The Way Lost
He was completely disturbed and all the complacence of his face was gone. Things were different and he wanted to get away - get away , be lost and be alone in the corner of the wide expanse surrounding him.Where could he go..? Just leave the place .
He opened the door and got under the driver's seat. His car started moving and the A/C was tuned to work more briskly .
But that was only some diversion.His toes pressed the accelerating pedal and the car moved at an amusing, serious yet decided speed.
He reached the dash-board cabinet and found his cigarette pack and put one pick between his lips. It was a kind of relief to let out the smoke from the open window of the car which had now been parked in a secluded place .
A few minutes passed and now he was beginning to get hold of some concrete ideas.
He was all the while trying to put things together and form an opinion- a concrete thought so that he could be in a position to analyze the incident, the event and the whole thing. At least to do something about it .. Why was it..... What was it... Where would it lead to.... How would he be out of it...?
That was Dilip Desai a young man in his early thirties. In fact his parents had been married for over a decade and being childless had tried every possibility suggested by doctors,magicians, priests and even the ' sidhi ' babas .
Dilip , came to be the most important member of his family. His mother on the one hand pampered him rather too much .
His father was always cowed down by the mother if he ever tried to meddle with any of the matters related to Dilip.
Dilip thus became the crown prince of his father's empire , a billionaire .
Power and privilege often are known to be Satan's Servers. It turned out to be true in the case of Dilip.
At a time when dilip had to get his formal, basic education , he became a vagabond ?and a short tempered, impulsive person.
That was not solely because he was in the company of several dropouts and victims of maladjustment. At an early stage he lost his pampering ,doting mother.
His father who hailed from a very rich family was also short of social responsibility ; and his responsibility towards the son, fell short of everything except provision and wealth. And that proved obnoxious.
Dilip was always disturbed and on the run. He kept moving from one place to another not knowing what to do and where to stop or start. It could as well have been a psychological case. His counseling doctors gave him doses of sedatives and therapeutic medicine with innumerable suggestions and advice. But they could only induce sleep or a little inactivity, which didn't change him much.
His father tried to get him married .There were several proposals since he was a rich man of proclaimed status. None of them was acceptable to Dilip. He was disturbed for several days after such proposals came forth.
Dilip moved his car and pulled up in the parking lot. He decided to spend some time on the lawn of the drive-in restaurant.
He had hardly spent a couple of minutes when a liveried waiter appeared with a bottle of drinking water and a box of paper napkins. His impressive etiquette and bearing made Dilip feel relaxed.
He ordered a cup of coffee but the waiter prompted him to try the day's special dish of the restaurant. Dilip nodded .
The coffee was more delicious than ever. That was because Dilip's mind was all set to relax and refresh.
In fact he badly needed some change; and it began with the visual and gustatory sensations alerted . Soon the cool breeze made him feel different, and revived his spirit.
As he was about to leave the place his eyes fell on the front half page of the Daily News . It made him pick the paper and read the coverage.
There was a renowned Actor in the town to inaugurate a new theater and to entertain the local public.
The very instant Dilip could recognise the actor. Nearly a decade ago they had been studying in the same class for the Graduation .
Dilip frequented his visit to the same restaurant because it was close by at the moment he needed coffee.The same waiter came to take orders with his impressive genial smile.
He invited Dilip on to the lawn where a table with four chairs around and a blue coloured umbrella on the top for the shading.
Dilip readily occupied a chair and ordered coffee. The waiter volunteered to bring Dosa( indian pancake) - the special dish at the hour. Dilip agreed.
As he ate the dosa with occasional coffee sips ,his mind went back to the day he gave a treat to Leena, his classmate. She was so beautiful, cool and understanding. But as she came to know about his birth and background, she let him down and avoided him.
That was the day which found Dilip turn into a complete introvert and unsocial.
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Dilip was not the biological son of the Desai couple.
In fact after a long spell of childless life and having exhausted every possible attempt - religious and scientific, they decided to adopt a child .
The relatives were many ; but for reasons best know to them, they avoided adopting from among the relatives.
The couple arrived at the orphanage ,some hundreds of miles away from their city. After much observation and perusal , they chose to adopt a four year old child. He had been picked as a few day old baby from near a public trash bin. They felt sorry for the boy and decided to bring him up.
They named him Dilip and tried all they could to provide for his education and provision.
They wanted him to be happy and well settled.
It was perhaps because of the early death of Mrs. Desai, Dilip found himself altogether isolated. Leena's attitude had its own impact on his indignant mind. With the passage of time he became lonely and unsocial.
Leena's marriage with their own classmate a little later made him get into a kind of depression.
The doctors and counselors could only touch his peripheral mind . But that did not go far.
After the death of his father he visited the competition office's owned by the family.
But he could neither improve nor think of ameliorating any of the enterprises of which he was now the sole master.
However, with his good working staff, things went well without much fuss or harm.
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As Dilip was sipping the coffee, after finishing the dosa( indian pancake), the waiter appeared at a little distance for further service-orders.
Some how Dilip felt like talking to him. He called him near and offered the chair next to him. But the waiter would not sit. He politely okayed the offer and stood leaning a little towards Dilip.
"May I know your name..? "
' Yes.. Sir.. . My name is Manish. '
"How far could you go in your education..? "
Dilip frequented his visit to the same restaurant because it was close by and the movement he needed coffee.The same waiter came to take orders with the same genial smile.
He invited Dilip on to the lawn - a table with four chairs and blue coloured umbrella on the top for the shading.
Dilip readily occupied a chair and ordered coffee. The waiter volunteered to bring Dosa - the special dish at the hour.
Dilip nodded .
As he ate the dosa with occasional coffee sips. His mind went back to the day he gave a treat to Leena, his classmate. She was so beautiful, cool and understanding.
But as she came to know about His birth and background, she let him down and avoided him.
That was the day which found Dilip turn into a complete introvert and unsocial.
----------------------------
Dilip was not the biological son of the Desai couple.
In fact after a long spell of childless life and having exhausted every possible attempt - religious and scientific, they decided to adopt.
The relatives were many;but for reasons best know to them, they avoided adopting from among the relatives.
The couple arrived at the orphanage some hundreds of miles away from their city. After much observation and perusal , they chose to adopt a four year old child. He had been picked
As a few a old baby from near a public trash bin. They felt sorry for the boy and decided to bring him up.
They named him Dilip and tried all they could to provide for his education and provision.
They wanted to him to be happy and well settled.
It was perhaps because of the early death of Mrs. Desai, Dilip found himself altogether isolated.
Leena's attitude has its own impact on his indignant mind. With the passage of time he became lonely and unsocial.
Leena's marriage with their own classmate a little later made him get into a kind of depression.
The doctors and counselors could only touch his peripheral mind . But that did not go far.
After the death of his father he visited the competition office's owned by the family.
But he could neither improve nor think of ameliorating any of the enterprises of which he was now the sole master.
However, with his good working staff, things went well without much fuss or harm.
---------------------
As Dilip was sipping the coffee, after finishing the dosa( indian pancake), the waiter appeared at a little distance for further service-orders.
Some how Dilip felt like talking to him. He called him near and offered the chair next to him. But the waiter would not sit. He politely okayed the offer and stood leaning a little towards Dilip.
"May I know your name..? "
' Yes.. Sir.. . My name is Manish. '
"How far could you go in your education..? "
' I graduated some five years ago.. '
Dilip was surprised.. and out of curiosity he asked him about his parents.
'My father deserted my mother years ago and disappeared when I was only seven year people old. Since that day my mother brought me up. '
"Now you must be looking after your mother. "
' No sir.. she is no more.. she died a few weeks after my graduation. I am now married and have a child. My wife is working in a factory and the boy is just two year old. But he can cooperate with us and adjust himself to any environment we make for him. '
Dilip also came to know that the waiter, whom now he came to know as Manish was living in a small rented house and that there was no certainty about his job , or his future.
But Manish managed to keep smiling all the time. His vigour, and active movements impressed Dilip. He gave him sumptuous tips and left the place.
As he sat beneath the steering wheel he began to feel different. His mind was now comparing the condition of the waiter, with his own. There was a meager past and a modest way of living. In fact he felt he was in a better position - a really good condition.
He began to realize that there was no need for him to feel lonely or deserted. Yet his hurt mind pinched him with the idea of being a discarded child.
He suddenly pulled up his car in the middle of the road as he saw a small crowd blocking the passage. One of them came near and said:' sorry sir, there is an emergency here. One woman has consumed poison and is unconscious. There is also a crying child by her side. We need your help to shift her to the nearest hospital .
Dilip got down and warmly extended his helping hand. The women was saved and her child was taken care of.
This incident appeased the mind of Dilip as he retired to his bed that night.
He got up a little later than usual. In a relaxed mood he went and stood near the window. His eyes fell on the well knitted nest of a magpie on the nearby,large mango tree.
The mother bird was trying to teach her young ones to fly. Except one, all the little ones picked up the technique and soon began to fly.
The little one which could not fly and was about to land, was rescued by the mother bird. After repeated attempts and chirps of the mother bird the failed little bird ultimately could fly ; and this time it went higher up and seemed to be proudly enjoying it's flight.
Dilip's mind was wholly engaged that day. He didn't go out;he thought hard and resolved to live.
After all, life does not need any committed relation. There are ways of living a meaningful life with purpose.
If you can not live with the chosen set of people, live for the rest of the world. Emotions, and sentiments beyond the tolerable limits are more detrimental than necessary.
As he ran his palm along his chin before shaving, he remembered suddenly what his counselor had pronounced quoting a pithy saying : " Seek not to trace even the origins of rivers and sages ; they are lost in disappointing mysteries ".
"Come off the shell of the past and fly towards the future with all fervour. "
Dilip, clean shaven took his bath and got ready to go out. For the first time there was confidence and contentment stamped on his face.
He got into his car full of new ideas crowding his new set mind and sped towards his office.
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