Oh Shwetha..I
love you. You are such a beauty !!! I was waiting for a girl like you in my
life. You complete me.
Hmmmmmm..Oh
Rocky..Stop flirting with me. I want to whisper something in your ears.
Shwetha:
Your words make me . . . . . . Tring Tring...Tring Tring !!!
(The
number you have dialed is currently busy, please try again later)...
Oh Shwetha...
Tring
Tring...Tring Tring...
Dr.
Rocky: Oh Shwetha !!!
Dr.
Swamynathan: What freaking Shwetha? Am Dr. Swamynathan calling. You
have 10 clients to attend today but no sign of you yet. where the hell are you?
Dr.
Rocky: Shwetha darling, you said you'll whisper something sweet in my ears, but
why are you screaming, hug me tight.
Dr.
Swamynathan: What freaking hug, i'll kick your rear.
Dr.
Rocky: Oh Jesus !!! Dr. Swamynathan, I didn't realize it is you sir. Sorry
sir.
Dr. Swamynathan:
How the hell will you remember me when you were drunk to the brim and couldn't
remember me last night? Flirting with my daughter Nisha right in front of my
eyes. You were saying, Nisha; you complete me ??? What did you mean by that ?
Dr. Swamynathan: Get
your rear here soon or else you are fried-n-fired.
Dr.
Rocky: Am coming right away sir. Will be there in no time. Sorry sir.
"Oh,
Goddamn!", I couldn't hear what Shwetha had to say. I'll manage Nisha
later...Hmmmmm..
Well
Guys !!! this is exactly what happens if you have a hard-rocking party on a
Sunday night where you get drunk to the brim and then dream all fancy stuff.
"Monday
morning hangover + boss wild at you for flirting with his daughter = Terrific
day !!!!"
Ha ha
ha ha !! This is how Dr. Rocky's Monday starts. Well, most often times.
Vroooooooooom...Vroooooooooom...Beep..Beep..
Everyone
was in a hurry to reach their respective Zoo, where their ringmaster would be
ready with a whip, trying to make a man out of a moron. Rushing to the
hospital, Dr. Rocky's car driver had to maneuver through the bottleneck traffic.
The
early morning walkers, happily listening to some song, which they would do so
religiously - trying to falsely re-assure that nothing is chaotic around them.
The push-cart vendors painstakingly pushing their 3-wheeled cart loaded with
vegetables which they procured freshly from the market. Wait wait!, can’t you
hear this familiar sound - swissh, swissh..and the dust getting kicked due
to that? They are the sweepers trying to keep the streets clean. Early morning
sun beating down on the lethargy due to sleeping late in the night - dreaming
about ??!!!.
Hmmm... chirping of
birds is a rarity these days.
Dr.
Rocky, like a highly sophisticated businessman, was majestically sitting on the
back seat of the car, reading the newspaper. Well !, or still dreaming about Shwetha,
or planning how to deal with Nisha and the ringmaster.
Beep..Beeeeeepppppp...Screeeeeeeeeech...Powww..Kaboooooom
!!! Dr. Rocky's car came to a halt. The driver tried to avoid the car giving an
early morning kiss to a pedestrian. But pedestrians are pedestrians. They never
stop crossing the road - Red, green or yellow.
"More
like modified Vodafone tagline - Wherever your vehicle goes, our pedestrian
follows !!"
As
usual, a scuffle broke out and the driver had to step out to settle the matter.
Both the parties called out all their relatives to the war - Mother, Father,
sister, brother - though not literally. Ahmmm !! You know what I mean !! At
that moment, they saw this sophisticated man at the rear seat of the
car and went towards him to ask for justice. Dr. Rocky neither had time
for a scuffle nor an argument as the ringmaster was blowing hot n cold air down
his ears, constantly over the phone. Hence he thought of an amicable solution -
to either take the injured to his hospital or to pay the compensation so that
injured is well taken care of. As the pedestrian was
not grievously injured, and usually people around such scenes
instigate mostly for monetary benefits, Dr. Rocky agreed to pay up 1000.
They
all praised him for his generous act. Thousand rupees, money talks. He thought,
hopefully my boss would also cheer up if I presented him a Parker Pen...Or
rather, the boss might sign on the termination letter using the same pen. Right
!!! So why waste any money buying a Parker Pen for the boss. Instead, it would
be better to buy a small, diamond ring for his daughter which can change the
equation. At least momentarily. Ha ha ha..Brilliant...
Thinking
so, when he was about to get into the car, he felt as if someone was pulling
him by his shirt. He turned around but couldn't find anyone. Again he felt the
tug, and this time when he looked down he found a little kid tugging his shirt.
Kneeling down, he asked the kid as to why she stopped him from getting into the
car and what she wanted from him.
She was
a little kid, probably aged between 7-8 years, dressed in ragged clothes, which
had more holes than the craters on the face of the moon. She had dusky
brown skin, may be darker, smooth hairs, uncut finger nails, but surprisingly
she had a captivating and lively glow in her eyes.
Kneeling
down, he asked what she wanted from him? I am very hungry, so please give me
some money, she said in broken sentence. Hmmm..he thought, as usual,
horrible parents who do not work and let their innocent children beg for a
living in the streets. Without much delay, he handed over a rupee 100 note and
asked her to eat the best of the foods she can, when suddenly a young lady
rushed towards him.
Saar...Saar,
please give me some alms, she asked as though she is seasoned in this
profession. Must be her mother, he thought. What a pity. This is a common
site at most of the traffic signals in all most all the cities. A traffic
signal is one place where you can find opposite face of the city which
proclaims of growth, malls, multiplexes, food courts, pubs, dance bars and so
on. Unfortunately, the reality splashes right at your windscreen at a traffic
signal. Somehow, the distinct glow in the kid's eyes evoked a sense of
compassion towards her. Upon inquiring, he found that she was indeed the kid's
mother. He thought of educating the mother, but remembered the sweet words from
his boss, "Get your rear here soon or else you are fried-n-fired."
Anyways his boss will take class on "Behavior Modification," so he
felt why be part of two classes.
Reaching
over to the valet, he took out couple of hundred rupees and handed them to the
mother, but instructed her to buy descent clothes and best of the food for the
kid. Tring...Tring...
Dr.
Rocky: Hello Sir. I'll be reaching the hospital in 5 minutes sir.
Dr. Swamynathan:
You better be..Blammmmmmm...Beep..Beep..Beep..
Without
much ado, Dr. Rocky reached the hospital. Unfortunately, he could not stop by a
jewellery shop. What for??? Small, diamond ring ?? Arrey, to bribe Nisha;
boss's daughter.
All day
long, his boss went on and on like a Radio-Jockey, nonstop, chattering,
blabbering, playing old and news songs - I mean, the "Behavior
Modification" classes. Dr. Rocky; however, was only hoping that 1x1
square inch roof fell only over his boss's head.
Next
day; almost at the same time, when the doctor halted at the same signal, the
little girl came running towards his car. Without her asking anything, he
handed her a 10 rupee note. She smiled at him. Beep..Beep..The car moved on.
This
continued for couple of weeks. Destiny was brewing an important experience for
the doctor, or so it seemed.
As a
routine, when the doctor's car stopped at the signal, the girl came running
towards and he handed over a 10 rupee note. Something else had to happen today.
Though the girl took the money from his hand, there was something missing that
day. Something which was synonym of innocence; her smile.
He
rolled down the window to inquire as to why she was not looking happy on that
day. But as soon as he rolled the window down, and before he could ask, she
spoke in a muffled voice, with her head pointing towards the ground - 'I want
to go to school." Doctor asked the driver to park the car on to the side
and got down. He asked the girl to take him to her mother. She took the doctor
to the corner of the street where there was a small hut-like structure,
constructed out of bamboo sticks, wrapped with blue polythene sheet, looking
more or less like a triangle. The sheet itself was the roof and the door and
the footpath being floor. It would be max 7x7 or 7x8 feet space. Upon meeting
her mother, the doctor narrated what the little girl had just then told him and
asked her to confirm the same.
The
doctor had to pull the girl towards him and close her ears, as the mother
seemed very angry and started scolding her in filthy language. Then, when her
anger settled, she started crying and said - Saar - I want her to learn to read
and write, to be someone on her own and stand on her on feet. I want her to get
out of this viscous job of begging. Her father is a drunkard, who
does not work at all. Lying in the hut all day long and by night turns into a
wild animal, beating both of us for money to quench his never-quenchable
drinking habit.
"It’s
very sad that our government has set minimum age as the criteria for drinking.
Perhaps they should also make socio-economic status/earning status as the
criteria determining the access to alcohol."
On
further inquiry, the mother showed excitement and despair at the same time.
Excited that her daughter had the urge to become literate, but despair given
the fact that their earnings is not sufficient enough fulfill her desires. The
doctor was speechless and left the place.
All
along the day, he kept thinking as to how he could help the little girl. But
unfortunately, nothing came up in his mind. He winded up the day much too early
as he looked bewildered recollecting the state of the little girl and their
living. He called to the driver and left for home too early that day.
Upon
reaching home, the images of the little girl, her mother’s plight, their tiny
hut were doing round in front of his eyes like a ghostly images haunting him.
No room for Shwetha or Nisha was left in his mind at that moment. Probably, a
tiny bit left for his every-yelling boss.
Since
his head was working like a mixer grinder, he picked up a bottle of vodka, and
gulped down few shots.
"Alcohol
is not the answer to all questions, but if you do not get the answer, it helps
you to forget the questions..."
That
night, engrossed in deep thought, with the glass of vodka in hand, walking
around the balcony, the doctor reached the bedroom. Sometimes it happens to
many of us that we develop an unexplainable sense of emotional
attachment towards someone, even though they are less known. We feel their
pain, their happiness and certainly cannot see their misery. Dr. Rocky too
could palpate the pain of the little girl and her mother. There was
an inviolable voice from inside, tapping the doctor's heart
to facilitate the little girl help her realize her dreams and to reinforce
her future.
For a
moment, two movies were playing in front of his eyes as if on a split-screen
TV. Or so to say metaphorically. On one side, there was this black-white movie
of the little girl's life, wearing dress which was more of holes and less of
fabric, as if holes were sewed together, dusky skin, skinny appearance,
once in a while - luckily having 1 square meal per day, having to beg - come
sun or rain and with the cloud of dubiety hanging over. On the other side, a
picture-perfect multicolored movie of his nieces and nephews, who lead a
life of comfort, the parents who would reciprocate to their temper-tantrums
and go over board to meet those demands.
His
thought seemed as if a disaster zone - bridges fallen down, buildings gutted,
people crying everywhere for help, children rendered orphans, and food is hard
to come by...Hmmmm. Nothing less than a war zone.
Crashing
into bed, after having seeing the ugly side of life filled with unequal
disparity, he felt like a man newly bitten by a spider and yet to become a
Spiderman where genetic recombination of reality was about to take place. Dr.
Rocky was standing at the helm of the ship named "Fallacy," floating
in the sea of thoughts about the living condition of the little girl and her
mother. Their wretched living condition which seemed like high-tide waves. The
sea was very rough and violent that night. He and the ship were getting tossed
up and down violently by the waves. Each wave pushing him far away from the
safety of the shores of the island constituted by people who were unaware, or
so pretended to be, of the cruel side of life. Each wave tossed him towards
another harsher wave, inviting him to their abode, almost forcing him to drown.
For a moment, he felt that the mother and the child were burrowing holes into
the ship's hull, thereby forcing it to sink to the abyss. The violent sea
finally wrecked his ship and he was thrown off into the open arms of the
ever unforgiving sea of reality. He swung his arm high into the air,
trying to raise his head above the water, to breath, the stay alive. He was all
alone, totally surrounded and fighting a might enemy.
