People meet strangers , have lot of walks with them, but why your strong heart collapses after listening to an emotion, though you aren’t related. This is what I thought and I think now.
Gogol , a simple yet independent guy transforms his life with an ease of simplicity and care-free life , enjoys the day of innumerable complexities with a smile sleeps a night cherishing his day full of events and purity. He takes his life as it what it comes and lives with a tag ‘Take life as it comes’. Many of us might not have the way of living as Gogol does and yet he is not special , but he feels his way of living is special and pure as he never takes anything to his heart. Gogol lives a life with a motto of passing the ball to the opponent and he believes in scoring goal with defensive tactic and he feels his way of living is successful more often than not as it gives courage to face difficulties , the most important motto for anyone’s living : courage to meet difficulties head high and with a smile.
His travel to workplace starts usually listening to the classics of Sufi singing in his brand new iPod, managing a forward window seat in the local which is what a make shift home for around couple of hours in the mornings and evenings of his life. This is the time he thinks to live and feels to enjoy the life. He always has a saying , Life is a tragedy for one who thinks and a comedy for the one who feels. He lives in these said lines making his life a practical melodrama.
On a fine day , while travelling to office in his daily routine local , the fellow passenger cum train commute-friend asked him why there was pain in his eyes, why the mood was dull and why he wasn’t sitting in the forward window seat even though it was empty…. And the answer to this is what happened a month ago…
A month ago, yeah a month … sometimes events in life doesn’t pass the test of time and lives in heart for ages or may be the time it was in his mind , the event , that made him feel it was as if ages passed… for him even disasters in personal life becomes a moment of despair and next moment becomes the time to concentrate on what is next , yeah the word means a lot to him , next. Having said that , what happened a month ago… yeah a month.
A Month Ago …
Gogol , post lunch with all symptoms of nausea post heavy lunch was sitting in front of his monitor lying on the keyboard for a quick nap , his usual practice a daily routine post which he takes his peers for a war of words in daily status calls. Suddenly a beep sound of a new mailer alarmed him from his sleep , yeah a mid-afternoon sleep , that would read about the need of blood , A- Group , yeah kind of rare group. Like all the corporate mailers it made him to shift delete swiftly , by then he would never know that shift delete is what has changed his mentality of living, of way of looking life and people around him.
Couple of days later around brunch time he planned with his team mates for a Special Lime , came down the Chamiers towers went to the nearby tea shop and ordered. He was enjoying the breathe of the King , suddenly he got a call from a unknown Landline no , notified to be from his office and picked it. It was a call from an HR manager and he asked me to report immediately to HR desk in ground floor. As everyone Gogol was worried about his deeds, his proxy swipe in , wearing informal shoes and all kind of Can be done without harm-illegal stuffs. Just he reached the HR Desk , Gogol was introduced to a Corporate level manager of the same unit as he was and the Manager led me out of the room. He introduced himself as Arvind Balakrishnan to Gogol.
A walk that I shall never forgot ….
Gogol was asked to walk to drive along with Arvind and there was a discussion with Gogol and Arvind in the Parking Lot. Arvind introduced himself as head of Gogol’s unit and he usually works from the same building and he started stating what made Gogol … a changed man.
In Arvind’s words…
I have my 8 month daughter suffering from terminal disease that would require a change of blood on weekly twice basis and that is the only way to make her extend her lifetime . Her blood group is A-ve . She was born after eight years of our marriage and we would like to do whatever we can. From the Internal site of the organization I found you have A-ve and I would request you to join the group of already existing ten odd people in regularizing this. I hope you can understand. There was a silence.
Gogol replied to Arvind with a word , tomorrow morning 10 AM.
The Next Day and the Month
After meeting Arvind the previous day he decided to help Arvind as much as possible. Gogol , organized his school friends and college friends acquaintances who possess A-ve and he made sure it reached the needed , the girl Sajda. Gogol reached office in the morning and post checking mails , he travelled to the hospital and called Arvind. They exchanged greetings and Arvind offered to make Gogol meet Sajda.
Sajda , 8 month Angel , he would describe , may be that was the only time he met her , smiling and resting the hands of her mother , Gogol rushed out and he wasn’t able to control his emotions. And Yeah Gogol was turning from an emotion less rock to a person made of heart and soul. The fate has already decided in changing the way Gogol sees the world.
He finished hxs formalities and went to Arvind and just said , ‘The day will come you shall live without fear and live without uncertainty. She will be alright’.
Gogol did talk to Latha , Mrs. Arvind on couple of occasions and Gogol realized the trauma the mother would have suffered. Their marriage was against the wish of their parents and no one from their family supported when needed.
For next couple of weeks Gogol did all , went to all kind of Blood banks , meet all kind of his known-mates made sure the twice in a week tablet never stopped. Gogol supported Arvind not financially , but the way anyone wanted , stood beside him. Every morning Arvind comes to Gogol’s place and offers him a chocolate , a practice his wife has asked. Gogol’s life and enjoyment in the weekend movies everything stopped, even for a small break he would drive to meet them in the hospital. He would engage with the doctors and other practitioners and relieve the parents. Even Gogol’s family understood that and his friends also supported him both officially and personally. That was time one could plausibly gauge the reality of people around them.
One day when Latha came to office to bring lunch for Arvind , Gogol met her , and Gogol offered her to drop back to hospital as Arvind was occupied. Gogol asked about Sajda. Latha informed what the doctors have to say. The drive back alone to office for Gogol was very pathetic. Sometime people get involved too much , they tend to look the issue as their own. May be that’s what we call as Human.
The Day which I wish to have never come.
Morning Gogol was attending a status call , His mobile beeped , never minding his status call , he attended the call from mobile , from the other side it was shattered voice of Arvind, Gogol immediately discontinued his status call and rushed to the hospital. The world came down. Sajda boarded a flight , a never returning flight to become an angel in another world. They were never shattered , the angel gave the courage to face the life when she departed. Arvind hold hands of Gogol , Gogol sat stunned .
Even today Gogol never sits in a Forward Facing Window Seat.
There might be a story like this beyond every shift delete you make. I wish there shouldn’t be. The shift delete gave me a brother a sister in law, an angel , Yeah Sajda!!! Wherever you are , your smiling face is what I have which makes me to face the life with Courage.
Don't read the last page of the novel that makes you to cometo reality... be in fiction always....
