LOVE IS IN THE AIR !

                Love-a lot has been said and done about it by others. But, here I narrate an incidence where I came closest to biting the forbidden fruit. The story goes back to February this year. Second year was over, third year had just started. The enthusiasm of the honeymoon period was still in full strength.  Almost everyone around me had bitten and tasted the forbidden fruit. Whether they continued to finish the fruit or got nauseated by it, is a different issue. But yes, everyone had flexed their arm at least once for sure. And here I was, feeling left out with not even leftover to make do with. Not that I felt the need to taste the fruit, but when the mob psychology takes charge, you can’t control yourself.

         

          Come February, come AAVISHKAAR. My street play was just over and we had stood second in the competition.  I was loitering around the food stalls. (They had overpriced everything so heavily, that I was actually looking out for something that suited my pocket, and rather than what menu they had to offer.) It was then that I glanced at her. There she stood in red, smiling. At first I only glanced and moved on. But then I don’t know why I turned around to get her a second look. She wasn’t a regular in college. I looked on carefully; I noticed that she had a really wide smile, something like mine (The one you see in the background). And I wondered who she was. I had seen her somewhere before, but couldn’t quite recollect where. Whose picture was it in that like size cut-out? None the less, I walked towards the stall. It was of some bank (I know which bank, but I will NOT name it. I do not advertise for free). There was a handwriting analyst there doing an analysis for free. FREE!!! Go for it! As he read through my sample, which was the personal information form, I thought he got a fit. I signalled to my colleagues to get a stretcher ready to take him to the EMS as he rolled his eyes upwards and started making jerky movements in the air. Then when his seizure activities subsided he made statements and predictions of things about which I anyways was aware. Just as I felt that I should get up and leave, came a prediction for which I wasn’t ready, “Love is in the air”.

          I blushed as a lot of people had assembled around us because of the gestures I had made earlier. It was embarrassing, not for me but for others, ‘LOVE IN THE AIR AROUND JAYESH VIRA.’ And I got up and left blushing for I could not have done anything else. It’s almost September now. Six months on. Nothing has happened. Perhaps the winds got blown away in March or whatever happened. That thing in the air remained so high up in the stratosphere that perhaps it has replaced some part of the ozone layer. Point being, it never settled enough for me to even feel how it smells.

          But that fellow was stating all the obvious facts, so the likelihood that he would be wrong is quiet low. Perhaps I should make an effort to decipher and snuff out the love out of the air. It has already rained heavily today (Sunday 28^th August, 2011, Colaba 35mm rains), chances are it should have settled down somewhat. So let’s snuff out the past six months.

          Over the past six months, I’ve been to an all expenses paid trip to Delhi. I’ve taken a Rs. 10,000 course for Rs. 1500. I’ve learnt a language which I had always wanted to learn, but never got an opportunity to do it. The language is called HTML. I’ve got that one more website ready on which my photo appears twice. I’ve managed to keep at least 180 people on a ransom almost daily. I’ve got to attend the legendary lecture series by a legendary orator by the name of Dr. O. P. Kapoor.  And most importantly, I’ve got the coveted job which I had been eyeing since my entry to college, that being the Editor-In-Chief of GOSUMAG.

Over the course of time, I have got the chance to come in contact with many great personalities, and felt inspired. I’ve taken my chances and succeeded. I’ve made newer friends. Reconnected with some old ones. I’ve learnt. I’ve grown as an intellectual. I have met patients, real people. I’ve seen fighters. Seen miracles. And I have understood life better and to a greater extent than all those previous years put together. Boy, am I loving it! And haven’t I been falling in love in even greater proportions with each passing day days with this field called MEDICINE! Haven’t I been lucky! It has been such a lovely time.

          Oops! I just said it.

 That drama master was indeed correct, love is in the air! Love is, when you love what you do.

THE ANONYMOUS RED ROSE

Red roses, I have learnt have been the traditional hot favourites among people who have undergone mutual heart transplants. Composers have written songs on this phenomenon. And there have been an innumerable number of such exchanges since time immemorial. But, what draws my attention, is this particular incidence of the Anonymous Red Rose.

To avoid any new controversy in my hitherto scandal striken life, I will stick to non-specific references. Long long ago, actually not really that long ago, a Red Rose reached a Rose cheeked girl, from an Anonymous admirer. So touched was she by this gesture, that the Rose cheek turned into a Red cheek. She tried hard to hide her happiness, but it just showed up like an unwanted guest. How hard she tried to keep it at bay, it would still come back in all public display. The word spread like a wild forest fire. And within no time, everyone, was talking about her. But, also stealing the spotlight, was this anonymous admirer. Since, he was anonymous, who could it be? So many a folks had tried in the past, unsuccessful attempts though, to please the Rose cheeked girl. But, finally it took an anonymous admirer to give her the blushes!

Now, there emerged two schools of thought on this. One was a set of fingers pointing to the obvious individual. And there was a debate, “He is too cowardly to do such an act” said one.

“He is too miser to pay for the rose and not take the credit”, said another.

“He is the one. I saw it on his face”, claimed the third.

“But, it could be him as well”, said the fourth pointing towards another potential candidate.

The second school of thought maintained that it was a mischief done by a miscreant to bring Miss Rose cheeks to level zero, but had misfired. They said Mr. Anonymous was one of the those, whose ego had been hurt when the Rose cheeked girl had buried their proposals six feet under and never looked back.

And so began a race among the two schools.

It became a matter of pride for the two groups, to prove themselves right. Firstly, who will get the first lead, and secondly who will be proved correct ultimately. Men were at war with each other. All daily chores were set aside, and everyone was out on the man hunt. What followed were a series of investigations, in which no suspect was left unapproachable.

When even after a suitable amount of time, no ice could be broken, the two groups started resorting to unfair means. Kidnaps, torture and even when nothing worked bribes became a common place. Men with ego clashes have no limit, and as the saying goes, “Everything is fair in Love and War. Here, it was both.”

Even those individuals (well they can't be called individuals, for they had long united with members of the fairer sex and lost their individuality) were questioned. And this led to a lot of tensions, and unsettled all those who had 'settled'. The whole period was marked by a series of break-ups of the erstwhile households over disciplinary issues. None the less, many got their individuality back!

Some civilized citizens, however felt that the situation was getting out of control and the way men were fighting like dogs, was uncalled for. Hence, they proposed that an independent investigatory team be formed, composed of individuals who are unbiased towards any of the suspects and the Red cheeked girl. The search was concluded, and only one person was found capable enough, him being Mr. J, for he was a man who was preoccupied with his own profession, to even spare a biased thought toward either party. Mr. J, however, refused to take up this employment.

With no caps now, the activities of the two groups became more intensified. Heinous crimes were on the rise. Random people were being beaten up on the counts of non-cooperation. The prime suspect received a death threat, in fact three death threats, one pushing him to refuse the allegation, the other pushing him to accept the same, and the third, “If the allegations turn out to be true, you will be dead!”

The poor fellow was in a fix. He approached Mr. J for help. From what had transpired, it was clear, that the Anonymous admirer, was anyone but suspect 1. More so, it was the person who had sent the third threat. The search therefore, shifted to find out the source of the third threat.

Suspect 2 was ruled out, because of the support package and refuge that he had provided to the Blue eyed girl, following the calamity of the investigation which had led her to emigrate away from her household.

All investigations were now back to square one. All that was left now was to determine who had sent the third threat and they would have their man. Mr. J now volunteered to take up the case. He visited the Rose cheeked girl for a final interrogation. She was deeply moved on learning about the threat issued to suspect 1. Mr. J asked her if she had a suspicion on some one. She said, there wasn't one she could think of, there were many.

Mr. J then screened all the suspect cases who were rejected by the Rose cheeked girl to exclude any false negatives in the investigation. He visited suspect 1 on an emergency basis for the last time and declared the case was closed.

(match your wits with me and tell me who do you think the anonymous admirer, and the third threatener is, before Mr. J publishes his report)