close to some crores. She was my mom’s aunt and loved my mom very much. I guess it was some one hour since she came to our house. As the discussion progressed, she mentioned “see Shobha, you might have so much of money today. But unless you have people whom you can rely upon, think that they can help you any moment you need, life is waste. If you think it is not possible it really becomes impossible. If you say you don’t have time, you would never get time” I was mutely watching her say the golden words of wisdom unaware that it will get etched in my mind even after years.
Today in the wedding hall, after my Aunt completed saying in one breath about her difficulty in finding time, this flashback crossed my mind. I wondered if some people manage to get more than 24 hrs a day.
I hate to carry mobile when I go for jogging. I absolutely hate the distraction it will cause. A guy walking in front of me went for his mobile in pocket and started talking when it started ringing – playing some old Hindi song.
“Hey what ya, why you people wanna disturb me.” One of my cousins yelled at his sister for disturbing him while he was talking on mobile. She wanted to call him to the mantap since he being the cousin brother to the bride, had to complete some tradition. He was just into 9th STD now and was glued to mobile all the time I saw him in the hall.
I still remember the day when we were in Bellary. I was in 8th STD then. It was 1 year since we moved to Bellary after my dad got transferred there. That day the guy from BSNL – the state owned Telephone service provider – came to our home to install the Landline. It was for the first time that we were getting the landline connection. Till then, my mother used to go to neighbor’s home for receiving the call from her blood relatives. And for making the calls she used to go to near by booth once in a week. Naturally the guy was treated like a celebrity till he completed the formalities of installation. We were so excited looking at the set and how it rang etc. We joined the esteemed group of a few million people in India owning a landline connection then!! For a few days, it was treated like a GOD. I always fascinated taking up the receiver, making action of dialing the number in air, talking something like the film stars etc. When I saw this cousin of mine so busy in mobile, this thought just came to my mind.
“Hey lets take a family snap. Lets all stand with the newly married couple please. Children will sit on floor. Their parents behind them, grandparent in 2nd line…” said the Quallis lady I referred above. “Hey, ya nice idea! I don’t get time otherwise to meet every one. Let’s take a snap for memory atleast…” said my time starved aunt. “Ma, I will kill your daughter. She is disturbing me too much whenever I am on mobile talking to friends” said my ever-busy-CEO-in-make cousin. “Looking very cute Nikitha. What are you doing these days?” said my multi-millionaire-yet- down to earth aunt as she sat on the chair. The photographer adjusted our group so that everyone comes under the lens vision and Clicked Lens. A characteristic sound of the camera came followed by the
F-L-A-S-H.
A Flash made me also faint now in the park. Before I could really fall on ground and block the human traffic; I realized the need of the hour. My stomach was urging me to stop going round the park and take care of its need now. I made the exit from the nearest gate and soon reached the kitchen of my house.
