Love at First Sight
She skidded for about twenty meters
before smashing into the rear of a stationery truck.
Those twenty meters turned out to be
the longest stretch I had ever negotiated in my life.
The impact jolted me violently.
For a few seconds, my mind drew a
blank.
I could think, see or hear nothing.
Then, everything returned with double
the force.
It was as if the past got obliterated
in one single stroke and the future ceased to exist.
I felt acute pain in my knees.
I reached for the doorknob and tuned
it. It worked.
I pushed myself out into the open.
I felt as if I emerged out of a dark
cave.
The deafening sound of passing
traffic struck me like a lightning bolt.
A crowd was beginning to swell around
us.
Someone placed his hand on my shoulder
gently.
‘What happened brother?’
It was a good question.
With some effort, I maneuvered my way
around her.
Her front was thrown open by the
sheer force of the collision. She was disfigured beyond recognition. A dark
green liquid oozed out of her guts and ran on the black road like an ugly
serpent.
An old fellow with a golden tooth
looked towards the heavens and remarked in an honest voice, ‘Thank God, you are
safe. Things come and go but human life is priceless.’
I stared at the thing.
Six years back, I had fallen head
over heels for her.
In fact, it was a classic case of
love at first sight.
And I never recovered from its sweet
taste.
Wherever we went, she was mobbed and
admired.
Her complexion, strength and to be a
bit impolite, her curves made many a hearts skip their beats.
She was simply gorgeous.
Every evening, when we returned from
the office and reached home, I would touch her softly and whisper, ‘Tired?
Don’t worry. I have nothing for you this weekend. Take rest.’
And she always smiled back at me,
always.
In a city packed with high, concrete
buildings and ambitious, worldly people, she was like an oasis of peace into
whose cozy folds I could always hide and find comfort.
I travelled with her only up to the
office and back.
For any other journey, big or small,
I hired a cab.
I never bothered her unnecessarily.
Except for that one time.
A metallic idol of Lord Ganesha was among many
objects that were part of her accessories.
I always started my day by bowing in
front of the elephant god.
Occasionally, she would go to the
nearby workshop for bit of a tune up.
No one could ever guess her age.
She always looked young and dashing.
There were times she would get angry.
This generally happened when I somehow
ignored her.
On all such occasions, she just won’t
buzz.
However, a little pep talk and an
apology here and a kiss there, and I always managed to win her back.
And then, she stood there, bleeding
and in pain.
She had absorbed the dreadful shock
and saved my life.
In the process, she died.
A thin film of tears appeared in my
eyes.
Just a few hours back, we were
cruising happily towards our destination.
And there I was, standing in the
middle of a listless road, a complete stranger to my surroundings with nowhere
to go - lonely, hungry and devastated.
After a while, a towing van arrived
and we left for the nearest garage.
The insurance guy kept talking to me
continuously over the phone.
He was sorry that this had taken
place.
I gave him all the details.
It happened because
it had to.
Some more formalities and paper work took
place at the garage.
At the end of it, it was time for us
to part.
I gazed at her one last time.
She smiled back at me, as always.
More than a month passed.
Those twenty meters before the collision
haunted me day and night.
The surveyor had finished his
inspection and declared her unserviceable.
She was to be sold as scrap.
But he promised me a good return.
I rolled back to the city.
People suggested that I should look
for a new one.
But I had left my heart back in that
garage.
I often dreamt of undertaking long
trips with her on bright Sunday mornings - she as beautiful as ever and me as alive
in her presence as I could be.
She was not my car.
She was my Baby.
I got tears in my eyes while reading it..i read it twice..
ReplyDeleteAnd i don't have words to describe my feelings..Life sometimes takes the most loved things from us!
True Aanchal. And life only gives us the strength to cope up with the loss.
DeleteIt's really deep and heartouching Sir.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Shivam.
DeleteA wonderful personification of the car and the undying attachment and affection towards it. Sometimes our affixation to a thing is so strong that we tend to love and care it like our near and dear once. And for these special acquaintances, it would be wrong to call them a thing because they are our special friends who prefer even dying in an unavoidable circumstances. This story touched deep and gave a similar kind of extreme pain when a loved one leaves for ever. No doubt such incidences jolt us down and shake our innermost soul, but we need to overcome them sooner or with time.
ReplyDeleteVery emotional story sir. Loosing a loved on either living or non living, always painful.
DeleteI agree Shalini. And mostly, the gravity of loss is best understood by the person concerned. Rest of the world carries on.
DeleteYes Rajesh. Love doesn't distinguish living from the non living.
ReplyDeleteSir the way used by you to describe love for your car is very deep and heart touching and i can't express in words that what I have acquired from this story thank you sir for making us realise that what actually a love is :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Mukul. Your comments indicate that for most of us, love has a much wider definition.You can fall in love with your car also.
DeleteSir defination of love described by you is really i mean I can't make it express in words as it is really appreciable and yes sir i am in love with my car because i knew that the way i drives only my car can handle and he is my support system as whenever i get sad i used to drive :)
ReplyDeleteVery intense and touching. I can understand the sentiment attached to your 'Baby'. My 'Baby' is now 13 years old and except for few scratches here and there.....she is still splendid and impeccable. Perhaps I can never part with her.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward for more articles in future from you buddy.
Dear Sanjay
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading Love at First Sight.I share the same sentiments.What makes anything alive is the love and care you shower upon it. And it is as true about human beings as about the car you drive!
Indeed very gripping and well composed.
ReplyDeleteThank a lot sir for your kind appreciation.
DeleteWow
ReplyDeleteTouchable.
Thank you so much.
DeleteWow
ReplyDeleteTouchable.
Yes, it is indeed a very touching story.Thanks a lot.
ReplyDelete