Category: Life Ordinary

That he was a special child, his parents knew from the start… and it was not just the usual feeling that all parents had for their children.. he was genuinely different because of his sheer talent for song and dance… and all who saw him perform knew he would have a great future..
but he was raised like a normal child, not that his parents had much of a choice, because they barely made ends meet.. he had a horde of brothers, sisters and cousins, and they had many a gala family gathering..but in spite of all this his parents felt there was something really different about him..
they didnt know whether it was his obsession to look different from his ilk… or his penchant forloneliness… not that he was a compulsive loner, for all though he had never had any girlfriends, he had a battalion of boyfriends who he shared a close bond with… he regularly brought them home, watched videos all night, played songs and generally did a whole lot of things his parents thought were just normal ‘boy stuff’…
soon, he lived up to his relatives’ predictions and his song and dance made him an internationally acclaimed pop star… but that didnt stop his parents from worrying.. he became obsessed with his looks and his numerous antics regarding his looks made him the laughing stock among his peersand the general public.. and somewhere in between he had a broken marriage as well..but that was their least of their worries..
he was still bringing boys home, and the things he did with them were not exactly ‘boy stuff’, even by his parents standards..he apparently didnt want to grow up, but that wasnt the only thing he had in common with Peter Pan… he had a ranch he called Neverland.. he brought kids there, played games with them, and when the stories got out, he landed in court…
and gave a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘boys will be boys’….

until next time, games that you play in childhood….

He was happy for a lot of reasons, but two things primarily – one was that he had achieved whatever he had set out to do in life.. and the other was that the governing body had given the go ahead for his final act.. he had been sure he would get the approval while he had given the application, but then, governing bodies were a strange lot..
the approval was a two stage process, the first step was a basic application indicating the profile of the person giving it.. the governing body would decide whether the person could still perform an active role in society, and if he/she could, try to convince the person to do it, but that was just a formality… the second step was when one had to give the time and procedure chosen..the authority would then notify the next of kin, and put up a notice seeking whether anyone had an objection ..the objection, if any, and the right of the person objecting would both be scrutinised by the authorities before giving the final approval.. again, this step was also a formality since the applicant would have already announced his decision to the people concerned (who could object)..
a few days back, he had just gotten the final approval from the governing body for what was known as ‘euthanasia’.legal killing was what the critics called it.. but after decades of legal wrangling, the majority had voted for it… in fact, they even made a procedure for people who were not in a position to request it themselves… the majority considered it a part of the society maturing, but there were people who still believed that He should be allowed to do His work…
but today was the day he had chosen for his final act… he had decided for it, when his wife had had a natural death a few years back and he had become alone, since their kids lived elsewhere and rarely had time for him.. stereotypical, he thought…
he had just had dinner at his favourite restaurant, and was on his way to the hospital where he would get his final injection.. he was still thinking deeply about whether he had left anything incomplete, since there would be no coming back…and that was why he saw the truck too late… his last thoughts were, “so long as i die..”

until next time, lets propose, and let Him dispose…

Today he would know whether he would get one. the credit card company’s executive had just called and asked for an appointment… he had been wanting one ever since he had seen sachin showing off his in the ad, while encouraging others to get it… but he couldn’t apply for it then, being busy with his career…and later, just when he thought he would apply for one, he had gotten busy again, with things ranging from work and peer pressure to riots….
not that he needed it desperately, for his influence was huge, but it was helpful when you were going abroad, and was much better than carrying cash… he had applied for the latest card in the market, the one named after the famous island in new york.. it was only appropriate since he would be going there shortly..
he had known that all the applications were just a formality, for once they got to know who he was, they would only be too happy to give him a card…just then, the executive came, but contrary to his expectations they had rejected his application.. he was irate and screamed at the executive , “do you know who i am?”
” yes sir, but theres nothing we can do here. since it was top priority we had sent it to our hq in the US. we had hoped to get you some special benefits, but they have rejected it. i am yet to get the details”, the executive mumbled.
he wondered at the audacity of the company… how could they not give the visa power to the chief minister of a state whose diaspora had significant influence among not only the Indians, but the general populace in the US? where would the US be without us, he thought..
he controlled himself with an effort. he would get a card from the other company, the one that said ‘there are some things money can buy, for everything else, there’s……..” for his situation, it was only apt…but he wouldn’t stop at that.. he decided he would go the US, to the credit card company’s hq and give them a piece of his mind…. the bank, he would deal with, later!!
he called his PA.
“call the US embassy. ask them the status of the gujarat chief minster’s visa application”
until next time, who has the power?

She knew she had very little time.. his birthday was only a few days away… his birthdays had never been celebrated grandly.. he had never asked for it, and no one had ever felt the need… considering that the only thing he spent money on were books and cassettes,he was never difficult to please if his birthday presents were any of the above… except for the occasional games or toys, much like his life, the presents he got were also routine, not that he was complaining… he was, well, like that…
but this time, she wanted it to be different, it was his 15th birthday, the one after his tenth standard board exams had got over, the first big hurdle in life… and she wanted him to celebrate it in a slightly better fashion than they usually did… and the first and perhaps only difficult task was convincing him.. because, although she was very strict about everything he did, lately she had understood he was growing up, and increasingly left his things to his judgement.. well, she was his mother, and knew what was best for him..
besides, she knew things he didnt..convincing him was difficult, for he was a shy child, with a handful of close friends, and ran away from attention of any kind, except for the ones which his extra curricular activities demanded.. for she was still very strict about that… and so he was trained in classical music, played in the cricket team,and was a member of the school quiz and debating teams… all of which he liked in a very matter-of-fact way…
all said, he was a very reluctant social animal…but she wouldn’t have any of that.. with 2 days left, she forced him to accept the fact that he would have to invite at least 10 of his friends to celebrate his birthday.. the only thing which he could decide was the place…and so it was, that for the very first time he could remember, he was doing something more complicated than distributing sweets for his birthday..
but after all was said and done, he was happy, and grudgingly thanked her… and she in turn, thanked her god, for she had survived the day…but he doesnt like celebrating birthdays, because she died 9 days later..
until next time, some things arent forever…