As this Incident happens in Kerala, the characters and the geographical locations mentioned in this narration will be from the place itself.
Every day we live is a story. A few is worthy to be narrated while a few will be chosen to go with us to the grave. In most occasions, the chosen ones will be those that caused us embarrassment. What we do not realize is when these ones are narrated, they become an awareness that could influence or inspire at least one individual to handle themselves in such situation. If you wonder how?, just like one would be able to handle death if someone comes back from the grave to tell him the tale that death is no big deal.
Likewise, this one day of Sudeep, which left him worried in the days that followed were the one chosen to be taken to the grave with him. This is one episode of his life that no one knew about. This is one episode that gave him a new life.
Being a sales professional who frequently travels through the length and breadth of Kerala, meeting his distributors and retailers, it was just another official trip from Kannur to Calicut in the mid month of April 2015. These were the months after total ban on liquor was imposed. In a state which is infamously famous for the disciplined long ques in the beverage outlets and for the highest grossing sales during festive seasons, this law was a real blow. As a safe haven for the boozers around Calicut and Kannur district was Mahe.
Mahe, a small town in Kerala geographically located between Calicut and Kannur has its mouth facing the Arabian Sea. The town formerly a part of french colony is one among the four districts under the Union Territory of Puduchery.
Well, that says it all. Any union territory in India is famous among boozers for its own reasons. And at this time after the liquor ban Mahe witnessed some serious crowd pouring into the town which alerted the excise and the police department. Many people preferred Mahe as their haven, over the long ques in the government beverage outlets.
Every single vehicle were checked at the borders. When many officers closed their eyes for the liquor to travel in the decorated cars of the big wigs, a few honest officers did not spare even the Government transport buses.
After a tired long day in Kannur, Sudeep had to board the bus to Calicut on the same evening as he had his meeting scheduled with a new distributor on the next day morning. The bus journey time usually takes up to three hours on a busy day. Like any other day he preferred to travel by KSRTC while ignoring the option of train inspite of the fact that train journey took only one and an half hour.
Sudeep, boarded the bus around 6.00 pm from Kannur KSRTC bus stand. He was carrying his back pack and a hand luggage bag along with him. The hand luggage bag being fully loaded with the dress and his product samples, he had to keep it in the rear of the bus to not cause discomfort to the other passengers. Luckily, the bus was not crowded and he, to safeguard his luggage made himself comfortable in the last row of the bus occupying one among the three seats.
A bus ride in north Kerala or the Malabar is more adventurous than a roller coaster in a theme park. Almost every driver seem to look less responsible for the 51 passengers in the bus, but only they know that it is their confidence to swing and sway the twelve meter chassis that encourages them to plunge into the traffic and overtaking more insanely than a motor biker would do. Though this was seen as a result of over confidence and prejudice that they rule the road, most of the passengers were less concerned for they only wanted was to reach on time.
Thirty minutes since the two buses left Kannur bus stand, in the long que of vehicles stranded near the Dharmadam bridge had the bus in which Sudeep was travelling. He woke up from his nap to realize he would have to wait for another ten minutes, until one batch of vehicles from the opposite direction crosses the narrow bridge that could accommodate only one vehicle in width.
The very thought of crossing Mahe excited Sudeep always though he had no plans of getting down to risk his reputation over liquor by trying to smuggle it out of the district. The excise department welcomed every vehicles entering the border while even the bikers were thoroughly checked for the liquor bottle possession. They were doing it inspite of heavy rain.
Three common sites in Mahe that interested or influenced Sudeep were the road in the coastline were one can see the rough waves brushing the tetra pod walls, the closely aligned liquor shops like branded clothing showrooms in other towns and the busy fueling stations.
He was cautious about his bags, every time when people hopped in and out of the bus at their respective stops. The conductor who was sitting one seat in front of him already knew that it was his bag. 5-10 passengers boarded from both the doors and the last one closed the doors. The driver accelerated, as he heard the conductor ring two continuous bells. Every moment in a KSRTC journey was a memory for Sudeep and he was almost obsessed with traveling only in the Kerala govt transport buses.
Rains were unusual in the month of April, but as a relief to the heat was the heavy rains lashing along the way forcing the excise department and others to retreat from their search so as to avoid mishaps due to immediate braking reasoning to less visibility. Sudeep dozed of in his seat as the other two seats were still unoccupied. While in his left side was a man in his early thirties sitting with a smile on his face as he looked at the rains through the lifted window screen.
The guy who had boarded from Mahe had to get down in Vadakkara which was 14 kilometers away. Twenty minutes since the bus left Mahe bus stand, Sudeep woke up from his nap shocked at the scene of the stranger guy taking out things from his bag and searching something seriously. A scuffle was about to happen, but the conductor never bothered to interfere even after seeing what was happening .
Sudeep furiously questioned the guys action to which he replied, asking to prove if that is his bag and continued with the search. For a moment he remembered all the episodes from the first action combat games he had played to encounter the situation. It was the time he realized that we humans scream worse than a helpless dog when we actually don't know how to retaliate. If this kind of intense search were done at the airport counters, may be our government would be lucky with millions worth smuggled goods.
Being a guy with humanity Sudeep patiently asked what is it you are looking for.
The guy had no plans to answer him nor to be polite with him and so he replied rudely that it was none of his business. Sudeep was confused and annoyed at the situation were a stranger guy meddling with his bag shouting at him that it is none of his business. Finally, Sudeep loosed his cool and snatched back his bag and kept it aside him after the conductor refused to intervene.
The stranger guy shifted his seats near the conductor and engaged in a conversation that clearly annoyed the conductor. It was evident from the reactions of the conductor that this guy was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
As he got down in the Vadakara bus stand the conductor came to Sudeep to say that he was looking for any liquor bottle as he thought the bag to be of someone who boarded from Mahe. The drama was not yet over.
Second bell had the bus moving and that is when some pointed object flew towards Sudeep sitting at the edge of the three seater. Other passengers who noticed it informed him that it was the stranger guy and he threw some needle that was in his hand which looked like the needle of a syringe. Luckily the needle brushed the shirt of Sudeep and fell somewhere causing no harm to him. While one of the passengers who boarded from Vadakara in a conversation with the Conductor mentioned that the stranger guy who threw is a drug abuser and not to be bothered.
Not to be bothered??, Sudeep smirked recalling all his lessons about how a needle can be a reason for the transfer of STD. Being an over thinker is sometimes a pain in the ass and for him he was temporarily relieved as he did not come in physical contact with the needle.
"West Hill" read the board as he leaned to the window to see where he have reached. He re positioned himself so as to get down as soon as he reached the bus stand, and that was when something pricked his arse. The alien object finally found, all navarasa appeared in the face of Sudeep though he convinced himself that it just pricked on his cloth and did not go into the skin.
Sudeep lost all his excitement and got down from the bus with the needle in his hand. As he walked to the hotel that was at a walk by distance, he starred at the needle more than that he stared at the watch his girlfriend gifted him for valentines day. Someone who witnessed the episode would have definitely thought from his looks that the needle was more important to him than anything else in this world. A romantic extravaganza between him and the needle ended as he reached the hotel room.
Though not a Mahe liquor even any normal ones could do the drill and there in his room were his friends from Calicut ready with all needed for a booze party. He chose to not say about the episode that happened.
The next day resumed and the next few days followed. He did not bother to think about that until the incident struck at the left side of his medulla oblongata once again. He was constantly worried and overthinking since then that, he never discussed with his girlfriend either. On one such day when Sudeep had to take his girlfriend to the doctor, he was behaving strange when the doctor prescribed an injection. It was odd for the onlookers at the sight of a 26 year old guy being so much perplexed about the injection. But, like every lover boy even he felt relieved when his girl took time to calm him down though his new change in attitude made her concerned.
An unromantic lifestyle was so uncommon between them for that their romance was widely adored and talked during their college days. Sudeep refrained from making physical contacts with her and nothing hurts a girl more than ignorance. She decided to speak it out with him and that evening, with a cinematic punch, she yelled at him that she has chosen to live with him and while she smilingly quizzed if he had STD.
Sudeep never knew that was an innocent question from her nor she knew that it was a disturbing question for Sudeep. The funny side never came into the picture instead he screamed yes at the top of his voice and asking her to leave. Somewere someone has said "a women can make it or break it" and here she chose to stay with him and bring him out of the confusion when he finally explained the incident.
Time has boarded a bullet train and so it is never slow anymore. A week after he fainted in a restaurant after his blood pressure count went below normal, his concerns grew. It is six months since the incident happened and it already took five months for Sudeep to talk about it to someone while it took another one month for his girl to convince him to a Elisa test so as to sort out the confusion.
Later she came to know that he waited for five months as the clinic assistant had informed that it would take at least four months for the virus to react in. She understood the pain and the mental battle he had to go through. They opted for DDRC as it was widely said that their results were accurate and could be trusted.
Life is not just about trusts, it is also about the stereotypes and taboo in the society. Elisa not being an usual test Sudeep walked to the counter with his girl and in a low tone informed the receptionist about the test he wants to do. Fear of the society is sometimes worse than the fear of death and same was in this case. Like someone stares at the person buying a condom at a medical shop the words ELISA, HIV, STD garnered many eye balls rolling.
She held his hands firm, though the people were busy plotting stories behind his decision to test. What they did not know is even a recruiting process these days demands an ELISA test to be done. He secretly took pride about having such a protective girlfriend. Being a witty girl she hinted this is why i insist on using rubber followed by a wink. Oh well, she just handed over the bullets to her enemies to character assassinate her. But she did not seem bothered.
His name was called and this time when the nurse confirmed with a loud voice to Sudeep that if it is Elisa he had mentioned, he did not seem to shy off, instead replied a firm, yes. Behind every man is definitely a women but only time coincides the relationship.
Thanks to the improved technology, Sudeep felt relieved when he was informed that he do not have to come back to collect the results, instead they would be mailed to him. The wait was not long as she chose to stay with him that night. It was their first night together after almost 6 months and they skipped the night talking about things they left or forget to talk in that six months.
10.00 am in his house looked like an exam cell in a school waiting for the board exam results to be announced. As the mail popped in his favorite Lumia, he opened immediately. She never seemed concerned but looked like she knows the result already. She actually had her heart beat aching up as he was reading the results. It was when she heard a sigh of relief followed by a scream of joy her pulse came back to normal.
Sudeep went near her who was standing at the kitchen hugged her from behind and whispered in her ears saying thanks for being with him amidst all the trouble that he gave to her. It was a moment of realization, when his excitement was about a result, hers was only about getting him back as he used to be. With tears that had washed away her mascara she looked at him holding a smile in her face to say that she was thrown out of her house for choosing to stay with him in the previous night. Emotions unfolded but he stood firm with her and that was the day they started to live the life of their own.
Adding to the complication, when the couples made a pair, winning their love. What they had to loose is their family and their love for them. For a couple who believed love for the family is equally important as the love for each other, they did not actually know if they should be happy about it or sad.
Neither be the irresponsible stranger who did not mind to intrude nor be a Sudeep who wore the horses fly mask to see only the problem and not the people and solutions around it.
I blew this up from a comment that i made as an answer to a question in one of the social site by citing one of my friends personal experience, which makes the story true to an extent.
Thank you all for reading
**The End**
**The End**
