Germs of Greatness

GERMS OF GREATNESS

It is quite shocking when you see someone at a place where you never expect them to be. Today, as usual, when we all were boozing at a cabaret, suddenly, my eyes caught a fleeting glimpse of Aniket.

“Aniket? Here?” I murmured, with an upsurge of shock sweeping over my face.

Others looked at me to understand the gravity of the situation. Without delay, I pointed my finger towards him. A wave of mixed reaction rippled among us. Most of us were taking a gander at him for being such a big hypocrite. Aniket was the only person in our friend’s circle who advised all of us to abstain from alcohol and unnecessary parties. Although we did not pursue his exhort, we valued his counsel since he was a man of words. He himself practiced all the great propensities which he preached.

When all my friends were busy cursing and tagging him with so many pre-conceived attributes, suddenly, a temptation to know the reality encouraged me to accost him for exploring such stuff which irritated him. The moment I stood up from the table, Kailash gripped my arm tightly and pulled me towards himself. He said, “Don’t go there. If he doesn’t consider us his friends then there’s no point to show off yourself as his true friend. Understood?”

Kailash looked at me as if he would kill me if I dared to do so. For a few seconds, I got nervous but could not drop the idea of meeting Aniket. I am a person who always values a relationship. I was certain that he must be having some problems which he was not able to share with anyone, bringing him under extreme stress. And according to me, it would not be fair enough to form an opinion against him before knowing the reality.

Now, the problem was, we had witnessed him in a cabaret, not a simple bar. We could understand that people, at times, get frustrated and take the help of alcohol to release the pressure, but what could be the matter where he required seeing half-naked girls stripping their clothes to lure the public? We all were confused.

I was sneaking a look at him every now and then, observing his behavior. At the same time, I also kept my movements under control so that others did not catch my intention of meeting him.

After spotting Aniket in the cabaret, everybody’s mood was spoiled. Nobody wanted to stay there any longer. They were gulping down drinks without enjoying them. After a few more pegs, we decided to call off the night. We all went out of the cabaret and started struggling to get ourselves some cabs to take us back to our respective homes. I pretended to not find an appropriate cab so that I could stay behind and get a chance to dig up the truth from Aniket. I was busy waving hands at all my friends, as each one left one by one.

I knew, at that point in time, it seemed childish, but I had never controlled my pulse in my entire life and that day was definitely not going to be an exception. I was confident for my sleepless night if I did not get my answers.

 When I became doubly sure that all my friends left for their homes, I quickly returned to his table. I gave myself a serious composure and tried to make my voice stronger than it used to be. I put my hand on his shoulder and said, “Aniket, what are you doing here?”

I was expecting him to be embarrassed, but he turned towards me, stalled for a few seconds and replied, “Have a seat.”

His casual attitude shocked me; I hadn’t expected this. I sucked in my breath along with my stupid thoughts. This attitude can come only when someone is a regular visitor. Now I was finding it difficult to start probing his problems. I was feeling like a trespasser. He was looking at the dancers but with a pale face.

I looked at him perplexedly and said, “Do you know, just a few minutes ago our entire group was here and they saw you here? They were not happy to spot you here.”

He looked at me, but there was no sign of embarrassment. I just blurted out what I could not keep any longer. He filled up two glasses and offered one to me.

I refused and said, “Aniket, you are a genius, man. Unnecessarily I was thinking you are in trouble, and there is something which you cannot share with others. Actually, I am over-sensitive. I always need to find out the reasons even where there are none. I should have thought of why one cannot enjoy the drinks alone. I am sorry, yaar.”

I stood up. He looked at me; his eyes brimmed with tears. For the first time, I could read someone’s face so clearly. He needed help. I dragged a chair beside him and perched on it.

“Tell me. As far as I know you, there is something serious otherwise you would not have come to such a place or touched such stuff,” I said.

He was silent, but I could feel that he wanted to speak out everything. Maybe his self-esteem was stopping him to share his problems.

Suddenly, he broke the silence, “Can you suggest me the name of any divorce lawyer?”

The word “DIVORCE” made me numb with shock. As far as I remembered, his marriage had not completed even a year. We all had attended it.

“What?!” I shrieked, “Are you serious?” He looked at me and replied, “Yes.”

Usually, I do not interfere in anybody’s personal matters, but this time I could not hold back myself and asked, “I will help you to any extent, but you have to tell me the reasons.”

He wiped his wet eyes and said, “Now I understand, you cannot make everybody happy in life. I tried to do exactly that and failed miserably.”

His philosophical reply was difficult for me to understand. I looked at him like a fifth-grade student who may have mistakenly entered a college lecture room. “You know we are Rajputs. My father and father-in- law were good friends and our marriage was fixed in the childhood days. We both knew about this decision, but I never tried to meet my fiancée as I knew it would not leave a good impression of my family. I always treated my father’s wish as a command for me.”

That day I could see how a true Rajput spoke. I could have easily visualized Aniket in princely attire who had tilak on his forehead and a long sword tucked in his waist. I pinched myself and squinted at him. I could only see his lips moving but was not be able to hear anything. I instructed my brain to focus strictly on the matter at hand.

My brain tuned in back to the situation and I started hearing, “Before proceeding with the marriage, my father did ask about my approval. Not only that, but he also offered me to see the bride before getting married. I knew it was not easy for him, too. I thought if this had not happened earlier then why I should take the blame of starting or rather breaking this tradition of not meeting your fiancée. I did not want my father requesting someone for me.”

Now, I was becoming impatient. I looked at my watch secretly so that he should not feel bad. It was 12:25 AM and I felt that he had not yet come to the actual problem. I cut him short and said, “Aniket, don’t you think, from this decision, your father will be hurt?” He looked at me from his half-closed eyes and said, “Now, I want to live for myself and not for my father’s commitment to his friend.”

Suddenly, his way of thinking ignited anger in me. Just a few minutes back his father’s wish was a command for him and now, he wanted to live merely for himself. Unable to hold back after hearing his conflicting words, I asked directly, “Will you tell me what your problem is?”

“My problem is my wife. Her unacceptable appearance, her dressing sense, her dark complexion, her poor etiquette… Have you ever heard such a comment about your wife as a black model good for showcasing jewellery items? I had to swallow this humiliation, and it happened only because I wanted to be great in front of everybody. But now I want to live life like others, just a normal life.”

He went on narrating the imperfections and flaws in his wife and I heard everything silently. A waiter interrupted us reminding the closure time of the cabaret. By this time there was nothing left for him to share. His demeanour was relaxed. He paid the bills and we came out from there.

I took a cab and asked him to meet me at Khidirpore near Alishan Hotel around 1:00 PM, the next day.

On the next day, somehow, I managed the time from my office and took a cab for Khidirpore. A few questions were squirming in my head very badly. It was like a shredded chicken piece stuck between your teeth and you would not get relief until the time it came out. I was determined to ask some awkward questions from Aniket which might be unethical.

As promised, I reached there at 1:10 PM. Aniket had already reached.

“When did you come, Aniket?” “Half an hour ago.”

I could see his restlessness. I beckoned him to follow me. We reached Sufia Apartment where my friend’s elder brother, Shahnawaz Khan, resided. By profession, he was a lawyer, but nowadays, he was handling mostly divorce cases. I pressed the bell and Shahnawaz Bhai opened the door immediately as if he was just waiting for us. He signaled us to sit on the Sofa. A maid offered water to us. Shahnawaz Bhai reclined on his long revolving chair and asked, “Yeah, tell me, what’s your problem?”

For a few seconds, Aniket was lost in gazing the photograph of a beautiful lady framed on the opposite wall. It was quite embarrassing for me to divert his attention directly so I nudged him.

“Aniket… Shahnawaz Bhai was asking something.” I turned my look sideways.

“Sir, basically, I wanted to…”

I was sure that Aniket was not getting the right words to put forward his desire.

“Tell me without hesitation. If you need a divorce, you need to tell me every problem that is difficult to rectify and for that reason, you want to divorce your wife,” Shahnawaz Bhai eased his hesitation.

“Sir, I am not happy with my wife. In fact, I cannot stay with her anymore. I want a divorce,” Aniket jabbered out.

“Yeah… that I know and that’s why you’re here, but we have to make a case study and based on that we can seek a divorce.”

Aniket looked at me in bewilderment. I shrugged my shoulder; he had to do the talking and explain his case. Shahnawaz Bhai understood our confusion and said, “Okay, let me put in this way, does your wife not care for you?”

Aniket shook his head.

“What? Does she or does she not care for you?” Shahnawaz Bhai asked confoundedly.

“No, no, she does,” Aniket replied

“She does not behave properly with your parents?” “No, in fact, she spends decent time in taking care of them.”

“Is she irresponsible towards your children?” “No…” we don’t have kids.

“Okay, one personal question… does she not cooperate in bed?”

“No, she does… but I don’t enjoy with her.” “Why?”

Now I was feeling awkward. I was not sure how far the bedroom secrets would be unfolded today. I excused for the washroom and locked myself in there, but the discussion could still be heard clearly.

Shahnawaz Bhai repeated his question, “Do you have some sexual problems?”

“No, nothing like that, but I can’t endure her unacceptable appearance. As such, I’m not fond of partying, but when you move in society, you should at least not be embarrassed about your life partner. I know people don’t say directly, but they comment on her. I have even heard that I must have taken a handsome dowry to get married to her, and it’s not true. I don’t want to carry this baggage anymore. It’s better to break this relationship right away rather than letting it get deeper as I don’t want to do injustice with her, too. At least she can live her own way,” Aniket blurted out the entire thing.

“If you didn’t like her then why did you agree to marry her? This cannot be the reason for divorce,” Shahnawaz Bhai said bluntly.

Aniket paused for a second and looked impatient, “Huh… It’s easy to give a lecture but very difficult in real life. If you don’t mind can I ask you something?” his voice was stern.

I was cursing myself why I brought him here. I did not know what kind of humiliating question he would ask from Shahnawaz Bhai and spoil my relation with him, too. I did not have the guts to come out from the washroom so I stayed back.

 “Whose photograph’s is this?” Aniket must have pointed towards Shahnawaz Bhai’s wife’s photograph, which was hanging on the wall.

“My wife,” Shahnawaz Bhai replied, as expected. “Yes, and now see my wife’s photograph. I have committed a mistake for my father’s wish because the   germs   of   greatness   had   bugged   me. And   now, I don’t want to be great any further by continuing the relationship with her.”

“Okay, you wait. You need to fill out some forms and complete some formalities.” Shahnawaz Bhai stood up to get some forms.

I came out of the washroom and sat silently beside him.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Shahnawaz Bhai opened the door, smiled and stepped back respectfully before walking back to his bedroom to get those papers. Two kids carrying school bags entered the flat followed by an ugly, aged lady. Aniket was staring at her. I observed his mood transform from tense to sympathy.

“Who is this lady, is she their maid?” Aniket whispered in my ears.

“Ssshhh… she is Shahnawaz Bhai’s wife,” I murmured. “Are you joking?”

“No, I am not.”

“You mean to say that the beautiful lady in the photograph and this lady are the same person?”

“Yes”

“But how is it possible?”

“Only a few people know. While returning from his honeymoon, they met with an accident. By the grace of God, they both were saved, but in that mishap, the windshield’s splintered glass damaged her beautiful face.

 Shahnawaz Bhai spent lots of money on her treatment and what you are seeing now is much better. But everybody knows very well that he still treats his wife like a queen. And you will also agree that this treatment cannot come out of sympathy, it is only out of love. Hats off to Shahnawaz Bhai, such a great man.”

A tide of seriousness took over Aniket’s face. He became silent and speechless as if he had got all his answers. He held his head with both his hands and exhaled a long breath. I could see a few drops of tear on the floor, too, and it was the sheer evidence of his repentance.

“Oh God! What was I going to do? Shahnawaz Bhai is really a great person,” Aniket grumbled.

His emotional impact of overwhelming surprise completely stunned me.

After a few minutes, Shahnawaz Bhai came out of the room and asked, “Where is your friend?”

“He dropped the idea of divorcing his wife.” “But, all of sudden? How?”

I shrugged to signify his unknown reason.

“You and all your friends are the same, fickle minded… unnecessarily wasted my time.”

I remained silent.

“Would you like to have tea?” Shahnawaz Bhai asked half-heartedly.

I nodded.

“Bua, Bua… please bring two cups of tea,” Shahnawaz Bhai shouted.

I was stretching my brain to continue the innocuous discussion with Shahnawaz Bhai until the tea came.

“Shahnawaz Bhai, where is Bhabi?” I asked.

 Shahnawaz Bhai looked at me and said, “She has been assigned as a flying guard in Madhyamik Pariksha, otherwise she brings children from the school.”

“Okay.” I nodded and asked, “Who is that aged lady?”

“Who?”

“That lady who brought your children from the school.”

“Oh, she? She is our new maid.”

I knew I had wasted Shahnawaz Bhai’s whole day and spoiled one client too, but from within, I was satisfied with what I did. I did not know how this trick came to my mind.

Nevertheless, I feel, sometimes the germs of greatness bug me too.