Last Saturday we had our terrace party with all my friends and colleagues, blasting-off as if there’s no tomorrow. Booze flowed freely, Home delivered food from K restaurant( it was superb) and all reticence lost. The chilling breeze didn’t have any deterring impact: after few pegs noone require a top( talking about men).
I was showing off my 6 pack abs ( only 2 showed- made promise to display the rest by next party) and RB showed off his music skills on his guitar.
I secretly decided to stay a bit sober and watch the action, so found myself clinching to a bottle of Smirnoff ice( note for my wife:less than 5% alcohol).BR the usual party controller got himself drunk on whiskey and I wondered why. I noticed unusually poignant BR and decided to investigate on the matter.
It turned out to be nothing very serious. The booze gloom syndrome which every drinker is susceptible to (read: senti dialogues after being drunk)
He told me about his childhood, his relation with his father, how he made fun of him and how he thought of him as being lowly, etc... and Then he cried inconsolably on my shoulders, wetting me with his tears and mucous out of his nose.( after the party I was forced to shower with my Dettol anti bacterial shower gel-and it was freezing cold).
The party got over and everyone dispersed but BR refused to go. I wasn’t sure how much he drank but he decided to empty his heart on me and tell me the reason behind his latest sufferings. He spoke to me non stop for two hours and I cant explain in words how I felt with my sleep deprived eyes solemnly waiting for him to stop and leave my house.(I have never missed my sleep so badly in my life)
Below mentioned are few excerpts from BR’s heart revealing saga , which I thought of sharing here as a first person narrative. I have added a bit of fizz trying to make it palatable and omitted phrases which I thought are unparliementry (You should hear BR talk-he would put a truck driver to shame).Here it goes:
Now that iam into my middle age and being left with expectations and worldly worries to feed, I have decided to explore the spiritual side of my existence. After suffering for many years I have finally decided to address my problems related to happiness and wellbeing.
When I look at my past , I was really happy as a child.My dad was in the govt. service and we had a middleclass upbringing. We ate, wore and entertained out of my fathers meager salary and the poor guy(my dad) had to even save some money so that we could settle down one day into our home town .He had to worry about owning a house and our future education expenses et all, but we were happy. He was not like me: he was content with whatever little he earned. He as happy to call himself a “middle class government employee” and smiled with it whenever someone asked.
I remember those days, we couldn’t afford branded clothes or branded restaurants. But my Father managed to take care of us and thinking about it now, did a good job at it.
Finally I managed to get myself educated and then came my worries. I was picked up by one of the best companies to work, but after few months of working I felt this was not it. I resigned despite my fathers protest and I explained insolently: its my life and me to decide what I did with it. He stopped his advices and least to say he was hurt by my remarks.
I wanted to be the best in the industry, earn more than my college mates, earn loads and loads of money and as quickly as possible. I dreamt of living in a posh apartment , with a luxury car and then marry the most beautiful girl in the world.
It was then that I started loosing my hair: according to my mother it was for the reason that I was taking way too much tension into my head. I was at my rudest best in explaining to her that I didn’t want to be like her husband (my dad) and live all my life as an ordinary middle class man.
I got rich and had all the money I dreamt of but:
* The food from the best Italian restaurant in town didn’t come anywhere close to the dosas my mother made, grinding them the previous day on the small stone grinder.
* I use a good mid segment car, but those journeys in overcrowded buses with my parents are still the best I have ever had.
* I could buy any branded cloths but I don’t look forward to wearing them the way those tailored shirts and pants , given to us during special occasions .
* I dont get hugged by my mother when I get sick and noone makes me that special kanji only my mother could make.
Now iam never happy, I never have time for anything in life. I am always tired. I cant sleep if I think about my work schedule for tomorrow. Life is a living hell, I have just discovered from my doctor that I have high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels.
Iam convinced money cant buy half of the best things in my life that I got it for free and hence took it for granted. I feel like apologizing to my Father now and hug him once again like those good old days. I want to admit to him that I will never be cleverer than him, No matter how much my bank balance improved. I will never get the love I got from my mother, no matter whom I married.
I didn’t know what to tell BR or how to calm him, .But I agreed with him: money cant buy half of the good things that I got it for free in my life.
P.S: Dont worry about the title.And HAPPY ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY TO ME. I AM ONE MONTH OLD IN BLOGGER, WOO-HOOO
33 comments:
My head has to stop reeling before I respond....hmmm...ok...I am fine now....Woo hooo...cangrats on the anniversary...
Friends tale told very well...applauds to you...and I totally agree sbout the money part.
But I am worrying sbout the title...Where is the connection????????????
Hmmm... people who get drunk usually start talking about spiritual beliefs....
Guess your friend is lucky to have you as a true friend who stayed up late to listen to his worries!
@Jyothi: Thanks, There is a connection. Its highly clandestine, keep guessing. hehehe, kidding, as i stated in my P.S, Dont worry about the title.
@Dhanya:Thanks alot. You are right about the drunk, they go spiritual and me being a don drinker ( i have even quit beer 3 months back when my Daughter was born)have suffered many a times.Cheers:)))
Happy anniversary, one moth old blogger :)
I'm nearly a month old too :)
money cant buy half of the good things that I got it for free in my life. How true :)
Well put...
Cheers!!!!
The book 'Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance' has a lot of philosophical content, and BR's disclosure to you was of a similar nature.
Hence the title to the post I guess, am I correct?
@Miss Kido:Thanks and BTW i loved your Blog. It had a very high voltage, high energy writing style which i found very appealing. Cheers:))
@Rahul: You are right about the title. Its one of Fav. books. Thanks man:))
You have got to be kidding me...I would have never guessed that was the title of a book...I need to read philosophy from now on too...will search for the book in stores here..
I did read the review in Wikipedia...Thanks ;-)
I hope ur frnd doesnt mind u putting dis up. A lot of my potential posts go underground for this reason! But I loved the way you wrote it and even though I still live on my dad's money I will take this post seriously and learn from your friend's mistake! Work on your abs! Next party will be sooner than you expect. True story.
Good of your friend to have realised. I hope he has his parents around and he can always make up for his mistakes now. The best part of having parents is - they are always forgiving and accept us whenever we come back. Hope all of us, realise early in our lives, what parents are for us...Cheers to you..for having given him a shoulder to lay his head and cry his heart out
Nice post:) Tell your friend, it is never too late to set his priorities right in life.
My father was a government servant too and I feel the govt servants have the kind of values not easily found these days: simple living, high thinking. It used to be my father's favourite quote.
Thanx for this post:)
Don't tell me the photograph above your post was taken on your terrace before the party. What a stockpile!
Congrats on your monthly anniversary as a blogger. I think the blog gives you and opportunity to have a dialogue with yourself, basically. One must introspect.
It doesn't matter how we reach the conclusions that prove to be meaningful in the long run. But it is important that we keep trying.
All best.
Extremely touching story there! ty for sharing it with us.
**Then he cried inconsolably on my shoulders, wetting me with his tears and mucous out of his nose.( after the party I was forced to shower with my Dettol anti bacterial shower gel-and it was freezing cold).
LOL!
** I want to admit to him that I will never be cleverer than him, No matter how much my bank balance improved. I will never get the love I got from my mother, no matter whom I married.
that was well-put by him. Isnt that so true!
Men can go find as many women as they want, but no one will love them unconditionally like their mother does.
Money cant buy happiness that priceless things bring, yes...Im glad he realised that now, cos its never too late to live again.
Keshi.
ohh...nice to hear those bottles rattling on the terrace... :D
Great party and a man opening up his soul to you..wow couldnt get better..apart from the sleep deprived eyes!! Congrats on completing a month, It doesnt take me a drink to say aloud that nothing beats the simple pleasures that an ordinary income brought home when we were kids..absolutely nothing apart from a nice restful sleep at night..
@Jyothi: Hehe, my idea was to confuse you, i succeed, dont bother about philosophy, i think what you need is already in you.No philosophy is greater than the true "pursuit of happiness". cheers take care:)))
@Zeba: Hummm, 6 pack abs,i am working on it. inshallah Cheers, take care:))
@Anon: Thanks cheers, but i wish you had put your name. Thanks anyways>:))
@ Panorama: You father is absolutely right. Simple living and high thinking and simple living leads to much higher levels of happiness. Thanks for reading through.;))
@Santanu Dada: Hehe, no, that was just a photograph. I dont drink. I quit some time back. Thanks for the wishes. :)))
@Keshi: Thanks. Yes, happiness is in smaller things, we all tend to run behind the bigger things in life. CHeers:))
@Priya: Hope you are better now. yes its nice to have a blast once a while. Really unwinds yu.Cheers:))
@Sujata:You are absolutely right.My dad was in army and we had a blast during our childhood. I can never thanks my father for it. Thanks:))
thanks a tonne buddy 4 passing by...do stay connected..
Booze, friend's sympathetic shoulder and homesickness-plus-middle-age-regrets: a lethal combo! Been there, done that (the role of the friend, I mean), but would not care to repeat the experience too often!
Happy hectic one-month anniversary!
OMG! just a month! u write so regularly that i had forgotten you were a new comer! Anad look at you! 27 comments!! Way to go!
@Ramesh: Thanks, i loved your posts. shall come back to read more. Till then ciao:))
@Sucharita:Thanks. Once in a while, a wild party can be so much useful, more so in these tough times. cheers:))
@P: Thanks, yea, alright. Iam just one month old and long way to go. TC:)))
hmmm.. for a one month blogger, you are too good. When I started up, I didnt even know what to blog.
You seem to be a very patient person. You heard the story of your peon, you heard this sad rich man's story also. I would have punched the drunk man out of my way if I would see him telling me his griefs. It is said that you express your emotions when your get high. Its the lamest things I would have ever heard. People drink, get high, waste their time, waste their health also.
Over-ambitious people always face this situation at one point in their life. I enjoy my life for that reason. I know that all the geeks I have studied with till now would regret being geeks in future. They missed all the fun :-)
one month.. but the simple way with which you write is too good..
waiting for the plagiarism post
:P
Post a Comment