The Real Virus

The sun was beaming down, it was probably the hottest day of the Summer but that’s how it had felt like the day before too. The temperature wasn’t receding, but in fact, it was rising up every hour. As the clock struck noon, a cement-mixer truck came to a halt on the countryside highway near a northbound unpaved road. The scorching heat might have soaked up even the last droplet of water there was in that barren land. Recently the Government had taken stern steps to develop the nation, and creating a world-class infrastructure was an important part of that plan. Connecting the towns and cities, bringing people together. More opportunities, more jobs! 

Nothing was unusual about seeing a cement mixer near a barren land, it was probably the best thing to happen because that meant they’ll be connecting one more town or a village with the highway. But what was unusual today was that there was only one cement mixer and nothing else... not a single soul or a car for as far as your eyes could see.

A month ago, the Government had announced a complete lockdown, there was a certain pandemic on the lose. So the question was, didn’t the notification reach the Transport ministry? Turns out it did. Because it wasn’t a normal cement mixer. A horrifying scenario starts unfolding on the service road adjacent to the highway. That machine wasn’t there to construct a road and connect people with opportunities. No! It was there to see off the people who have lost the chance that life gave them because of a disease spreading globally. Twenty-one people jump out of that cement mixer, all scared for dear life!

Akhilesh Tiwari, a lanky looking man was the last one to emerge out of that truck. Akhilesh hails from a little town named Ramgarh situated on the outskirts of Uttar Pradesh, still about 800 km from this point. He started stretching his body as if he wasn’t sure if his limbs would ever work again. 

As everyone was resting by the highway, a tired-looking old man asked Akhilesh, “what were you doing in Mumbai?” Akhilesh smirked, his lips twitching under his thick moustache. “I had heard this was the city where dreams come true! So, without thinking about anything else, I just walked in here 7 years ago without a single penny in my pocket.” The old man giggled at the statement. Wiping the sweat on his forehead with a gamcha (towel) around his neck, the old man said, “That is my story too, but I came here 30 years ago! Anyway, so tell me, what’s your dream?” Akhilesh opened a packet of biscuits, the last one he had in his pocket. He didn’t know if he’ll get anything to eat after he was done with this packet, he wasn’t really thinking, but he didn’t hesitate to offer it to the old man. “Have one,” Akhilesh insisted. As the old man obliged, Akhilesh started venting. “I have two kids, Shyaam is 7 and Priya is 5.” He showed the old man their pictures on his phone. The twinkle in his eyes said everything about his love for those two little kids. Akhilesh continued, “I want to educate them as much as I can. I wish to make both of them Doctors. We need doctors in our village. Also, Shyaam is very good at cricket, so if possible, I want to see him become a cricketer!” He smiles as if he was watching his son play for India. “My son can be the next Sachin Tendulkar!”

Almost 8 days after that conversation with the old man, Akhilesh had finally reached his hometown. He looked like a completely broken down man. He had barely found some water to drink in the past week, food was a privilege he didn’t know of. How would he, being a farmer it didn’t seem to be a privilege to him before! 

Imagine, working 8 months of hard labour in the Maximum city so the economy keeps moving and then going to your hometown to do farming for 4 months so that the country would get to eat. But when you were in need, in the desperate of times, you were left behind for the vultures!

On his journey back home, Akhilesh had fallen to the ground in a heap numerous times. He starved. There was always a risk to his life from the people of the villages he was passing by, nobody would want an invader carrying a virus in their sweet little society. They would rather kill the man than face the virus. But through all this, Akhilesh continued, majorly on foot, what was inspiring about this journey was not even once had he thought about giving up his life. Not one suicidal thought. All he wished to do was go home and be with his family, his kids! And that’s what defined the heart of these migrating labourers, while the privileged world was crying out loud with the idea of being doomed on the internet, the migrants, they wanted to live!

Two days after reaching home, Akhilesh was working on his farm. Which was ironic now, to say the least. But he was a hardworking guy and wasn’t spiteful. While he was busy feeding water to his two buffaloes, his wife asked him, “How will we afford to pay for our children’s education now?” He stopped and looked at her for a moment. Akhilesh was never a confused man, he always had clarity, even at that moment, he seemed poised with an answer. “What’s the point of education? Yes, it does brings you prosperity and all the privileges in the world. But I want my kids to be kind, and humane. I think that is the only thing the world needs right now.”

Akhilesh was sure, the biggest danger to humans was the virus called inhumanity.

Pari - The Digital Lobster

“Hang in there, it’s gonna happen!”

“How do you know?”

“Because she’s your Lobster!”

Well, Phoebe knew what she was talking, even when Chandler made fun of her theory and Ross was in disbelief. It took them ten years alright, but Ross and Rachel definitely were each other’s lobsters!

If Friends would have happened in this age of social media, they all would certainly have a few lobsters waiting around in their tanks for them to get there somehow. The magnanimity of the internet is at such scale that it is possible for a person you have never met before, and probably will never meet to share a friendship that feels deeper than the one’s you have with people physically closer to you.

A small but a beautiful city in the eastern part of the World named Grace Town unfolded one such story! It happens to be one of the cleanest cities in the World even though it inhabits many industries. Engineering is at the heart of this wonderful city. But what makes it beautiful isn’t the innovation and the passion for work, Grace Town is adorable because of the people who live there. Sweet, caring, grateful - they are the nicest people you will meet. But what stands out is their empathy towards a fellow human being. Though it is a city, you’d get a feeling of an old village looking at its row houses, and the narrow roads. Even the people fondly call it “our village” when they speak about it.

In one such row house, lives a girl with a dream to conquer the world. If there is one possible explanation of why the city was named Grace Town, it could be her! She is almost like an Angel. Her parents quite rightly had named her Pari. Have you ever felt positive by just looking at someone? She is that. The twinkle in her eyes, and the lovely smile - it is like getting an adrenaline shot full of positivity when she passes by. Simple, yet so classy. And on her days, when she feels like getting all dolled up, her grace defines the whole town!

Pari, who’s going through a quarter-life crisis perhaps, is not like your ordinary damsel in distress. She had already spread her wings wide and done something so noble by the time she turned 25, that even an Angel would fall short of her magic. Pari became a doctor, and now she is studying further to become a specialist. How does she do it? You’ll never know. But it takes a lot of grit, integrity and patience to spend almost the quarter of your life just studying, only to spend the rest of your life dedicated to serve humanity! Only Angels could do that.

Remember how stupid and curious everyone is in their teenage years? Pari was never that. She was a smart bright kid. While the rest of the world was trying to figure out how Twitter worked, she was writing verses in 140 characters casting a spell on the world. If the smile on her face was beautiful, her writing would mesmerise everyone reading it. Twitter was never about the looks. Twitter is for people who can write and understand a few more words than the ones on Facebook. And through her thoughts, Pari amassed a good amount of followers, and a few of them became her good friends. 

The concept of pen-pals ceased to exist once the internet was discovered. Emails took over letters and the instantaneous world kept moving at a pace which didn’t allow you to register your own life. But the wheel kept moving, and soon social media was discovered. Pen-pals were gone but now we had millions and millions of strangers eager to talk to us, just at our fingertips. Apps like twitter connected like-minded people from different parts of the world - and Pari had also met one such connection, not far away from her land.

It’s been almost seven years, Pari knew a lot of things about Rohan but she still failed to figure out if she’ll have to look up while talking to him when she was in her heels. Yes, they haven’t met in seven years. No, wait, they have never met in life, ever! But, they were there for each other when life took twists and turns, in love and in sadness, through thick and thin. They stuck with each other, at times when they needed someone the most. They knew, if they ever felt lonely in a group of people, they had someone to make them feel better with a virtual hug. 

Rohan was one of the guys who was attracted to Pari because of her thoughtfulness and her practical yet philosophical approach to life. She was one of a kind he thought. After days of retweeting, replying and subtweeting each other, Rohan gathered the strength to slide into her DM. He sent a nervous “hi” to begin a friendship that is still pure and based on sharing. Pari was kind enough to reply to him there and then began a journey- the first of its kind in the digital age!

Soon they were greeting each other on WhatsApp. Texting was now replaced with some casual flirting. “Nice DP!” Pari had once texted Rohan. To which he responded, “it could have been better if you were in it with me!” She blushed. She would have struggled to hide the red on her cheeks if he was there in person. But it was for his own good, Rohan would have struggled to say another word looking at her glow.

They still don’t have a picture together, but they have pictured a world full of health and happiness together. The countless number of nights they have fallen asleep talking to each other made up for the distance they had between them. After all, why does anyone need a partner, a soulmate? It’s not because you can’t take care of yourself. But a soulmate is someone who would make you love yourself in a way you never thought was possible. Pari made Rohan understand how uniquely gifted he is whenever he felt low. While Rohan made her realise what her existence means to the world. They were just normal human beings, but they felt important while talking to each other.

Did they love each other? Love didn’t seem like a viable option. They were soulmates. A different kind. The Internet brought them to life, and the internet made it possible for a man to have someone to fall back to when the world disappeared on him. While for Pari, she was meant for great things, always. But her true greatness lies in what she is as a person. You’ll meet a lot of people in life, but you have to be extremely lucky to meet someone like her. Maybe she is really an Angel, Rohan would never know.

If the internet allowed to gawk at couples like people do in real life, they would wonder if something was going on between Pari and Rohan. Because they really are soulmates. Not sure if Rohan will ever find one in real life, but Pari was definitely his lobster in the virtual world.

THE ALLEY OF DESIRE

The skies were twinkling with a few stars, the moon appeared bright and huge, it probably was a Super Moon that night but Raj wouldn’t know as he had lost track of days since a while. Raj stopped suddenly near a filthy dumpster as he saw someone lurking around the dark corner of the alley. For a large man he was, Raj feared confrontations - he couldn’t throw a punch to save his own life. So the mere thought of having to face a possible mugger froze him in his tracks. Raj has always been like this, probably because of the vile memory from his childhood. He was beaten by a couple of bullies when he was 10 in a similar alley who sought his toy car. That day left a scar on his mind and a fear for life.

Raj was 23 now and not even a mugger would dare confront a muscular guy like him, but his past still makes him anxious. On seeing the man, like a kid, Raj panicked and hid behind a cage door which stood near the wall. The figure he saw in the dark started walking towards him. As the petite looking man approached closer, multiple thoughts ran through Raj’s head. Raj thought of arming himself with a metal appliance on the ground near him, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly for crying out loud, what would he do with a weapon?

That man halted near Raj. He had a mask on his face. Turning his back towards Raj he said, ”just pretend I’m not talking to you, do not say a word! I had to trick the policemen guarding the bylane next to this one to reach here.” Raj got more anxious with every word that man spoke, his mind was about to explode with the thoughts of what was going to happen. That man kept a small packet aboard the cage on a barrel and walked away in the darkness. At that very moment, Raj’s phone rung, startling him as if he was committing a crime. He turned it off, grabbed the package and ran in the same direction he came from.

It was the 50th day of Lockdown, Raj had just got someone to smuggle a packet of cheese which he had desired from day 1.