The Ocean of Blue: Part 1

It was a Monday morning and Arvind was already having a very bad day. His car broke down. The meeting was unavoidable. It had been 3 days and his girl friend hadn’t picked up his call. His mother had a showdown with him in the morning on him being non committal on marriage. It was already 10 and the meeting was to start at 11. The only way out was to turn the clock back and become that 24 year old he was once and jump on to the local train. The only problem, it had been about 8 years since he had seen one. There wasn’t any time to think. The train arrived and was jam packed. Another one, again jam packed. He had no hope. He had a thought but be avoided it. Another train missed and he did it, jumped on the tracks to climb the train from the opposite side. Instincts were at work and after all he was a pro at this in his heyday. Somehow he managed to climb on the foot board, sent his laptop in and managed to get half a foot on d foot board. He couldn’t miss the humor in the situation. Here was a high flying corporate executive managing about 500 people, the youngest VP in his organisation, and here he was clinging on with his life at the Mumbai life line. After all he was a mere mortal and all his qualification wouldn’t help him put two feet in, leave alone getting a seat. He was just one among the crowd, flesh, bones and sweat. The veneer was off, it was as if he had become someone else. The train started chugging along, the sound of d rakes overpowered the sound in his cabin, as d wind became stronger, Arvind felt he was free again.

The train arrived at the next station, it was as if the cabin bulged again, he lost at least half an inch of grounding he had, he adjusted himself and tightened his grip. As he was adjusting his grip, his eyes lay on something he couldn’t possibly comprehend. It was as if time had come to a stand still, there was a kind of stillness in d moment. It was as if a decade had passed in a second. Those eyes, they were like an ocean of blue. He just couldn’t take his eyes off. As the train started again, Arvind was shaken to his senses. There was a lady standing in the coach of the opposite train. She was wearing a burkha and the only thing he could look at were those eyes. Those eyes, they stood out from d crowd. There was something captivating in those eyes. He just couldn’t take his eyes off them. The trains were moving almost at the same speed, there were many distractions, buildings, electric polls, foliage, but somehow for Arvind’s eyes, it was like the world didn’t exist. Then it happened. Those eyes started looking right back. Arvind almost twitched as if he had been caught redhanded, he tried to look somewhere else as if nothing happened. Then he again tried to steal a glance. There they were, those eyes they were not going any where, they were fixated on him. There was something about them. He reciprocated and looked right back. It was as if a connection was made, a cosmic one, neither battled an eyelid, Arvind had lost track of time, space and being. That moment was as if he had transcended his physical being and his environment. Suddenly like a bolt from d blue he lost her, the opposite train had pulled over and his train was still in motion. He almost lost his grip, as he adjusted himself the sounds came back, the elements were back, the heat, the sound, the train. A fellow passenger asked him “Bhai sahab kaha utarna hai??”  With a pause he said “Parel”  The passenger told him that was two stations back. Where was he looking? What happened to him? It was like he was in a time warp and the world just went by. He got down the next station to catch the next train back.

At the office the MD was not too happy as Arvind didn’t show up to a very important meeting. He had expected him to come and apologize. Arvind on the other hand came back and told him something that no one told him. “Sorry sir I didn’t come to the meeting as I didn’t agree with the product idea, here are my views…. ” Nobody had ever spoken to the big Stork like that ever, leave alone Arvind. He was always the yes man. Today it was as if he was on a drug. By the time he finished, all the MD could manage was, “OK you have a point we will think about this again”. That in itself was an achievement, it was nothing less than Arab Spring in Egypt. Hossni Mubarak was shaken. That’s not all Arvind dropped a message to his girlfriend. ” hi thanks for not answering the phone. The last 3 days gave me time to rethink our relationship. While this might have been our 20th fight in the last 1 year. This fight has made me realise that we need different things from life. All the best. Have a blessed life, count me as a friend”. He was not done yet. He also called up his mother and told her, He was in love and hence won’t be getting married any soon. “Who is the girl?” His mother asked. ” I don’t know” he said.
Arvind went back to his desk and typed “Blue Ocean” on google images. He kept staring at the image. His colleague knocked the door of his cabin, “Bhai ye Ecstasy hai ya marijuana, kya kiya tumne budhao ke saath??sab se adab se baat kar raha hai, aur ye kya dekh raha hai??”
Arvind smiled back and said “Chal khaana khate hai”