It was one of the typical June afternoons in Delhi. I stepped out of the building's compound clutching two papers, with a light heart and a blank mind. The only goal of my life has been achieved. What do I do now?
Crossing over to the other side of the road luckily found some space to sit on the wooden plank; supported on either sides by two blocks of concrete quietly picked up form the nearby construction site.
I have been a regular here for the past few years. My eyes met Karim Bhai's for a moment to let him know what I wanted. He knew all his customers; had shared all their smiles, frowns, fears and tears.
Many a plans had been made or discarded under the shade of this old plastic sheet; propped up on road by two logs, while the other side tied to the grill along the footpath.
But today there was nothing to plan about. So I just sat, a little hunched, watching him juggle between the biscuit and sugar bottles to keep his business running.
The vapours rising out of the hot tea kept on the stove had amused me since I was a kid. Looking beyond, through it, it felt as if you are being pulled away into some other time. Now all I could see through them was the hazy board in front of the institute which read "Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Hospital".
Although I still couldn't fathom as to why I was trying to evade the smile which was trying so hard to light up my face. May be I had grown so used to standing up against the odds that I just didn't seem to have any strength left to caress a smile.
Finally, I let out a deep breath, slowly eased my fists and gave the crumpled paper to Karim bhai, watching him read it out to everybody there, almost, unbelievingly.
"It will be true one day"…. I had told myself from day one, but ………. I was at a loss for words …….. Now the smile said it all …….
9 comments:
Yaar Didi, context kya hai ? First I thought that its abt u graduating from DCE. But then Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute comes up ! and whts written in tht paper ?
i know ....... all this confusion because u r associating that I to 'me' ... read it as a story about any man ... who just survived something ... which the name of the institute calls out loudly ... and those papers are the reports....
Now, i think i disclosed almost everything ... :)
@Fellow guy sitting on the wood log besides you had the tea & listened to what Karim has been reading
I've also noticed, in listening to & reading the reports, that a lot of progress has been achieved, that antibodies are being destroyed everyday. Of course, he hasn't reached the full goal yet, but the inspectors are telling us -- and they will say again on Tuesday [in their report to the ____ ], I am sure that we are within reach of our goal, and that we can do that without fear.
That is precisely my goal, my objective, my new year resolution (not to eat).
But again, the goal is common goal. A goal shared by all "four" of us. Ans it is indeed the goal of the international community as a whole.
@The post
When I talk something serious, everybody cracks into laughter. Again, when I talk something serious, pours in the giggles & laughters from nowhere, Once again when I talk something serious, they say lets not talk today, we cant believe. Better tomorrow.
This is all because today is fool's day, 1st April. I kept on saying all the important & serious matters, but this single day out of 366 days has been chosen not to believe, despite the fact that belief in self or a person or a diety or something too iternal is the only means of survival.
And finally, I convinced namu to come with me after long long time (at least more than many months). & something seriously good happened for the first time in the whole day while going through bylanes from AI to CG. One GreenpeaceIndia volunteer ventured ahead towards us with some courage & smile of hope & "Belief" that we will understand & will contribute towards the cause. His enthusiasm & hope that we will not let coastal area like Mumbai get submerged into sea due to global warming convinced us let him invite to the office next day. He showed us the only "four" forms which were filled in the whole day in the dreary summer day. His energy drenched body but full of energetic smile & hope was just appealing to everybody.
and the second time is reading this blog on the real cause amidst millions of fundu joke blogs on the occasion of fool's day.
Had to go to the washbasin to wipe out something which I had rarely shown to others except only two close close close entities.
@Blog
Amazing & classic change to the layout. But finally where I landed was "Somebody told me Green color is my lucky color" !!!! But it all changed to the colors which are classy & favourite to my eyes so that they can read without strain. (one of the many reasons for "No Comments" if you can recall)
@Blogger
Many causes, single NGO, writing SOP for only a single cause despite the fact that many more causes were running behind in my mind which the GD/PI judges would also think for your purpose is definitive but its like a small peck into the vast sky. But if you can draw a picture connecting the stars in the sky you will see that all the causes are interlinked. For that you will have to at least find your first dot on the skysheet (vis-a-vis drawing sheet) to begin with. (Papa drawing karni hai, papa will help you)
@Ol' Memories
See the smile Madam Mazumdar is bearing. Why she always come to my home to spent time with my mom & then purchase dozens of bedsheets (That Batic print, that block print, that screen print, that waxed one, that soo many varieties) manufactured in my papa's industry. When she would leave the home there were some deep sounded talks going, which I would hear just casually. Mom said she is courageous person, every 6 months she has to take a month's leave from school to go to Bombay for Chemotherapy & alternate 6 months for complete transfusion. & see she has passed more than a decade. Her body weak, soul full on energy. her long hair now soo scanty, yet life full of greenery.
& then comes the talk of one of my mom's oldest pal, Manana aunty, has passed 5 years. I think rich & capable people can still survive in India. Mrs. Jain, oh! She was a self made & daring person. The way she took care of her husband & two amazing children awesome. She even made life to think on its own brutality. But within short span of diagnosis, she left us all.
& then I talked to my doctor uncle taking all these thoughts during my summer vacations after std 8th. He said what kind of fruits & vegetables you eat? I said the ones which mummy buys for me. He pointed out these ones...I noded yes. He put in front of me another pack of fruits. Yeyeye so fresh & beautiful in color / looks. Should I take one. He said NO. & scolded jeevan (our servant) for buying these fruits. Uncle asked me which wheat crop did you get today at your home..I recalled cheerfully (because I went with mummy & she had ordered for "Sharbati" wheat from Malwa region)...this wheat is special as it is grown only in the Malwa region & also the costliest one. (Most of it is exported to so called developed countries).
Now I understood the importance of the scolding that Jeevan got & the reason why the wheat is still the costiest one.
My doctor uncle told me that genetically modified food is the real threat. In US there is surplus thick milk from thick breasts of cows injected with rBGH. There is no difference in cows breasts & a humans breasts. In third world countries & in India, GM14, GM56, Lokan, etc variants of wheat, modified to increase the crop stock, control the prices for the poor, consequently decrease the livestock in an uncontrollable manner. McDonalds, US Pizza, Modern, Haldiram, Jumboking Wada Pav & M&M are sooooo delicious. I'm loving it. (I already made resolution this year to have it in controlled way).
Fruits soo fresh but tasteless. I realised the quality of fruits that mumma brings at home only when I left home due to job. They look sooo beautiful & fresh to eyes but still soo cheaply available in More / Subhiksha / Big Bazaar / HyperCity like huge huge malls. Cheaper than the sabjiwala on street. These are genetically modified. while the one which the sabjiwala picked from the home grown fields & trees are not. (that sabjiwala manu is an exception)....All the foodmarkets local / big malls are flooded with them.
Then I looked at one corner where the some dull apples were priced five times the ones which were looking soooo fresh. I asked the vendor, he said its local brand grown in India without modification (most of which has been exported to Europe). He has imported those exported apples from European region!!!!!!!!!!
& I see 90 percent of attendance of all the so called modern, young, techsavvy future of India, working in some big IT companies into one of these shopping malls & leading a destructive lifestyle & spending their fortunes in the preparations to welcome Cancer.
Njoy the Fool's Day !!!
http://www.cqs.com/50harm.htm
http://www.reformation.org/modified-foods.html
I too confused it with your story, as in you might had tried for a Doctorship earlier ;)But your reply to Post 1 says it all.
But I would rather interpret it as the man's aim to be a doctor at the Insti rather than his surviving Cancer.. and those papers are his appointment letter.. :)
didnt get a clue of what was written unles read ur comment..so purpose was lost..ya shayad im not too evolved to understand heavy blogs:(
Leave about others...i need to hone my blog understanding skills even more. because before i went on to read this post, u had told me , its not about you and still i could only make out after reading the comments here..:)
However, i am sure this is pure gopd sing of you becoming a good story teller as well. Its easier to tell our own stories, but here you have told us story ( not based on your experience) in such an emphatic manner that it calls for a applause.
Especially, the Karim bhai part. I mean, how did u even thought of introducing this charater here, he just made this post look even more real. Thumbs Up!
thanks a ton abhishek !! :)
akhir us paper mein likha kya tha!! please let me know soon.. I may go bald scratching my head till evening!! ;-)
mark my words.. on your way to becoming a gr8 novelist..!!
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