On The Banks Of The Neckar

July 1^st, 2011. It was my last day of deputation in Germany. I stayed in a place called Heilbronn, which was about 40 minutes drive from Stuttgart. I had come from office early that day. My room was in utter mess. Half of my packing was yet to be done. I came to realize the bitter fact that I had procrastinated too much in this regard. And trust me, packing your baggage for a first-time-return-from-deputation-journey is a colossal task. By the time I was finished, it was 1.30AM in the morning!!! My flight was at 7.30AM and I had called the cab to be present at 4.00AM. So, I had around 2.5 hours at my disposal. My idea of a 4-5 hours sleep was long dead and buried. And, I was in no mood to sleep, anyways. So, I decided to take a night walk along the banks of the Neckar [a river which flows along the city of Heilbronn] for one last time. It was 1.40AM when I left my apartment. I planned to come back by 2.30AM.

            The Neckar Bridge is just a 10 minute walk from my apartment. It was quite a warm night. The weather widget on my cell was showing 16° Celsius [Yes!!! When you stay in Germany for sometime, 16° C feels warm… ;-)].  Hmm… You must be wondering when the woman will make an appearance in this article. After all, this article is about a woman, right??? But, if you have had any prior experience dealing with women, you will appreciate the fact that waiting is indeed a virtue with them…;-)

            So, let us come back to the Neckar Bridge. At right angles to the bridge, there is a long walkway, lined with wooden benches, which runs parallel to the river. There is a bench, on the back of which I have marked a very small ‘K’. This bench is very special to me. I went up to it and sat on it, contemplating the occasion which made it so special…

--- 2 weeks ago ---

I was sitting on the banks of the Neckar when, I saw her. She was exceptionally beautiful, dark and vivacious. She had a tropical flavor to her complexion. I guessed she must be from Brazil. I don’t know what it is with me, I keep thinking about Brazilian beauties all the time…;-) Anyway, she came and sat on the same bench on which I was sitting. Well, I won’t bore you people with all the details of my conversation with her. It started off with mere exchanging of formalities, as it happens in most cases. But, surprisingly, it went on an on and on. It lasted for the whole of 4 hours, 45 minutes [I measured the time later. During the conversation, time just flew by on rosy wings…:-)]. Mostly, she talked about her life. I was very cautious. I had learnt never to let a girl know too much about your life, and I had learnt this the hard way…:-( So, I thought, let her do all the talking, and I would be content with listening. And, it was a great sight to see her talking so freely and openly. Then, we talked about relationships. Well, at that point in my life, I had never considered relationships very seriously. My life was pretty much screwed up, and I didn’t want any girl to come into my life and aggravate matters further. So, I had stayed safely out of any kind of relationships. But, with her being at my side, my perception of a relationship was undergoing a drastic paradigm shift. I was beginning to feel very comfortable in her company. Since, I was a newbie as far as relationships are concerned, I put up a naïve face and listened to what she had to say about it. She gave me a girl’s perspective about what they expect from a relationship. Then, we discussed some philosophy. My guess was right. She was a Brazilian and a huge fan of Paulo Coelho. She almost gave me an instant summary of ‘The Alchemist’. I loved the way she looked. I loved the way she talked. Even though I was putting up a calm demeanor in front of her, inside, my emotions were tearing me apart. My heart and my mind were fighting a world war. I was at my breaking point.

Before I could say or do something stupid, her cell phone rang. Her friend was calling her to get back to the railway station. She was supposed to go back to Paris that night. I didn’t want this conversation to end. She had taken me to a whole new world. But, suddenly, I landed back to earth with a jerk. She had got up to leave. Something inside me prevented me from asking her cell number. She just looked at me for sometime. I could not decipher what those eyes were conveying. I too simply stared at her. The fact that I can never meet her again was very hard to digest for me. I still remember the last words she said to me, “I spent such a wonderful time with you. I hope that I will meet you again. Goodbye.” With that, she turned and walked away. I kept watching her graceful movements until she disappeared around the bend. I just closed my eyes and sat down on the bench. I still could not believe what had happened. But, life had thrown a lot of curves before and it didn’t take long for me to recover from this one. I just smiled to myself when I reflected on what had happened for the past few hours. It was time for me to go back to my apartment. Before leaving, I made a small ‘K’ mark behind the bench, so that whenever I came to that spot, I will always be reminded of the beautiful moments which I spent with her [You can still find that ‘K’ mark on the bench. If any of you happen to visit Heilbronn, don’t forget to visit the ‘K’ spot… ;-)]

--- Back to the present ---

            Tringgg… Tringgg… Tringgg… My cell phone alarm shook me up from my reverie. It was 2.30 AM. The time had come to say a final goodbye to the Neckar. I saw the ‘K’ for one final time, turned and walked back to my apartment. I checked my mailbox, since I had forgotten to check it for the past one week. There were a couple of letters addressed to me. But, I didn’t have time to read them. I put them in my pocket and walked towards my room.

--- Nine hours later ---

I was seated comfortably in my window seat of my Paris-Bangalore flight. Everything had been smooth. There was a small scare during the security check at the Paris airport, since I was carrying two kgs more in my cabin bag [which included some things which were not allowed according to the rules, but rules are meant to be broken anyways, aren’t they…;-)]. But, no harm was done. All was well and I was on my way back to our ‘Incredible India’.  I remembered the letters which I had picked up from the mailbox. I thought of going through them. The first one was from the town municipal office regarding the confirmation of de-registration. The second one was from… Guess who??? No, no no… Not the Brazilian girl…:-P In fact, I don’t even remember whose letter it was. Oh... How I wished it was hers!!! But the fact is, I don’t have anything now to remember her by. Only her aura of elegance and beauty remains. And, as John Keats magnificently puts it, ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’…

PS: 
I wrote this article for the Essay Writing competition organized at our company, Robert Bosch as a part of the Women's Day celebrations in March, 2012. The topic was 'Woman- An experience which changed my life'. My article won the first prize...:-)

She Was A Phantom Of Delight

         Last week, I was travelling to Koramangala on BMTC bus no 171. Except me and a couple of elderly passengers, the bus was quite empty. I was looking out of the window. It was a rainy evening. The cold winds were blowing nonchalantly across my face. I partially closed the window. Usually, these rainy evenings make me reminisce about my old, happy childhood days, when simple pleasures of life were my most valuable treasures.

         At this point of time, a strange thing happened. At the back of the bus, I saw a door which led to a brightly lit place beyond. As if enchanted by it, I got up and started walking towards it. The moment I put my step across the door, I felt myself falling into a bottomless pit. After what seemed to me to be an eternity, I landed in a place which seemed like a paradise. Singing birds, crystal clear brooks, trees laden with luscious fruits... Oh!!! It was blissful. Beside the brook, there was a small rock and I saw a woman seated on it. She was staring far into the horizon, and looked highly contemplative. She was looking quite graceful and was decently dressed in a violet coloured chiffon sari. A string of jasmine flowers adorned her silky hair. I went up to her. I give below a detailed version of the dialogue which transpired between us:

Me: Hi!!! What's your name?

Woman: [Turns towards me, but doesn't show any signs of excitement or surpise] Hi!!! I'm Nilanjana.

Me: I'm Krish. Where do you stay?

Nilanjana: I used to stay in Rajajinagar, near Navrang.

Me: Used to!!!???

N: Yes. I died last year in a car accident.

Me: [Sweat drops started to appear on my face] Dead!!! But how...

N: Tut tut... What is death, Krish? Is Human Soul bounded by death? I'm my Soul, birthless, deathless. This blissful place is my home. What you see is a projection of my body, which I created with the help of my thoughts.

Me: Yes. You're right. Immortality is our real nature. But in our day-to-day life on earth, we don't seem to realize this fact. By the way, a lot of changes have happened in Bangalore since you... Er... [I fumbled, not able to find a cheerful word for death]

N: It's ok, Krish. I understand. I can see through your mind that you are trying to find a nice way to mention my death. Looks like the immortality lecture which I just gave you just now had the desired effect [Smiles to herself]. Don't fret about this, Krish. I've been following the changes in my city very closely. Even the name has been officially changed to Bengaluru, isn't it?

Me: Yes. What do you think of it? I personally found the name Bangalore better.

N: See Krish, it's not about you or me liking the name. This rechristening of our city may have a lot of deep implications on so many vital areas of our day-to-day life, including business and politics.

Me: I didn't understand.

N: Ok. I'll try to see if I can make you understand. The official name Bengaluru implies that it will be used in government correspondence, in the media, in office and residential addresses, in commercial organisations and in transportation. Are you following this clearly?

Me: Yes. I am.

N: Good. Now, let's think from the critics' point of view. As you know, Bangalore is a global metropolis. It is known internationally by this name and its renaming may adversely affect its international image and global branding. Also, some people believe that Bangalore is quite easy to pronounce and it flows easily off the tongue, whereas, Bengaluru is a bit clumsy to pronounce. If we think from a sentimental point of view, we may see unwanted growth of cultural chauvinism, which may lead to non-Kannadigas being made to evacuate Bengaluru.

Me: [Trying to sound authoritative] That would be preposterous. Karnataka, in general, and Bangalore, in particular, has always been open to people belonging to various cultural ethnicities.

N: Don't be afraid, Krish. I'm sure such an eventuality will never come to pass. Ok, let's come back to our topic. I was talking about the implication of this new name, wasn't I? If you observe one thing, the critics are mainly the cosmopolitan residents of the city, who believe that this renaming issue is just a cultural mask which the government has adorned to deflect the attention of the public from the pressing current issues- like scarcity of water and power, poor sanitation, appalling road conditions, et al- which it seems incapable of addressing.

Me: I agree with you, Nilanjana [I was beginning to feel that I had known her for years]. These politicians know the Indian psyche very well. The minds of our people get easily stirred whenever cultural topics are raised. This rechristening definitely has strong roots in linguistic nationalism.

N: Krish, the mythical and mystical line between cultural assertion and cultural chauvinism is a very thin one. The new name, Bengaluru, is consistent with the history and customs of the people of Karnataka. Since, the local people have a lot of sentiments attached to the local culture and language, let them feel the pride of having the name of their beloved capital city in their own way. And, let Bangalore continue to be used in popular discourse. The problems occur when the so called activists begin to place jingoistic demands.

Me: [In a meek voice] Like banning other language movies?

N:  Yes. Then, things may start getting ugly as the democratic principles of national unity and integrity gets jeopardized.

Me: I hope nothing of that sort happens. Patriotism has to be in the heart, not in the name. Do you know, Nilanjana, when I visited Bangalore way back in 1999 for the first time, I was in IX grade. I was very much excited to see the huge, majestic trees lining the roads and the beautiful parks scattered across the city. Now, ironically, I just see big apartment flats with names like 'Tree', 'Woods', 'Garden', 'Green', 'Nest' and so forth. It's so painful, you know. I agree, Bangalore has developed industrially riding an exponential curve, but at the same time, it has lost its charm as the garden city. I visit so many shopping malls, pubs and dance lounges during weekends but I don't find that old world charm I used to find in those days. Couldn't there have been urbanization without the loss of the aesthetic beauty of this city??? Oh! I so wish that things were different.

N: Ok ok. Now, don't get so nostalgic. See, whether it's Bangalore or Bengaluru, the city moves on. You too have to move on with your life. Don't be a prisoner of your past. Become an architect of your future.

Me: Oh!!! You have read 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari', haven't you?

N: Yes. That last line was borrowed from that book. You've quite a sharp memory, I see. You made me look so sheepish.

    I could see that her cheeks had turned pink which made her look doubly beautiful. I had to resist a strong impulse to grab her and plant a kiss on her lips.

    Suddenly, my cell started ringing. It was from my girlfriend.

Girlfriend: Idiot!!! You forgot our date again.

Me: Er... Me... Nilanjana... Er... Bengaluru...

Girlfriend: Oh God!!! Who the bloody hell is Nilanjana? And why can't you pronounce Bangalore properly?

Me: [Trying to sound romantic] Wait dear, listen... You are mistaken...

Girlfriend: Get lost... [She hung up. She must have pressed the disconnect button so hard that her finger must have come out from the back of her cell]
   
    I looked around. I was in the bus. Instinctively, I looked back. There was no door. Only the number of passengers had increased by half a dozen.
    Damn!!! Three girlfriends lost in two weeks. I felt like I was the world's biggest jerk. I glanced outside the partially opened window. It was still raining. I just sat on my seat, contemplating what would have happened if I had thrown caution to the winds and kissed Nilanjana.