THE FLOATING DIARY (Short Story Journal – 28): APARAJITA… The undefeated

This year I had the most unique experience of my life. It taught me the true meaning of being unvanquished in the face of all atrocities. It gave me power; it gave me strength to endure. Yes, I returned home with a renewed understanding of the word “APARAJITA” … The undefeated!

Autumn brings in the mammoth celebration of DURGA PUJA festival in Bengal! My friend Partho Banerjee knew that I do not prefer to be amid a lot of crowd. Thus, before the festivities began, I got a phone call from him with an invitation to visit Kolkata for a couple of days. He wanted me to meet APARAJITA. He didn’t say much and kept me wondering about his intentions. It has been a long time since we last met and thus I accepted the invitation. In my wildest imagination, I thought that perhaps he wanted me to meet his lady love! As he remained tight lipped, didn’t probe further. I took a leave from office and packed my bags for a quick vacation.

I arrived in Kolkata by an early morning flight and Partho met me with a warm welcome. The crimson hues of the autumn sun had flooded the corners of Kolkata. The mega city was all set for the biggest event of the year! The day was that of “Mahalaya”, a very special day. It is a day that pronounces the descent of Mother Durga on earth, from her abode in Kailash, to bestow her blessings on mortal earthlings. Traditionally, it marks the end of Pitru-Paksha and the beginning of Devi-Paksha, the fortnight of the Mother Goddess! First, Partho took me to his home where I was greeted with an abundance of love and warmth from his family. I had a sumptuous breakfast and was all rejuvenated with positive energy.

Partho finished his food and said, “Come Pravin, let’s go. We have a little travel before I introduce to APARAJITA.”

“Yes, let us go and meet your new girlfriend!” I replied with a chuckle. Partho smiled back dryly.

I was still in the dark about what Partho intended to do, but followed him without asking any further questions. It gave an adventurous feel and I enjoyed every moment. The air carried a mild chill and the sweet smell of autumn was everywhere. Partho drove me in his small car and the two of us headed through the streets of Kolkata, which was getting the final touches of the decorations. Time flew by and we moved out of the city and headed along the highway.

After an hour Partho told me, “Pravin, we are in Rupaligarh. This is a small town near Kolkata” he pointed towards a medium sized house, girdled inside a brick-wall boundary and said, “that is our destination…”

The car went inside and both of us got out. My initial observation told me that it was perhaps a school or a crèche. Within the boundary wall was a large plot with a beautiful garden and a three-storied house in the center. We walked past a few men and women who were busy working inside the garden. They smiled at us as we passed. I didn’t know why, but I had a weird feeling from the look on their faces. Partho seemed to know everything about the place. He escorted me straight inside the house and as we got in everything became crystal clear!

Inside the large hall were about fifty children. Yet, they were not ordinary kids. They were special. Aged between five and fifteen, perhaps, these kids brought tears to my eyes. However, that was not the end. The people who were caring for these little angels were special too! I understood that I was standing amid a mini LGBT community! I look at Partho with a lot of questions in my eyes.

Partho was waiting for the moment. He softly spoke, “Welcome to APARAJITA, the undefeated community! Pravin, this organization is APARAJITA and I am a member here. We are a group of LGBT who have come together to form this NGO. We take care of children, special ones who are suffering from terminal diseases like cerebral palsy or autism, but whose parents do not have the financial means to support their treatment. The members of APARAJITA are professionally well-established in their respective professional careers and we fund this organization with our own money. The one thread that binds us together is that we all belong to what the world has labelled as the LGBT community!”

I was speechless. Only tears rolled down from my eyes. One by one a few members gathered around us. Partho introduced them to me, “Pravin this is Vikram, he is lawyer. This is Suhana, she is an author. That is Chumki…”

I shook hands with everybody and was in a halo of what I was seeing. Finally, Partho introduced, “And this is Chameli, the senior-most member of APARAJITA.”

Chameli spoke in a husky yet composed voice, “Many in this world despise the way we are. Yet, we are children of the same Almighty. Today, is Mahalaya, the beginning of the fortnight of the Mother Goddess, Maa Durga. Just like every other person, we are also children of the Mother! The Mother doesn’t discriminate. Thus we are all born equal. We created APARAJITA, as an initiative to bring together the so called LGBT folks, a label that the world has given us. However, like everybody we are humans and have the same blood and the same warmth in our hearts…”

Partho added, “Today the world no longer shuns us. However, a lot of awareness and acceptance is still needed and we would work towards that. There are many uneducated people who still despises the LGBT and the mentally challenged community and that is the reason we have formed APARAJITA, to remain undefeated against all odds!”

We spoke for about an hour and I could only utter, “I salute you guys! APARAJITA is truly undefeated! It not only fights and strives towards your cause, it has given me a lesson too. I will return home much stronger to fight my terminal amnesia with an invigorated energy!”

Chumki came forward and tied a friendship band on my hand and said, “We are all equal in the eyes of Durga Maa… May this fortnight of the Mother Goddess unite us all across the world!”

****

As I sit inside my bedroom and write this journal tonight, my mind floats away to the remote town of Rupaligarh, to APARAJITA and to each member of the organization and I pray to the almighty that world becomes a beautiful place for everyone to live in harmony.

THE FLOATING DIARY (Short Story Journal – 27): FIREFLY

Beautiful as they are, glittering across in the darkness, like stars embedded in the colossal vastness of the night sky. Indeed, the FIREFLY is a magnificent and beautiful creature. A reflection of aspirations to reach the stars! Most of my journal entries had been records of my past learning, but there are many incidents that are worth remembering too. Today’s story is about one such incident that I think is pertinent and worth cherishing.

Today, I attended my high-school reunion. It has been almost twelve years, ever since I left school! Due to the nature of my profession I had lost touch with most of my friends. Moreover, due the cosmopolitan lifestyle of modern India, many of my bosom friends in school had dispersed across the breath of this country for prosperous career options. As a result, in all these twelve years, we had hardly met.

As I entered the auditorium of our school building, a nostalgia filled my senses. My heart palpitated with excitement. There was a hope to meet my buddies after such a long time. Evening had drawn its curtain across the horizon and a glistening marquee was slowly revealing its cloudless canvas. I went inside the hall and sat in my designated seat. I was one of the very first alumni guests to enter the venue. Presently, one by one, everybody came. First came Suresh, then Amit, then Roshan and Rahul. They were followed by Anees, Bipin and Rohit. Finally, came Richard and Simon. I was the tenth member of this so called “Illuminati” of our batch.

The meeting and greeting was an excellent session. We were meeting each other after more than a decade! Anees is a businessman now, Rohit a doctor, Richard is a musician, Simon an actor, Suresh is a CA, Amit an engineer, Roshan is a restaurateur, Rahul is a real-estate developer and Bipin is a schoolteacher. I wondered, how we all have matured over the years. The hairlines on our heads have receded while we have become wiser! In school, we were a group of mischievous kids who were always up to some pranks. Together, we laughed heartily as we remembered several incidents from the past. The flashes of those fond memories zoomed passed our eyes like those of a movie! Indeed, those were the days of fun and frolic. As we chatted, the thin sheet of ice that had developed between up, over the years, broke unknowingly. We were no more grown up individuals, matured in their own professional fields. We again became small kids, sitting on wooden benches inside our classroom, with eyes full of aspirations and hearts full of fun and mischief.

The initial hour was more of a cacophony as the old boys cracked jokes and socialized with each other over cups of coffee and plateful of snacks. There were alumni from every year of the past two decades and it was really interesting to see these overgrown men becoming little kids once again! We met the old teachers and life left soaked in nostalgia and I wished those years remained frozen in time. This was followed by an hour-long performance of the current students. I bet, everybody enjoyed the session a lot. Finally, it was dinner time. The dinner buffet was spread inside the main hall-room and everybody headed there.

After dinner, Suresh suggested, “Guys, this evening will not be complete unless we visit our famous meeting spot. I hope it still exists. I wanted to go there for the last ten years! I don’t want to miss this opportunity!”

“Yes our prized haunt is a place that we must visit before we disperse today!” said Bipin with an air of seriousness mixed with mischief. The others chuckled on observing his funny expression.

Rohit added, “Dinner is over. The night is dark! Let us head for this final adventure now!”

The ten of us went out. There was a small wood behind our school. It existed to this day. Within the wood, at a small distance from our school was a low mound. We used to gather at this mound every evening, after school, and played. Many of our mischievous rendezvous were planned at this place. As we reached the mound, the cloudless night was dazzling with the glitter of the stars! All of us sat down on the grass and stared at this beautiful scene. Among the woods, the fireflies were dancing in the wind. There was a beautiful contrast of the glitter of the fireflies and the dazzling stars in the endless sky.

Roshan said, “What a beautiful scene. This looks so ethereal.”

Everybody spoke about the ups and downs of their lives. We discussed about our struggles, failures, mistakes and successes. It had been a rollercoaster journey for everybody. I couldn’t hold myself. I revealed about my impending amnesia to my friends. A melancholy grasped the mood and everybody became quiet. I tried to lighten the moment and said, “I am happy that I have found back my buddies!”

Bipin had always been of philosophical bent of mind. He sighed with a smile and said, “Look at those fireflies. The glitter like the stars in the night sky. Perhaps they are trying to be the eternal celestial icons. Yet, they do not know that mortality is their fate. They might strive to become stars, but can never be so. Such is life…”

Amit said, “Very true. We all are like the firefly. Glittering in the darkness, trying to become stars in our own horizons!”

Anees added, “We might be like the fireflies but we are all making a difference in this wide world, in our own way. We are special to our loved ones. That makes life worth living. We might not become stars, but we are the enthralling fireflies that lighten up the lives of our families. Mortality is inevitable, but we do make a mark!”

I commented, “I agree. We, the fireflies have tried to fulfil our dreams and aspirations, and we have done well. Just like the firefly tries to become a star, perhaps, we have all twinkled in our own beautiful worlds!”

The mood became smoother and a smile floated amid our hearts. The reunion was at last complete under the canopy of the night sky, inside the woods adjacent to our beloved school.

As I write my diary today, I feel a content and happiness whose reason I don’t want to find. I know I am happy and that is more than enough for me. We humans, are all like a FIREFLY, emitting our magical glows. We are individuals, we are unique and we all make our marks. We might not be eternal stars but our enchanted presence makes life worth living.

THE FLOATING DIARY (Short Story Journal – 26): AUTO RICKSHAW

There are times when we don’t want any lessons from life. The essence of life is hidden in the happiness of this beautiful journey that we all traverse. A beauty lies in experiencing this journey and being happy about it!

Today morning, I attended a meeting organized by one of the partner companies of my employer. Their office is located within a business park in Powai. After the meeting, I came out from the office and stood outside the main gate of the business park. It was five-thirty in the afternoon and I decided to return home a bit early. At that hour of the day, the locality was pretty sparsely populated and a public transport option was rarely visible. I decided to walk along the footpath, hoping to find a taxi.

Presently, as I turned around a corner, I saw a lone auto rickshaw standing under a tree. The yellow-black colored vehicle stood and reflected its bright color as a striking contrast to the concrete buildings within the business park and its outskirts. As I approached it, the head of a man popped out from within the auto rickshaw. The man’s face revealed an energetic manifestation mixed with an enthusiastic expression that drew me like a magnet.

“Good afternoon!” said the man. “If you are looking for a ride, my rickshaw and I are at your service!”

I could not hold my smile on seeing his little skit. I replied, “Yes, I am looking for a ride to return home. Would you take me to the Chakala Metro Station in Andheri East?”

“Please hop inside sir!”, replied the young man, “My name is Ganpatlal. You can call me Ganpat…”

I felt amused as I looked around the interior of the auto rickshaw. Half of the interior was adorned with pictures of deities from almost all religions practiced in India. Whereas, the remaining half was decorated with posters of famous Bollywood celebrities!

“I must say, the interior of your auto rickshaw is quite fascinating!” I said, to begin a conversation.

Ganpat turned his head slightly and said, “Sir, this auto rickshaw is my whole world! The interior is a reflection of my own heart and soul and reflects the colors of my own personality.”

A cool breeze was blowing and gave me a soothing relief. I continued to listen to Ganpat as he spoke in his laidback lyrical tone, “Sir, I was orphaned at a very young age and was brought up by my step parents. However, even they abandoned me when I was fifteen years old. For a few years I was lost in agony but then I decided to find my own way. I borrowed some money and bought this auto rickshaw! Five years have passed ever since that time and I have made this auto rickshaw my best buddy!”

I smiled as I listened to Ganpat. He continued, “Every day I help hundreds of people commute to different places. However, I make sure that they all remember me forever! I was born an orphan and abandoned as an orphan, but my work would engrave my name in everybody’s heart! Sir, in every street of Powai, you can find at least one person who is a regular customer of mine. They vary from little school-children to office goers to retired senior citizens commuting to the bazaar. They all know me by my name… Ganpat! I do not belong to any religion, so I respect all of them.

“Half of my auto rickshaw’s interiors are decorated with their pictures. I feel they all bless me and my passengers!” he added, “The other half is full of posters of Bollywood stars whom I admire because their movies take me on a magical dreamy journey where I can be anybody! When I finish watching a movie, I feel as if I am the protagonist! I come out of the movie theatre with my mind full of beautiful stories where I am the HERO!”

“Your lifestyle is really impressive Ganpat!” I added in reply.

Ganpat replied, “Sir, my auto rickshaw is my biggest inspiration! It has given me a life of pride and honor. The yellow-black color tells me every day that after every dark night, comes a sunny bright morning! That is the dual nature of life and this entire world! I speak relentlessly while I drive my vehicle… my passengers love this gibberish that I speak. They find it interesting!”

Ganpat kept on speaking throughout the entire journey. I could feel his words like music. There was nothing special in his personality or his words. They were simple expressions, but I loved listening to him. The weird association of Ganpat and his auto rickshaw reminded me of the lines in the famous Brook Song by Alfred Lord Tennyson…

 For men may come and men may go; But I go on for ever…

The yellow-black vehicle with its lyrical driver would vanish amid the multitude of other rickshaws roaming around this city. A passenger would perhaps forget about them within a short time. Yet, Ganpat and his auto rickshaw would continue their journey… Such is life, just like a flowing river! So many tributaries, so many brooks come and join it while it continues its eternal journey… forever!

After my ride got over I told Ganpat before he went away, “I will never forget you Ganpat! Be like this forever. I hope our paths cross again in future and I get another chance to enjoy a refreshing ride on your auto rickshaw!”

As I write my diary today, I wanted to note down about Ganpat and his auto rickshaw. There is no learning in this experience, there is no teaching also. There is a simple feel good factor that I would like to experience, every time I would read it in future! This is the beauty of life… a good feeling, a melancholy and a zeal to go on and on and on!