Life is Beautiful

[I can't thank Badari's senior Raja Sekhar enough - if not for him, my "journey of life" wouldn't have started the way it did 25 years ago]

"603-A Lalitha- Visitors for you"

"603-A" was my room in SPMVV Hostel - Kalyani Block.

I was just back from my afternoon classes and about to change into my evening clothes and sit down to complete an MIS seminar assignment that was due the next day. After hearing someone calling my name from the ground floor announcing visitors for me, I galloped the 3 stair-cases at 2 stairs per one step-down from my room in 3rd floor, wondering who that might be.

Once in the Visitors' room, I saw 2 young men seated in the chairs near a table. With no one else in the room, I assumed they were the ones waiting for me. I went straight to them and sat in a chair facing them.

"Hi"
"Hello"

Both of them greeted me.

Even though I readily recognized one of them as the person who travelled in the same train as I was when I went home for Dasara vacation, not giving that knowledge of acknowledgement out, I said "Hi" and "Who are you? May I know your names?" and "What brings you here?" - asking questions with no apparent lag in between the enquiries.

They looked at each other.

"I'm Raja Sekhar" (This was the one whom I recognized)

"I'm Rama Krishna" (I never met him before)

"Okay - but I don't know you. Why are you here?"

"We are studying MBA in SVU. Our exams were over yesterday. We just came by to say "hello" to you and spend sometime with you" was the answer from Raja Sekhar.

I got annoyed - strange are these boys!!! - I didn't know who they were and they were there to while away sometime saying "hello" to me and trying to have a conversation with me.

Not getting into any niceties, I said " I don't know what brought you here thinking I would have time to talk to you when I don't know who you're in the first place. Sorry - You may leave now" and said "bye" to them to return to my room - still not able to come out of the fury about those boys' audacity to fritter away with a girl who they were never acquainted with.

When I returned to the room, my room-mate & senior Sri Latha asked me who the visitors were. When I told what happened, Sri Latha mischievously said "C'mon Lalli- SVU MBA boys came to make friends with you and you turned them away?". I just brushed the conversation off as I had to focus on my MIS assignment.

A few weeks passed by. I forgot about that incident.

December came - everyone of us was excited thinking about the long Winter vacation starting from Christmas until Sankranthi.

I booked my ticket in Narayanadri Express which ran from Tirupati to Secunderabad and with that started counting my days down to the day of journey.

One golden wintry evening (December 19, 1990), Sri Latha, Padmaja, Sangeetha and I strolled our way  to the college store as Sri Latha wanted to buy a note book.

I didn't have to buy anything so I just wanted to sit on the stairs of the stage located near the college store.

I was humming one of my favorite songs "komma meedi koyilamma"  playing a winking-eye game with the golden hues of the Sun.

Then I saw a duo of young men walking towards me - one of whom was Raja Sekhar. This time, me being in a delightful mood of sunshiny anticipation of going-home-in-just-two-more-days, I was self-obliged to be nice with these guys.

I just got up and walked towards them with a warm smile saying "Hi".

Raja Sekhar started the conversation asking me casual questions of how I was doing, what the plans for the coming vacation were etc.,. The excited-me talked rapturously telling him how all my seniors and class-mates got one compartment booked for ourselves to go back home for the Winter vacation.

We walked through the small gate which led to the road outside the hostel. It occurred to me that Raja Sekhar's friend was not even talking - his smile had an enticing charm which made me ask Raja Sekhar about him. Raja Sekhar simply said "He doesn't know anything except smiling".

I said to myself "Wow" (you will know the reason for that "Wow" shortly ;)),  didn't say a word after that and waved a "bye" to them and met with some of my class-mates who were having fun talking about the oncoming  journey to home. When they saw me they insisted that I sang a song for them, which brought the "komma meeda koyilamma" song onto my lips. When I started to sing that song, I could see that friend of Raja Sekhar leaving our campus from the corner of my eye and for some inexplicable reason I wanted to run after him so that I could walk hand-in-hand with him  -  just thought, but didn't do :)

After one hour I came back to my room and went to Sri Latha with whom I used to share everything or anything that happened everyday....and said:

"You know one thing, Sri Latha! Today I met an MBA boy who is deaf and dumb. Wow - he must be very smart - right?"

"What are you talking, Lalli? I don't believe you. How can a guy who can't hear or talk be in MBA where they have to participate in Group Discussions and have to talk a lot"

"Why can't he be? Maybe he is exceptionally intelligent, who knows - maybe the SVU was impressed by his test scores........" - I argued citing several possibilities for a person who cannot speak to gain an MBA admission.

After 15 minutes of my loquaciousness, Sri Latha gave up and leaned towards agreeing with me.

The next two days I was busy with my last minute assignments that I needed to submit before leaving on 21st and packing for the journey.

On December 21st, Sri Latha and I went to the Tirupati Railway Station where we were to board the Tirumala Express.

The Railway Station was so crowded with students from several colleges of Tirupati leaving for home-towns for Winter break.

I was holding my suitcase and trying to see where my name was listed on the seating-charts pasted on the outside of each of the compartments.

As I was about to get into the compartment where my name was listed, I found that the "silent MBA" guy was there standing on the platform along with his friends.

I got so excited and wanted to introduce him to Sri Latha and grabbing her hand almost ran to his side and showing Sri Latha to him I shouted (thinking he couldn't hear me) : "Hello! Here is my senior, Sri Latha. I just want to introduce her to you!!". He looked into my eyes and nodded his head as if he understood me - with  a nice smile lighting up his face.

I looked around and said "Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!! Happy Journey" collectively to all of his friends and boarded the train with a happy spring in my step.

While getting into the train, Nirupama, my class-mate came next to me and said, "You're crazy, Lalitha - to believe that he is deaf and dumb. He lives in the same lane where my house is in Brodiepet. I saw him several times talking to his friends".

I rolled my eyes and thought "oh..not again" and again went on saying: "No Nirupama, no- you may have seen him, but he must be nodding his head, but not talking at all. Did you ever hear his voice ....tell me,......etc., etc., " until she gave up and yielded to my confidence in my new "silent" acquaintance.

After I got settled into my seat, I noticed that the "silent MBA" came looking for a berth numbered next to mine. That being a side berth in the train, I had to share the berth with him to sit.

I started making accompanying my words with gestures so that I could communicate with him in the best possible way even though he could not hear me.

There were few elderly persons who after realizing that the MBA guy could not talk, started offering him books and were trying to show him how appreciative they were of him.

The train compartment was full with students from SVU (mainly MBAs) and from SPMVV (mainly MCAs). After the train started and everyone got settled, MCA girls started playing Antyaakshari. If it were like any other day, I would have been busy singing at the top of my voice - even making the train sound meeker compared to my booming voice. This time I wanted to stay with my "silent" companion.

I tore a paper from one of my note books from my bag and started writing on it:

"Hi! Shall we use this paper to 'talk'?"

"Sure"

There started our "conversation" on the paper and we became so oblivious to our surroundings and also to the passage of time.

It was about 10 minutes before 12 in the midnight. He wrote:

"If I say something, you will feel hurt"

I wondered - how could or why would I be hurt for any thing he would "say" (write) and responded with :

"No - please say whatever you want to say"

Exactly at 12 AM in the night, when the moon was shining through the train-window, he slowly lifted his head and smiled at me saying: "What shall I say?" in a deep manly voice.

It took me a few seconds to comprehend what was happening. And also a sudden chill of fear overwhelmed me - when I was remembering the horror movies I watched in the past.

I began to sob trying to control my tears - which I failed to control and my sobs turned into real crying.

I got so upset, but came to my senses that if any of my seniors or class-mates knew that he could talk, they would make me a laughing stock, I quickly spoke softly to him: "Please don't talk until we get down in Guntur lest my friends tease me" with tears in my eyes and a demand in my voice.

He assured me with his smiling eyes and kept his quiet until the next morning when he said "bye" with the twinkle in his eyes.

For every one else on that train the journey might have ended then & there with few memories, but for both of us who shared that "silent" conversation, that journey turned into a "journey of life".

After 25 years, reliving the past, here I'm introducing my "humsafar".....with my Terzanelle :)

Life is Beautiful

He whispered words gently

That touched my heart

The moment I met him

A beautiful smile came my way

With a twinkle in the eyes

That touched my heart

He took my hand, won my heart

Filling my life with love and grace

With a twinkle in the eyes

He taught me life lessons

The way I had never known

Filling my life with love and grace

He made me believe

“Life Is Beautiful”

The way I had never known

How Blessed I must be!!!!

He whispered words gently

“Life Is Beautiful”

The moment I met him

[Terzanelle from WIKIPedia: A Terzanelle is a poetic form with nineteen lines total, with five triplets and a concluding quatrain. The middle line of each triplet stanza is repeated as the third line of the following stanza, and the first and third lines of the initial stanza are the second and final lines of the concluding quatrain; thus, seven of the lines are repeated in the poem.]