The Drive of a Lifetime

Chapter 1

The sun reflected brightly off the glass façade of the 30 storeyed building in Mumbai’s Lower Parel business district. The building was home to one of the largest corporations in the country. Business was as usual in the office — security guards scanning visitor IDs, hundreds of employees hunched on their desks, punching furiously on laptops, a few of them ‘catching up’ by the coffee machine and the big bosses engaged in closed-door meetings. But there was something different about today. Not that most of the employees had any inkling. In the biggest conference room, aptly named 'Jupiter’, was an ongoing presentation with an agenda of massive repercussions — almost Jupiter shattering magnitude. Chairing this presentation was Jishnu Roy — the company CEO.

Twelve pairs of eyes were locked on him, rapt with attention as he delivered his new vision for the company with unwavering belief and searing passion. These twelve men and women, each highly accomplished and exalted, had led many an organization through tough times and turned them around. Their experience at the highest echelons of corporate India had made them excellent judges of character — to pick the winners, the leaders, the ‘difference makers’. In their combined wisdom, this Board of Directors had chosen the man giving the presentation as the CEO of one of the leading energy companies in the country. Yet, even they were amazed at what he had achieved in his first 10 months as the CEO. They were even more awe-struck at his vision, strategy, and game-plan which he was laying out for them.

He, on the other hand, was nonplussed about presenting his vision to such distinguished industry stalwarts. He was never short of confidence and two years at the country’s leading business school, sandwiched between 15 years of corporate experience, saw him become one of the youngest CEOs at the age of 40.

“And that, I believe, is a huge untapped market opportunity which we can take advantage of." He paused for effect. “We could double our revenues in 3 years!” Bam! He had just dropped the bomb.

He looked around the room as he delivered the statement, eager to catch the reactions of these industry mavens — the very people he had idolized as he had begun his journey in the corporate world.

He took a sip of water when he first heard it — a soft beeping noise.

Beep…beep…beep.

Everyone in the room slyly checked their phones — each hoping it wasn’t him (or her) who was guilty of not switching the phone to silent mode.

The ‘beeping’ grew louder and more frequent.

Beep…beep…beep…beep, beep, beep.

It sounded as though a device was about to explode.

Jishnu, standing next to the projector screen, suddenly felt the room vibrating and the walls crumbling around him. Yet, no one else in the room even flinched as though they were in shock or worse, they had died of a collective heart attack.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

He felt himself blacking out.

The next instant, he opened his eyes and found himself in a dark room with a faint light filtering through from behind the drawn curtain.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

“Aargh!” he screamed in his head as he tried to place the source of the sound. He turned his gaze to his left and saw a phone glowing — the numbers 6:00 flashing and the horrible sound emanating.

Still, in bed, he put the alarm off and stared at the ceiling fan whirring above him.

“Sigh! Another day” he thought.

Chapter 2

The smoke entering his lungs was cathartic. As with most smokers, he felt a sense of relief and calm when he pressed the cigarette between his lips and gently pulled on the burning tobacco. His first cigarette of the day always cheered him up. It was the first thing he would do every morning — typically, one cigarette before beginning his day.

Over the last eight months, however, he had found the frequency increase to two — the second after speaking with Tanya, his girlfriend for the past two years. The “honeymoon” phase was over and he found himself in need of the second cig immediately after the increasingly difficult and irritable conversations with Tanya.

Today was no different. “Why should it be?” he thought.

The rest of the morning was uneventful as he stuck to his usual routine of cig-argue-cig-bathe-breakfast. He hailed a cab through the cab sharing app and headed to his office — the same tall, glass facade building he had seen in his dreams the night before. His cab driver was a young chap around his late 20s — about the same age as the 29-year-old Jishnu. The cabbie, who, according to the app responded to the name Arif, was in a particularly jovial mood.

“Sun's out today. Sure feels good.” he tried to engage his customer probably hoping for a good rating.

“Hmm…” was the reply.

Silence.

“Look how they've dug up all of Bombay. Incompetent, corrupt fools!" said Arif as he steered the car around the metro construction site. 

“Hmm…”

“Sir, do you mind if I play some music?” he asked.

“Play on, mate. Just keep the volume low”, replied Jishnu, relieved that he wouldn’t have to ignore Arif’s efforts on striking up a conversation anymore.

He preferred traveling with his mind wandering — thinking about Anjali, his cute coworker; thinking about telling Ravi, his boss, that he wasn’t quite enjoying his work. He’d think about the numerous conversations he had with his roommate — Arnav, about taking a year off and traveling across the country with nothing but their bikes, some cash and their talents to help them survive.

Ah! There it was — Talent. He knew what it meant; he just couldn’t find it within himself. He considered himself average at most things even though he did acknowledge that he was confident or rather, he could act confident. In fact, he was so good at faking confidence that he often found himself believing in his abilities only to be thoroughly disappointed later.

“Done. Thank you, Sir”, Arif’s voice jolted him out of his thoughts as he realized he had reached his office. He mumbled something that sounded like an appreciative response as he headed into the building.

Chapter 3

Work was the same — a long list of “To-do’s” made longer by “Urgent” and “ASAP” actions, pointless meetings, large excel files and professional-looking ppts. The monotony of it all was broken intermittently by his addiction to Instagram and less frequently, by his flirtatious conversations with Anjali.

Lunchtime came and went. Ravi piled on some more work on him. Tea time came and went. His “To-do” list was still the same length though some of it had been replaced with new items. Soon, the employees started on their way home.

Experience had taught him to either leave office before 5:30 pm (which happened a total of 7 times in his 3-year stint at this firm) or after 8 pm. Traffic in Mumbai had never been known to be kind to anyone, least of all to Jishnu.

It was around 6:45 pm when he received a WhatsApp from Tanya — “We need to talk”.

He kept his phone aside. He knew what was coming. Both of them had hinted that their relationship wasn’t heading in the direction they intended it to.

“I’ll deal with this when I get home," he thought. He glanced at the bottom right corner of the laptop screen — 6:47 pm.

“Screw it! Might as well switch off and sit comfortably in the cab,” as he packed his stuff and headed out.

He hailed a cab. “Govind is on his way. ETA 7 minutes.”

He stepped into the tea stall outside his office building, lit a cigarette and sipped on some strong chai. He stared blankly at the traffic, the people, the stray dogs. His process of switching off had commenced.

The white hatchback arrived. The driver quickly got out and ran around the car to open the door for him.

“That’s unusual. Nice to someone believing in customer service,” Jishnu thought to himself as he smiled at the driver and said, “Thank you.”

The driver, Govind, rushed back to his seat, initiated the ride on the app and joined the slow-moving traffic.

“Yeh time pe hamesha jam milta hai,” said Govind. There’s always traffic at this hour of the day.

“Hmm…” followed by silence.

“Even yesterday I had a pickup from this location. The lady wanted to go to Mahim. You won’t believe it, but it took us 1.5 hours to get to the destination,” continued Govind.

“Hmm. Usually, there’s traffic at this hour of the day,” replied Jishnu curtly while looking out the window.

“Exactly! But I enjoy being stuck in traffic,” continued Govind.

Jishnu looked at the driver, bemused at what he had just heard. "Who, on God’s blessed Earth, enjoyed being stuck in traffic?"

“What?” he inquired.

Govind looked at him through the rear-view mirror, his eyes twinkling. “I said I enjoy being stuck in traffic, Sir.”

“Why?” inquired Jishnu.

“Because I can talk to the passenger patiently while stuck in traffic. And in case, he’s not in the mood to talk, I still learn a lot from his behavior or from the conversations he has on his phone. You see, I did manage to finish school. Somehow. Then I enrolled myself in IGNOU but I haven’t yet graduated because I don’t get the time to study. So, my education happens while I’m driving and speaking with or observing my passenger,” Govind replied.

“Hmm,” Jishnu was intrigued as he found a silent admiration come about for this driver who, quite clearly, did not enjoy even half the benefits and privileges which Jishnu had. And yet, here was this driver — Happy. While stuck in traffic!

“What all have you learned?” inquired an intrigued Jishnu — his mind completely off his daily drudgeries.

“A lot of stuff, Sir. Would you like to hear?” pat came Govind’s inquiry in response.

“Yes, tell me,” said Jishnu as he checked the app on his phone. “We’re still 75 minutes to the destination so we have plenty of time.”

Chapter 4

The car stood still in the peak-hour traffic, occasionally crawling forward. On seeing an opening, Govind would expertly maneuver the car to inch forward.

Jishnu sat at the back, sleeves rolled up, the top button of his shirt undone — the combination of heat and humidity had made many a well suited-up man adopt a more pragmatic yet coarse look.

Govind looked at Jishnu through the rearview mirror.

“So…this one time I had to pick up a passenger from BKC, Sir,” started Govind.

Jishnu was looking at Govind through the rearview mirror when the strangest of things began to happen. It seemed as though the mirror was melting. He could hear Govind but his eyes were playing tricks on him. He rubbed his eyes and leaned forward, peering hard into the mirror.

“It was around 7:30 in the evening. A man, dressed in a suit, got in. His destination was Juhu. As soon as he got in, he said...” Govind continued.

Jishnu couldn’t believe his eyes. He could see a 40 something-year-old man dressed smartly in a grey suit enter the car. This car. This white hatchback. The one he was already occupying.

“What the hell is this? Am I watching a movie? Is this a hallucination?” thought Jishnu as the situation being described by Govind, began to play itself out in the rear-view mirror. Jishnu felt as though he was pulled into the mirror and transported to the incident being described. He could even hear the 40 something-year-old man ‘speak’ as though it was him and not Govind who was the driver.

The man placed his laptop bag to the side and said, “Mate, we’ll take a detour to Bandra. I need to pick up a friend and then we’ll head on to Juhu.”

“Alright, Sir,” replied Govind.

The man pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed someone.

“Hey, babe. I’ve just left work….yeah, Bakshi was a real pain in the ass today. I’ll tell you about it over dinner. I should be at your place in about half an hour…what?Hehehehe…you know my favorite color…acha, why don’t you surprise me? Ooh, I’m thinking we should skip dinner and get straight to dessert…hehehe…alright, I’ll pick you up in 30. See ya.”

The man took a deep breath and smiled. It wasn’t a smug smile. It was the smile of a young child who had just received a birthday gift.

“Sir, do you mind if I play some music?” inquired Govind.

“Just a minute, mate,” the man snapped out of his dream world. “Let me just make another call.”

“Okay, Sir.”

The man picked up his phone once again to dial someone.

“Yeah, I’ll be working late tonight. Bakshi Sir has asked the entire team to stay back. I’ll order some food in the office itself. You have your dinner and sleep off. I’ll be late,” the man spoke into the phone.

Once again, the man sat back in his seat and slowly exhaled as he looked out the window at the buildings rushing past.

“I can’t keep lying to Anamika and keep cheating on her,” thought the man.

Jishnu was shocked. He could hear the man’s thoughts.

“I have to come clean and tell her about Sonal. I know she’ll get angry and it’ll hurt her but it’s better I do so now than she finds out later. We haven’t been happy in this marriage. It’s been 12 years. We have no kids. We pretty much lead our own lives — she busy with her work, me with mine. Might as well call it off," the man continued his train of thought, justifying his guilt.

He took a deep breath and said, “Mate, switch the radio on. Play something peppy.” He didn’t want to meet Sonal in a glum mood…

Minutes later, they were in Bandra and the man proceeded to direct Govind to Sonal’s house.

A couple of minutes later, a 30 something-year-old woman entered the car. Her perfume filled the car with a sweet, sensuous fragrance. Her hair was neatly open, a delicate silver bracelet on one wrist, matching ear-rings and a little makeup completed her look. Clearly, she had put in an effort to look good for the evening.

“Let’s go, mate,” said the man to Govind.

“How was your day, babe?” she asked as she hugged him.

Meanwhile, Govind re-routed the map and headed to the destination in Juhu.

“Argh…it was hectic and you know how much of a pain Bakshi can be sometimes. Honestly, I was only able to get through the day knowing I’d be meeting you later.”

“Huh? Really?” she playfully rolled her eyes. “Well, if that’s the case then you get an extra treat tonight,” she winked at him as they both laughed.

For the rest of the journey, they held hands, talked and laughed as Govind took them to their destination — a famous eatery in Juhu.

Jishnu couldn’t hear what they were saying any longer. He saw the car, the man, the woman melting away.

Suddenly, he was back in his own reality - in the car in the back seat. The car had made some progress through the traffic. He glanced at his phone. “50 minutes to your destination”.

He was in shock. He couldn’t comprehend what he had just experienced. Had he experienced it? Or had he dozed off and had the weirdest of dreams?

He heard Govind saying, “You know something, Sir? That day I realized that we humans seek happiness from others — from our friends, our families, our spouse, our work. This man was doing the same. He was unhappy with his wife and he sought happiness in the arms of another woman. But Sir, true happiness can only be attained when a man is happy from within himself.”

"But those who realize the self are always satisfied. Having found the source of joy and fulfillment, they no longer seek happiness from the external world. Happiness can only be found within the self." - Bhagavad Gita

Chapter 5

Govind glanced at Jishnu through the mirror as they sped along. The traffic had eased a bit. But this was rush hour traffic in Mumbai — the speed run was short-lived. Soon enough, they found themselves in the same situation as they were in earlier — bumper to bumper traffic, Govind being his chatty self and looking at Jishnu through the mirror. The only difference was that Jishnu was now in a daze, trying to make sense of what he had just experienced.

He wanted to desperately smoke a cigarette. “I have to snap out of this. I wanted to switch off… not bloody hallucinate. What the hell was that?” he thought to himself.

“Bro, do you mind turning the AC off and roll down the windows? I need to smoke.”

“Absolutely, Sir,” replied Govind. His enthusiasm had not waned. In fact, if anything, it had only increased.

“Guess he wasn’t bullshitting when he said he enjoys being stuck in traffic,” thought Govind.

He pulled out a cigarette from the pack and smelled it as he sought familiarity and reassurance that he was fine. That he had probably just dozed off and had a weird dream. A very weird dream.

He took out his lighter – a thing of beauty he had purchased from his trip last year to Portugal. It was painted in gun-metal and had a beautiful engraving of a ship – Sao Gabriel. It was the flagship of Vasco Da Gama’s expedition to India when he sought to discover a trade route to the land of spices. The ship’s bowsprit served as the lighter’s source of the flame.

Jishnu liked the symbolism and he’d always gaze intently at this lighter after taking in his first drag. Sao Gabriel was the vessel that initiated the change in the sub-continent – a change that left its mark on the social, economic, and political structure of the country. He hoped the flame from this lighter would help him change his life around – a change that would commence with the lighting of a cigarette to calm his nerves and clear his head to think better.

He took the first drag – it felt like fresh air. Out of force of habit, he looked at the beautifully engraved lighter. The deck, the mast, the crow’s nest, the bowsprit – all carved so intricately.

He brought the lighter closer to him as something caught his eye. It appeared as though the ship was pitching - bobbing on the water. The ship was sailing! He looked on transfixed and completely oblivious of the cigarette in his left hand hanging out of the window.

He felt hypnotized as he heard Govind’s voice. “Then, one time I had a pick-up request from Wadala. You know…Where the Imax theater is located, Sir?”

Jishnu was too flummoxed to even speak. He merely nodded in acknowledgment indicating he knew the location’s whereabouts.

“So… I had a pickup request from there. It must have been around 12, maybe 12:15 in the afternoon. A boy and 2 girls entered. From their conversation, I could gauge that they were headed to college after watching a movie.”

Yet again, Jishnu felt the same melting away of his reality. Yet again, he felt as though he was “live” at the incident being narrated by Govind. The voices became audible as Govind’s narration grew distant.

“What a movie, dude!” exclaimed the guy as he got into the front seat beside Govind.

“I know, right!” said Priya from the backseat.

“Looks like you two really liked the movie,” said Sneha sitting beside Priya in the backseat. “You’ve already mentioned it, like a million times already” she continued.

“Spare us your critical analysis,” shot back Jay from the front seat. “This is art. You’ve got to feel it.”

“Critical? I’m saying it’s a good movie. I’m just not as over the moon as you guys are,” retorted Sneha.

“Of course, of course. You’re over the moon only when you hang out with your boyfriend, right? If he’s around, even a foreign language movie is amazing… cos who’s watching the movie, right?” said Priya testily as all three burst out laughing.

“Yaar, now I don’t feel like attending any lectures. Let’s just chill outside na?” suggested Jay.

“No way. I’m looking forward to the guest lecture today,” replied Sneha shooting down the suggestion. “I hope I can speak to him after the lecture and see if I can get an interview or something with his firm. It’s one of my top 3 companies that I’d like to work for.”

“You’re so sorted!” said Priya. “At least you know what you want to do and which companies you’re aiming for. I’m just going with the flow completely clueless.”

“Says the person who already has a job offer,” remarked Sneha snidely as both, she and Jay, snickered.

“All these job scenes are not for me. I’m going to take my vlogging seriously and get brands to partner with me. Plus, my cousin is great at tech; so he and I are planning to start a firm dealing with blockchain. Two streams of income — I’ll be sorted,” said Jay confidently; dismissing the very notion of being employed by someone else.

“Wow! Wonderful! Mindblowing! What a visionary!” teased the girls in unison.

Jay playfully raised his hands to acknowledge their ‘praises’.

“You’re smiling a lot, mate,” said Jay to Govind as he caught him smiling.

“Well, Sir, I’m recalling my school days as I listen to you talk. I couldn’t understand all of what you said, but I liked whatever little I understood,” replied Govind.

“Really? Till what level have you studied?” asked Jay casually.

“Finished school, Sir,” replied Govind.

“Why didn’t you continue studying?” asked Priya.

“I wanted to, Madam. My friends and I made plans for our future just the way the three of you are making your plans. One of my friends was very interested in electronics so he wanted to do a technical course. The other wanted to sit for the civil services exam and become a police officer,” explained Govind.

“And plans did you have for yourself?” interrupted Sneha.

Without breaking his flow, Govind continued “I wanted to become a teacher. I really enjoy teaching kids.”

“So why didn’t you study further?” inquired Jay.

“Well, I’m still trying to complete my studies, Sir. I’m enrolled in an IGNOU course. But life’s daily struggles often leave dreams unfulfilled. Take my friend for example. The one who wanted to venture into the technical line is now an electrician. He waits on his boss’ orders to repair electrical fixtures in offices. The other friend – the one who wanted to become a police officer? He’s a security guard. And, here I am — a driver. That’s life, Sir. But I’m still trying,” replied Govind.

The three friends fell silent. The enthusiasm and impetuousness of youth had just been pricked by the sobering experience of their driver.

Within seconds, their destination had arrived.

“Thank you, bhaiya,” said Priya.

“You keep studying, mate. One day, you’ll make it. Just don’t give up,” said Jay sympathetically.

“Thank you, Sir, Madam,” said Govind with a beaming smile.

The scene melted away — the three friends, the building, the car, all turned blurry and once again, Jishnu was back in his reality. His cigarette had burnt out. And the Sao Gabriel was once again reduced to what it was – an intricate engraving on a lighter made in Portugal.

His head was reeling. “What on Earth is this going on? Is this really happening? Why do I feel that this driver knows who I am and what my troubles are? This can’t be possible!” These questions were bursting through his head.

He glanced at his phone. “23 minutes to destination”.

He could hear Govind say, “That day I realized, Sir that while all of us have dreams and aspirations but eventually, how we lead our lives is an outcome of our decisions. It’s futile to curse our luck or blame circumstances. Look at me. I decided to drive a car to earn money. I could have continued studying full time and figured out another way to earn my living but I decided against that. I’ve stopped blaming my circumstances and accept that I am where I am and I do what I do because of the decisions I’ve made.”

"The meaning of Karma is in the intention. The intention behind action is what matters. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action are miserable, for they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do." - Bhagavad Gita

Chapter 6

They had covered a fair part of the journey and even though they had been traveling for a little under 50 minutes, Jishnu felt he had lived a lifetime — back and forth in time. He was now sure that he had seen visions. But he was still coming to terms with the sheer preposterousness of the situation.

“How is it that Govind was unaffected? It’s as though only I’m seeing things. But I’m seeing the things Govind is describing. Who is he? What is he?” his mind was racing as he tried to make sense of it all.

“Sir, shall I change the radio station?” inquired Govind.

Jishnu, still too confused and numb to speak, merely nodded.

Govind switched to a retro Hindi music station belting out soulful classics — perfect for a calm drive in the evening.

But this drive was anything but calm. His mind was racing trying to make sense of the visions he had just experienced. The car halted at a traffic light and the usual suspects – beggars in all shapes and sizes made their way between the halted vehicles asking for alms.

An old woman came up to him. Her white sari was torn around the edges, her thin, grey hair was barely visible from under the ghunghat. Her hunched back forced her to crane her neck up to the window as she held out an old frail hand asking for some help – in cash or kind.

Jishnu, still trying to make sense of what he had just experienced and a tad emotional from those experiences, placed a 500 rupee note in her hand. She gratefully accepted, not even looking at the denomination of the currency placed her in hand. She turned her palm to face Jishnu and said, “May God bless you, son.” The light had turned green and the car sped on.

Jishnu fell back into the seat, put his phone on ‘silent’, and closed his eyes. He still had 20 minutes before he reached and he was in no mood to speak to anyone, least of all to Govind.

At the wheel, Govind noticed his passenger had closed his eyes and he smiled to himself.

Five minutes later there was a knock on Jishnu’s window. He opened his eyes to see a line of vehicles in front of the cab as he realized they were stuck at yet another traffic light. He heard the knock again and looked to see an old woman – her white sari was torn, her grey hair barely visible, her back hunched. Jishnu’s eyes grew wide in disbelief as he recognized the old woman as the same beggar whom he had given a 500 rupee note to at the earlier traffic light.

“How? How is this possible? What spell am I under?” he almost screamed.

He rolled down the window to question this woman but even before he could utter a word, she said, “I’ll share one more story with you, Sir.” It was Govind’s voice! The woman was speaking but it was Govind’s voice that could be heard. It was as if she was the puppet and Govind the puppeteer.

“Once, I had to pick up a senior couple. It was a short ride. Around 15 minutes…” continued the woman in Govind’s voice. She pointed to the spot where Govind had picked up the senior couple. Jishnu followed her gaze to find himself transported to the scene.

The old man must have been in his mid-60s, yet his erect posture belied it. He wore a crisp, pale blue shirt, grey khakis, and sandals. He had a full head of silver-grey hair. He walked towards the car with measured, purposeful steps. The lady looked like she was in her late 50s or early 60s. Her silver black hair was tied neatly into a bun.

She wore a pale green dress with grey flower prints — the hem midway between her knees and ankles. A couple of thin bangles, ear-rings and a wedding band were the only pieces of jewelry she wore. She held the old man’s elbow as they approached the car.

Seeing them, Govind immediately ran around the car to open the door and help them in. The man smiled and thanked Govind as he shut the door.

The car started. The old couple sat looking out their windows at the passing sights — cars, buildings, people. Suddenly, the wife sat up and asked the old man, “Did I turn off the gas stove?”

The old man smiled, “In 37 years of marriage, I don’t recall a single time you’ve forgotten to. You must have turned it off.”

“I’m not as young as I used to be. My memory isn’t as sharp. The other night, I left the kitchen exhaust fan on. I realized my mistake only in the morning,” she replied, still worried about the gas stove.

The old man smiled at her again. “I put the gas stove off,” he lied to calm her down.

The words had the desired impact as she sunk back into her seat and relaxed.

For a change, Govind didn’t say anything as he quietly drove the car observing the old couple.

“Aane wala pal jaane wala hai…” the classic Hindi melody played at a low volume on the radio as the car drove past a tall building. The old man looked at it and sighed.

The building had been his place of work for the last 40 years. He had retired 4 months ago and while his investments and pension ensured that there was no change in their standard of living, he still felt an emptiness within him.

The old lady knew why he had sighed. She had been married to him for 37 years — she knew him well enough. She placed her hand on his as she asked him, “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” he lied once again.

“Whenever we pass by this place, you put on a long face. What’s the matter?” she continued probing.

“No, I’m not putting on a long face,” he replied defensively. “It’s just that I’ve spent 40 years of my life coming to this place and now, I have no reason to. I have such fond memories of this place, the people, the friends I made. Do you know? Every evening we would come to that tea stall opposite the building for a cuppa. We’d go home together in the same local. All of that has changed. It’s not just the job that I miss so much. It’s also the people and those experiences.”

“So what’s the problem if you’re not doing that anymore?” she inquired.

“There’s no problem…I just feel unwanted now. As though, I am of no use. There is no work for me anymore. No one comes to me looking for help or advice. I feel as though everyone has moved on and left me behind,” he complained.

“Why do you think like this?” she shook her head. “Whatever you’ve done in life, you’ve done it for everyone but yourself. You used to take off from work for hardly one week in a year. You slogged day in day out and managed to buy a flat — the first time anyone in the family had a place to call their own. You saw to it that Jonathan and Ashley got the best education. You even managed to find good decent alliances for them and got them married off. You’ve helped all your younger siblings. You’ve done so much for so many of us.”

“That’s the thing, no? Now, I feel like I’m good for nothing. As though I can’t do anything for anybody,” he replied.

“Thoda sa hansa ke, thoda sa rula ke, pal ye bhi jaane wala hai…” the song continued on the radio.

“You’ve done a lot for everybody. You’ve spent all your life living for others.” she squeezed his hand. ”Now, it’s time to live for yourself.”

He turned to look at her, smiled and said: “If it weren’t for you…”

“Then you’d have been eating every meal of your life at Pedro’s,” she finished the sentence.

They both laughed as Govind pulled the car aside. “Sir, should I stop here?” he asked.

“Yes son, Here is fine,” replied the old man.

Govind stopped the car and ran out to hold the door open for them.

As the old man thanked Govind, he appeared to melt away as did his wife, the car, the building, even Govind.

All Jishnu could see was that he was somewhere surrounded by bright lights. It was dazzling and he couldn’t look directly at the distant figure approaching him.

He shielded his eyes from the blinding light… and then he saw him. He fell to his knees as he saw Govind. The source for the bright light, that Jishnu found himself surrounded in, was GOVIND!

Govind smiled at him. “Jishnu my friend, my brother. Why are you so frustrated with your life? Place your trust in me. Don’t worry about it. I’ve got your back,” he said in a soothing voice.

Jishnu had tears in his eyes as he clasped his hands in reverence to Govind, who began transforming himself into the avatar that Jishnu had once upon a time worshipped — Krishna!

Krishna helped him up and hugged him as Jishnu sobbed like a child in its mother's arms.

Just then, Jishnu heard a beeping noise that began to grow louder. He saw Krishna and the bright light fading away as the sound grew louder.

                                                                          ______________________________________

He sat up with a start and put the beeping alarm off. He sat there on his bed bewildered.

“What just happened? Did I have a dream? It all felt so real. But if it was real, then how did I get home?”

He couldn’t make sense of what happened but he felt something strange inside him. Something which he hadn’t felt in a long time. He felt a sense of calm. He didn’t feel the urge to light a cigarette. He felt happy and at peace.

Still trying to make sense of his “experience”, he googled “Bhagavad Gita quotes”.

He smiled as he read the very first quote from the search results:

"Whatever happened, happened for the good. Whatever is happening, is happening for the good. Whatever will happen, will also happen for the good."

- Bhagavad Gita