Me, the old lady and... !

It was a chilly morning in Bangalore. The wind was spraying my hair all over my face and the cold was penetrating the heavy layers of fat, into my bones. And the clouds were threatening to employ my, rather my friend’s umbrella. I was on my way to work. Yeah, instead of getting a girl friend, spending the time holding her hands, I was going to work, this romantic morning. But guess what Life had in store for me.

“You look very beautiful today”. “Is it”, blushing like hell, she said, “Thanks”. “I’ve got you something, a small gift”, grinning, idiotically. “Oh! What is it?”, the fake surprise. “Wow! Sun glasses! Its very beautiful. Thank you. So sweet”. “Anything for you! Love you!” “Love you too!”. To the waiter, the guy, “Bring the coffee with that fancy name please”. And then the smile. First signs of attraction – A scene from a posh coffee shop.

Coming back to my Monday morning, I saw her. A 50-odd year old lady. Silver hair with sprayed pepper, tanned face, big glasses, missing tooth, a worn-out purple saree, which could have been pink a few years ago, a lean frame, slumped shoulders, bent back and legs. She would probably meet her maker soon. The foothold of her chapel had been replaced by some piece of cloth. She only had one big bag in one hand, but it contents could not have made her look any richer. But on her other hand…

“Shall we go to a movie today?” “What movie do you want to go?” “How about Unstoppable?”. Why can’t this guy take me to some good movie or just keep quiet, in her mind the girlfriend. “Do you really want to go?” “Yeah, you know I am Washington fan”, the idiotic smile again. “I was wondering, if we could go to some nice restaurant and have some good food”. Finally she has realized how she cooks. “Yeah, we could go to the movie in the evening and then go out for dinner”. “Yeah, OK! That would be fine”. Both smile, this time with a little more Warmth. Love has crept into these minds – 2 years after the coffee shop.

…on her other hand was the hand of this man. He was no good looking than the lady; in fact he was much worse. His hair was just silver, no hints of pepper at all, her eyes could see with the help of glasses, his with nothing, a receding hairline, creased forehead... You know how he looked in his blackened-dhoti and a worn-out shirt. The lady was guiding the blind man along the road. She picked her spot of the platform and sat the man on the edge of it. Then she sat by his side. She started wrapping out the things she had brought to sell. She was a roadside vendor. By looks alone, she was a poor roadside vendor. I was 30m off of them by now….

“But when are we getting the house?” “Once we pay off our loans on the car. You know it has got delayed and you know the reason”. “But we decided, we will get a house end of this year”. “Yeah, But situations change. You have to understand that”. “You don’t love me anymore, do you?” “ Isn't that feeling mutual?” “I hate you, when you do this to me, Ashok”. “Thanks for saying that, Priya”. Out of nowhere, both hug each other. – Compatibility – 5 years into marriage, the same coffee-shop couple.

The lady wrapped out their lunch. She put a handful of old-rice in her mouth and chewed it for a few minutes. She then pulled out the much in her mouth and feed it to the blind man. The toothless man tried it chew it a few times before swallowing it. He ginned a toothless smile at the lady, but she was just darkness for him. Yet he could see her. And I was sitting in my office cafeteria wondering if I would ever grow up to be the old man, to be feed by my companion.

That romantic morning, taught me all about relationships. Any relationship goes through ups and downs and at each stage of the relationship, it is bound by something. The first phase is just blind attraction. A very short lived phase. If you don’t get it to the next stage at the right time, you can wave a bye to the relationship. Then comes the magic, Love. But the sad truth is this also fades away. You get bored eventually. Compatibility is what gets a relationship through the next phase. The feeling of sameness. Reacting to situations in the same way. But these are not just enough to get the relationship all the way. There is another thing….

The old couple I saw might never have been to a cozy coffee shop. They might have never exchanged precious gifts. They might never have been to a multiplex or to a fancy restaurant. Their discussions might never have been about buying houses and cars. It could have been about how to get through that day. And even right now they could be anywhere, even in their coffin. But they went to end of the road, together.

Companionship, the need to share your happiness and sadness with someone. It is the foundation of any relationship and it is what helps you stay together till the end.

I am happy I woke up late that day. I am happy the cold winds were there to spray my hair. I am happy, the old couple found me. I am happy for what I learnt. And I am happy for sharing what I learnt.