*Bhompu bhompu* my phone rang as it notified a new WhatsApp message. Now, what sort of a ringtone is that you'll think..... but I am well known, amongst other things, for choice of the legendariest ring tones.
'Meh, yet another happy Diwali forward' I thought, and the best part is that "the prosperous new year part" is going to be repeated again after another two months.
So I went on to give a finger print impression to unlock my phone. There goes all my education in the drain.... sirf angutha hi lagana tha to itni magajmaari kyu ki?
Open WhatsApp and there's a message from "Zurich Uncle". Who was this? I couldn't quite recollect. So I opened up the chat. The last exchange we had was way back in 2014 (that's when the JV debuted on WhatsApp)...... Actually no.... We never had a chat. Who was this Zurich Uncle????? "Think.... think"
It had so happened, that Owais and I had once gone to catch a movie at Phoenix, in the latter half of our internship, probably once the entrances season was over. And afterwards, we had headed to a Mc D. It was evening time and the coronary artery choking food's outlet was jam packed with people. We had to wait around 10-15 minutes to grab a table. And that too we had achieved by jumping onto a seat vacated by the previous customer (and future heart failure patient) even before his gluteii had bilaterally vacaed the airspace over the seat. The spoils of his war with his physical wellbeing still lay bare on the table, uncleaned unkept. But, all we wanted was a seat at that time. (PG Seat > McD seat.... in that priority, but we contended with the McD). I held onto the table as Owais went to get the order. After sometime, an elderly gentleman came around with his platter of cholesterol and everything that's bad, and politely asked us, if he could join (There was a third chair vacant on our table and nowhere else). Since he seemed polish (in manners, not in nationality), we let him seat.
Dressed in a kurta, or may be it was a Safari, he spoke in a Hindi, that was way too polite in its accent from Mumbai standards. "Are you from Lucknow?" I asked.
"No I am from Zurich." He said.
"Ah! Its in Germany no?"
"No! Its in Switzerland."
"I come to Bambai often for business. Usually I stay in Taj or other hotels. This is the first time I'm staying in Palladium. Must say, it is a nice hotel, The rooms are quite spacious. And its very cheap. Only 12500 per day."
Back then, I had no intension of taking up ophthalmology as a career. Still, after listening to that last sentence, I think I developed a transient self sealing spontaneous high flow caroticocavernous fistula..... (for the lay and non-ophthalmic folk: my eyes popped out)
"What do you do? My monthly stipend is 6500" I asked in dismay. (also with an element of a childish greed that a child who sees another child play with a fancy toy and then nags his parents ki mujhe bhi chahiye).
"I am an investment banker."
"What is that?" I asked. There's a joke that final year MBBS students crack that we felt shortchanged when we realised that ortho-pedics and pediatrics are two different subjects! I just didn't want to look uninformed so I replied, "O! OK!".
"Come to me when you have your millions." Saying so he handed me his visiting card.
That Zurich uncle had messaged me today. I was expecting "Happy Diwali", but what I got was
"Imtehaan ho gayi intezaar ki!"
*****Wish you all a very very happy Diwali and a prosperous New Year *****
