Chapter 1

It took some time for Vel to realize what has happened. Without understanding the good wishes of the other person, he had turned down a good opportunity that would have made his life a successful one.

Vel could not take his eyes away from the middle leaf of the morning newspaper. It talked about the precious opportunity that made a person famous. The hitch here is that Vel missed that opportunity and it has gone to the other person.

He felt embarrassed to think how he missed a wonderful opportunity that came to him even without asking for it. Whenever Vel took things emotionally and reacted on an impulse, his friend Vinay have always asked him to be patient.

Even if it is a small thing, Vel always looked narrow and took every thing personally. This attitude made him shrink inside and took time to be normal once again. After marriage, Dora also found out this and she always advised him not to react like that. Yet, he found difficult to control and think with reason.

It happened right after one year from the marriage to Dora. Their son was only three months old and every day looked brighter and brighter with the arrival of their cute little baby son. Vel felt more happy now-a-days and he understood how babies can make a person’s life happy and cheerful always.

Vel wanted to name his son the name of his father. Dora agreed with him and she let him have his choice of name. Vel’s mother looked after their son, when both of them went for work. Things went on smoothly, until the time came, when Vel read about the news in the newspaper and realized about his missed opportunity.

Vel called Dora and told her how he had missed an opportunity. Dora also felt bad and asked him what the need for him to react like that. After pondering much on this, Vel started to feel that it must be the deep lying male ego in his mind. Probably, that may be the reason why Indian males react so much to a female at all situation and wanted them to be always under their limits and did not want them to move forward and achieve something great.

The reason is once again the mothers in the Indian society, who right from the beginning give the maximum freedom to their sons and help them to grow along with the male ego. The beauty of this situation is that they never realized how it can affect their lives after they grow into a man and enter adulthood.When they move into the next level of setting up a family, these men treat women with scorn. Unknowingly, they start to treat their wives like slaves to them and want to get things done according to their whims and fancies. Though Vel does not fit into this any more, he still had some lighter traits of those qualities. Just like a devil, these traits come up to the surface once in a while and spoiled every thing around him.

Vel slowly started to forget all these things, and he became deeply involved in his routine life. One day when he went to the office, the Time Keeper handed over to him a well packed parcel, with his name boldly written on it. Vel wanted to open the parcel and check what is inside the parcel. Without much interest, he kept the parcel in his cabinet in the cloak room. He decided he will check after his shift hours and he does not want to get disturbed by anything during his duty time.

From the handwriting he could not tell who has sent it. Vel can see only the ‘To’ address in the front cover. Probably, the sender must have written the ‘From’ address at the back side of the cover. Wondering who must have sent it to him, he locked the cloak room and walked toward the bus depot.

More than fifteen days passed. Vel totally forgot about the parcel in the cloak room. One day at night while he woke up suddenly from his deep sleep, he remembered about the parcel. He cannot go to the bus depot at that hour, and promised himself not to forget the next day. Yet, he did not remember on that day about the parcel.

Two days later when he saw someone carrying a big parcel to a vehicle at the side of the road, Vel remembered about the parcel. After completing all the winding up chores at the office, he rushed to the cloak room. He opened the cabinet and took out the parcel. He did not have the patience to wait till he reached home. He tore open the parcel at the cloak room itself. To his surprise he found a beautiful golden color wrist watch packed inside as a gift.

Vel quite surprised with the gift, checked from where the gift came. He could not make out anything from the name as it looked scribbled and he could not understand the name. But he could make it out that the gift posted at a post office from Adyar. Vel did not know anyone from that area as most of his friends lived in the area in which he lived. ‘It is a gift for the help you have done.’ He can read only these words and could not understand anything out of it.

Whole of the next week left Vel wondering who has sent the watch to him. He has no friends to gift him with such a wonderful watch. He has not participated in any competition to win a prize like that also. When Dora asked Vel about the watch, he told her the truth. She also could not find out the person who has sent the watch to him.

Vel wanted to wear the watch. But at the same time, he did not want to wear it without knowing who has sent it to him. The watch has an inbuilt alarm within it which sang a beautiful tune every hour. Dora liked the watch very much and so she asked him to wear it and go for work. Vel told her that he will wear it the next day and went for work.

After three chartered trips to the nearby college, the time keeper asked him to go in another bus. The bus became too crowded within 20 minutes. As the earlier bus suddenly broke down, the stranded passengers thronged the bus and even he could not find a place to stand. In the crowd suddenly he heard the same tune that his watch played. Vel listened for a while and looked for the person who wore that watch. In the crowd, he can see only heads and shoulders and he could not see the wrists of the people.

Vel decided to check when some of the crowd cleared the bus. But the person who wore the watch has got down along with the crowd. After the floor of the bus became little free with a few passengers, Vel frantically searched for the person, but he could not find.

 

Disappointed he sat down in his seat and started to fill down the trip sheet. Though he felt intrigued by the tune of the watch, he had some hope to find out who it must be.

Chapter 2

 

Giggling youngsters thronged the floor of the bus. The school has reopened after Christmas and New Year holidays, and teen aged girls and boys overcrowded buses. School kids with their heavy bags with books literally squeezed into the little space and made the fellow passengers murmur with discomfort. The floor of the bus came alive with their giggles and laughter and sometimes such noise made others to complain about headaches. These youngsters not worried about anything in the world, laughed and enjoyed their travel even if it is for shorter distance.

Vel frowned at the sight of these giggling youngsters. Until they got down from the bus, they made him have a splitting headache. Particularly on that day, something or other irritated him and his tongue slashed at the passengers who provoked him to get angry. To heighten his already irritated mood, he heard the tune that has been haunting him even during his sleep for the past two days.

Even in that bustling crowd, he could make it out that the sound came from the front side, but could not spot the person. Unusual crowd blocked his way, and prevented him to move to the front. People passed on the money for the tickets and it forced him to sit at his place.

After two stops, the bus stopped at a main bus stand. The unusual crowd of the day dispersed with a hurry. As usual, the ticket checking squad waited there and they started to check the passengers who got down from the bus. One of the members of the squad who got into the bus caught hold of a young girl with a phone on one hand and a ten rupee note tucked on the other hand. Busy over the phone, and with the money in one hand, she forgot to get the ticket. The squad member asked her to get down from the bus.

The girl started to shout at Vel. “It is your responsibility to give me the ticket. You can’t blame me. Why should I pay the fine?” In another two minutes, the bus echoed with their heated words. The crowd curiously listened to the word duel, and one group supported the girl and the other supported Vel. To make things easy, the squad member asked the girl to get down from the bus and pay the fine. He made her got down the bus with his stern order and whistled to the driver to start the bus.

Vel felt quite embarrassed for a moment. The whole conversation that went around the bus targeted on him and he always hated such moments during his duty hours. Working with the crowd is always tedious. Sometimes it may look interesting and challenging, but most of the time it is really difficult to handle the impatient crowd in the bus. Every one has their own problem and every problem erupted in a different way.

People who are always at the brink of emotional outburst easily picked up the quarrel and made him feel irritated and deprived of all the energy for a while. Yet, something interesting always happened in his life to get him move on.

The parcel he received had been always at the back of his mind, and he desperately wanted to know who sent it to him.

Chapter 3

That day was a tiring one. The last trip ended around 10:30 pm. Before winding up for the day, Vel once again checked the whole bus for any articles that were left in the bus. Those lost articles will be handed over to the administrative officer. People who lost their articles collected them from the office after submitting a request letter. While getting down the bus something got his attention.

Under the last seat in a corner something glistened. To his pleasant surprise it turned to be a watch. The watch looked exactly like the one he received in the parcel. He gazed at the watch and stood thinking for a while.

‘Come on, it is getting late.’ His colleague called him. Engrossed in deeper thoughts, Vel followed him to the office. It took more than thirty minutes to hand over everything at the counter. The clock showed 11 pm, when he came out of the office.

Unusually, he felt very tired on that day and wanted to go home as quick as possible.

Vel started to walk on the long stretch of road that took him home. Except roaming stray dogs, the road looked empty. Usually, he enjoyed walking alone on that stretch of road. Whether it is a full moon night or a new moon night, he enjoyed his late night walk. But on that day he wanted to go home as soon as possible.

He reached home within five minutes. After taking a refreshing bath in the cold water, he stretched himself reclining on the wall. He loved to sit like that after a tiring day. Dora brought in the plate with the food served. Placing the plate in front of him, Dora sat near him. With the right hand in the plate, his left hand entwined Dora fondly with love.

‘So, what is the news today?’ Dora started the conversation with a casual tone.

‘Hmm,’ without answering her question in detail, Vel finished his dinner quickly. Still, his mind was not at rest and he felt a sort of restlessness within him. Washing his hand in the plate itself, he lied down on the floor. Dora helped him to rest his head on a pillow, but he pushed it away and rested his head on Dora’s lap.

“Hmm, it is heaven” Vel whispered with much love without looking at Dora. The warmth the saree with its creases made him feel relaxed and comfortable. Nothing is equal to this warmth and nearness of love. Understanding his longing for some comfort, Dora fondly caressed the curls of hair that touched his forehead.

Her face beamed with pride for a moment, how he looks so handsome, am I not lucky to have him as my husband. Dora’s touch relieved his restlessness immediately, and he went to deep sleep within minutes.

Chapter 4

 
The vibrant love songs of Koel birds woke up Vel in the morning. The male bird first sang the powerful note of his love song. The female bird from another corner replied it with its shrill note of love song and it sounded like a love duet. His eyes searched for Dora.

 

From the sounds coming from the kitchen, he could make it out. Dora was busy cleaning cooking vessels at the kitchen sink. He walked stealthily and hugged her from behind. Dora stopped cleaning the vessels, but did not tell anything to him.

The strong perfumes of freshly worn jasmine flowers engulfed his nostrils and made him feel so passionate in that hot morning. Landing a passionate kiss on her neck, Vel's hands locked her in a tight embrace, which made Dora struggle for breath for a while.

 

Vel usually enjoyed mornings like this for that helped him to be cheerful the whole day. Before Dora started to complain of breathlessness, he loosened his grip. With the same vibrant mood, he went to brush his teeth and to take his bath.

Vel forgot everything once he got into his routine work. Yet, the incident that happened in the next thirty minutes pulled him back into his grim mood.

The crowded bus entered the main road congested with morning traffic. Morning hours always created the maximum chaos everywhere. Whether it is inside the bus or outside, it made people to act crazily and show they are pissed off to the maximum.

 

The bus smelt of sweat and everyone wished they reached their destination as soon as possible. The impatient crowd at the bus stops always occupied half of the road. They never bothered to wait under the bus shelter. Even if a traffic constable stood there to control them, their irresponsible behavior created not only inconvenience but made the place a mess. The same thing happened on that day also.

The driver slowed down the bus near the stop. Yet, he could not control the impatient crowd that came running toward the bus which struggled to get inside at the same time. This resulted in one more mishap. The left front of the bus hit a passenger who stood half way in the road. Though it was not the fault of the driver the whole crowd now turned against him.

 

Luckily, the person was not badly hurt. The shock made him unconscious and everyone started to shout at Vel and the driver. The bus got empty in a few minutes and the traffic constable asked both the driver and Vel to come to the nearby police station and report.

Vel could not believe whatever that happened to him in the next few hours. He looked wearily at the Memo issued by his office, which told him that he and the driver of the bus were suspended for one week from work.

Chapter 5

 Vel reached home as usual. He did not want to share the news with Dora and make her feel upset. Without talking much he had his dinner and went to sleep. Dora did not suspect anything unusual and thought he was tired after the tiring trips in the bus.

The next day morning he started for work as usual. Ignoring his mother’s puzzled look, Vel left his house in casuals. When he reached the depot, everyone started to question him the reason for suspension. After sometime, he got bored answering the same question again and again. He did not object to the disciplinary action against him, but replied the Memo stating his reasons also. For no fault of him, he did not want to accept the Memo as it is.

To avoid his colleagues, he moved out of the bus terminus and entered the nearby tea stall to have a cup of tea. The man at the tea stall was quite surprised to see him there at that time.

‘Hello, Vel, what you are here at this time?’

‘Nothing, to-day is off for me.’

‘I know you have off only on Wednesdays. But to-day is Monday.’

Vel got irritated. After a sip of tea, he gave a stern look. ‘Mind your business.’

‘Ok.’ Vel sat down in the chair there and started to read the head lines in the newspaper.

‘Excuse me, can you please tell me where this address is?’ Vel lifted his head from the newspaper and looked at the girl.

Vel’s eyes glanced at the address written on the newspaper. He was quite shocked to see his address on the piece of paper.

‘Whom do you want to see?’

‘Tell me where this address is. I don’t want to tell you the reason.’

‘Oh. Then, I will not tell you.’ Vel started to read the newspaper again.

The young girl showed the address to the tea vendor and asked him again. The man chuckled loudly. ‘Vel, she is asking where your house is? Shall I tell her?’

With an embarrassing smile, the girl looked at Vel.

‘Sorry, Sir, I want to meet your wife, Dora.’

‘It is ok. But she has left for her work. She is not at home now.’

The girl stood there without answering his question.

‘If you don’t mind you can tell me why you want to meet her?’

‘I got your address through my friend. When can I meet her?

‘Will you mind to tell me the reason?’

‘I want to meet her for a project.’

‘Oh, you can meet her if you can come in the evening.’ Answering her with an indifferent look, Vel once again started to read the newspaper.

The girl moved away from the place without stretching her conversation any further. She felt snubbed and was not happy with the way Vel answered to her. She started to doubt if she can interact with Dora without much interference from Vel. She shrugged her shoulders with a jerk.

 

How will Vel react when he comes to know that she only sent the watch to him?

Chapter 6

Evening started to set in. The bus terminus had an eerie look. Vel never got the opportunity to see the state of the place where he worked. All the time he travelled in the bus and even the traffic chaos in the roads seemed nothing to him.

 

Vel got so used to that and he felt, he would be depressed if he missed the chaotic bustle of the Chennai roads.

Even with the lights on, darkness started to engulf the place slowly. He looked around the place casually. He could see passengers restlessly waiting for their buses. Not even a single soul with a happy face. Moving around with people everyday had taught him to read people’s mind by looking at their faces.

Every day after duty hours, Vel always rushed to be with his family. But, to-day things were different. He felt heaviness in his heart and wanted to be alone. To avoid familiar faces in the terminus, Vel moved to a dark corner and sat down on an empty stone bench. With hundreds of thoughts going in his mind, he looked around.

Vel’s aimless look stopped suddenly. A shudder went through his spine when he heard the same tune from a mobile in the crowd. He walked briskly through the crowd searching for the person who had played that tune in the mobile. But, within seconds, the tune stopped.

“Vel, what happened?” One of his colleagues shouted at him.

But Vel did not hear anything. The tune disturbed him much and he went around the bus station again and again. After 10 minutes of frantic search, he once again came to the stone bench.

Reclining on the stone pillar, he closed his eyes for a while. Letting his breath to slow down, Vel tried to feel calm. Yet, his nerves throbbed with anxiety, and he could feel the fast beating of his heart.

For more than a week, the tune has been disturbing him and he desperately wanted to find out who had sent the watch to him.

Chapter 7

 ‘Mind your business,’ Vel repeated the words once again.

Dora’s eyes looked into his eyes. Her gaze searched something deep in his eyes. Vel closed his eyes for a second.

‘What do you think about me?’ Vel looked at Dora.

‘You didn’t tell me about your suspension.’

‘I thought I will tell you later. Just leave me alone.’ Uttering the words loudly, Vel entered the bathroom. He splashed the cold water on his face to let his emotion down. Usually, Dora never contradicted with Vel when he is in a bad mood. Without uttering a word, she started to serve his food and called him to have his supper.

Around 11 p.m., someone started to bang the door. Without sleep Vel had been rolling on the bed. Awaken by the loud bang, he went and opened the door. Some of his colleagues were standing there and they looked agitated. Worried look on their faces told him that something was wrong.

‘Lock the door.’ Vel left the house along with the colleagues. Vel along with his colleagues reached the bus depot. A huge crowd gathered near the gate. Vel could hear heated arguments with filthy language that filled the night air.

‘What’s going on here?’ Vel pushed his way through and entered the centre of the crowd.

‘Vel, listen to this. This guy only picked up the quarrel. And now he’s blaming me.’

‘Tell me in detail what happened.’ Vel’s colleague started to narrate the whole incident once again. But before he finished narrating the story, someone grabbed Vel’s shirt collar and hit him badly on his face. This triggered Vel’s anger and as a natural instinct he started to hit back the person with all his strength.

It turned out to be a let out for his disturbed mind and so he pushed ahead with unknown strength of vengeance and landed endless hits on the people before him.

When the ambulance reached the place, Vel was already unconscious and one of his colleagues lifted him by his shoulder and helped him to lie down on the trolley. When the person who came along with the ambulance pushed the trolley into the van, all the others who were in the crowd were taken away by the police.

The next day Vel woke up from his sleep in the emergency room. Except some nurses no one was there in the room. Vel looked around to see who all were there. He could find two of his colleagues near his bed with oxygen masks. Vel looked at his stretched left hand connected to the IV tube and he felt a swelling on his lips.

Vel could not move his legs and he felt a shooting pain on the calve muscles of his left leg. Vel could see Dora peeping through the small glass window on the door of the emergency room. With a sigh he looked at her. But he could not call her as he once again became unconscious.

End Chapter

After ten days, Vel walked limping out of the GH. Dora wanted to shift him to the nearby nursing home. But, the police insisted that he stayed there as the case had turned out to be a violent one. Staying at the general hospital opened his eyes to the other side of life. He was shocked to see the dark side of the life that finally left many people as silent sufferers.

‘Mam,’ someone called Dora from the entrance.

Vel looked ahead to see who called Dora. To his shock, it was the same girl who enquired him about meeting Dora.

‘Meet Miss. Corina. She helped me a lot to get the blood for you.’ Vel looked at her without any expression. In his mind he felt she was the main reason for all his problems.

‘Excuse me, if I had disturbed you.’ Corina broke the silence. ‘I am sorry.’

‘She only sent you the watch to include you in their project’. Dora whispered to him.

‘What the hell do you think about me?’ Vel barked at her.

To cool down the situation, Corina smiled at him. ‘It happened so. I never thought it would turn into a big mess like this.’

‘So, now you are happy.’ Vel started walking toward the auto that was parked at the entrance. Somehow he managed to get inside and sat down on the seat.

‘If you really want to help people, be frank. Please, don’t play pranks like this.’

‘Mam’ Corina looked at Dora.

‘Ok. Cool down. We will look into this afterward. Now we will go home and take rest for a while.’ Dora tried to calm down Vel.

‘Thanks for all your help, Corina. I will meet you later.’ Dora waved as the auto moved down the road.

It took more than a month for Vel to return to his work. One afternoon when there was no crowd in the bus, Corina got into the bus on her way back home from the college.

‘Five rupee ticket please.’ With a smile she asked Vel.

Vel tried his best to keep his face grim and stern. He could be so only for a few seconds.

 

With his usual grin that brightened his face, he gave her the ticket and added jubilantly, ‘All the best.’

Impressum

Texte: Kalai Selvi Arivalagan
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 05.10.2010

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