WHAT IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES ……..

The strangest thing about this strange journey is that it began with a word .
The word called “love”….. Love thy neighbour……what else you thought ?
Connotations of love change with its source. First of all it has strange sources,
but for sure it never comes from the source you want the most. I was reeling
under a writers’ block, struggling hard to be myself and sell myself. I was
irritable, foodie and was averse to every sane idea or behavior .I was my
biggest enemy who was at the brink of becoming an anti- social animal. In that
nadir of my life I saw him. It was difficult to fathom his real age but his
predominantly grey hair suggested that he must be a senior citizen. He had
come to live in the adjacent house perhaps as a tenant .I saw him roaming
cheerfully for his morning walk. He waved to me in a bid to get acquainted. But
in that state of mind I interpreted it as intrusion to my privacy and loneliness
.But the elderly gentleman had taken the moral” love thy neighbor “ quite
seriously. I had awkwardly become the object of his affection and he
unknowingly had become object of my inquest . He was unrelenting and kept
on greeting everytime he saw me without even expecting any response. One
day he was exceptionally cheesy to approach ,”Hello Beta, myself Gopal
Krishan. What is your name?”. I was dumbfound first at his audacity and then
my utter resistance to any human talk. But somehow I gathered my wit (lest he
should think that I was deaf and dumb !!). “I’m Aditya, “ I curtly replied and
tried to leave the scene just to give him a cue I AM NOT INTERESTED . But he
didn’t give up on me. “ I’ m your new neighbour. If we can meet more often
then we both can have good time ,” he called after me. I gave him a look as if
he had committed a bank fraud on me . I entered the house and looked closely
at myself in the mirror. “At 26 do I look that old that I’m getting friendship
proposals from oldies?”.” Not really!! Some people are genuinely cheesy.
Perhaps I should ignore him .”I was muttering to myself.

Kindness , I believe is an addiction to some people.

They think that they are born to setup and uphold the virtues of the society.
Gopal Krishan Uncle(was a deliberate address to him to reiterate my youth!!)
was one of those primitive men who were devoid of any sefish bone. Countless
number of times I had seen him helping absolute strangers selflessly. At times I
tried not to observe his acts of foolish benevolence lest they should go
infectious and ruin the spice of the society . One day I was caught offguard by
GK uncle. This was the new nickname given to him by me to avoid offending
the namesake god in my EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS. I was sitting idle as usual
pointlessly listening to the endless punjabi songs on FM (at times I think that
punjabi would soon become the national language of the country , considering
the pace with which it has captured the fascination of indian musicians !! ).
Coming to my experiments with the truth , the object of my inquest was in the
process of salvaging a soul in distress . This time it was the most notorious
character in the neighbourhood , Mr. Sharma .”Beta, Please come and help
Sharmaji as his car has broken down,” GK uncle asked in most pitiable voice.
“What a rendezvous Dr. Jekyll meets Mr.Hyde !!” , I thought . Sharmaji was the
most self centered person humanity had ever known . There were endless
instances of his BEING INHUMAN .He would not normally look at any person
whose acquaintance he would not be able to cashify during his life time .His
car had broken down (did anyone hear fireworks in the sky !!). “ What a divine
intervention for penance of his sins ,”I thought . But my elation met an anti
climax when I had to respond to GK uncle’s request . But what made me
respond to the call of “DELHI CHALO” is till date a mystery. But some situations
pull a reflex action out of your body ignoring the resistance of your mind . And
there I was pushing Sharmaji’s veteran car. It took a self and sharmaji gave his
signature contemptuous smile just to convey his regal air on us earthlings. I
looked at GK uncle with vengeance but he was lost in his own divine world. “
What a waste of emotions this man has ,” I thought.
After that misadventure I tried to avoid GK uncle as much as possible because
his generosity on undeserving people irked me in every possible way. One day
as I answered the doorbell I found him standing in a bliss . He was the last
person I wanted to meet on a Monday morning. “ Beta, I did not see you for
quite sometime so I have come to check on you,” he said in the most loving
voice I had ever heard. “Really!,” I said insultingly with a sarcasm. “ But, uncle I
really appreciate when people do not disturb me unnecessarily. In future I shall
be putting a board of DO NOT DISTURB for people who are planning a
courtesy call to my house. Now, If you can excuse me I’ve got an urgent call to
make”. “ I did it finally! What a way to settle this love-hate situation . Once for
all”, I complimented myself on my rudeness. GK uncle stood shocked beyond
contemplation . Perhaps he had not faced such person or situation in his life .
Insulting him gave me a strange sadistic pleasure . It was to show the society
that I cared a damn. He was completely agonized which was evident when he
left the scene without uttering a word. I celebrated my triumph by indulging in
street food. Next day I woke up as if half dead , my throat was choked and
perhaps I was running high fever .I was living all alone and not having even a
domestic helps as each one of them had shunned their jobs owing to my mood
tantrums .I lay helpless and frail, too sick to either eat or drink or even ask for
help. “I would perish unsung ,”thinking this I slipped into unconsciousness.
When I woke up I found myself in the hospital with a glucose drip attached to
my vein. All the life saving equipments were cluttered around my bed just in
case God changes his mind . As I gained more orientation there was elation in
the attending hospital staff . I could hear loud murmurs amongst them ,
perhaps they were thinking that I had tried to commit suicide and that this was
a police case. “ Gosh , how dumb they are !! that is why they are stuck to low
paying jobs,” I said to myself . Anyways just to locate any sane soul I looked
around and guess Whom did I find ? It was GK uncle poignant and despondent
cuddled in a corner. He was ina silent prayer. I decided not to disturb him so I
did not make an eye contact or called out to him. But he was alert and
promptly noticed my consciousness. He came near me and patted my hair
fondly and asked for my health.

Never in my life had I felt that shame or guilt for

my behavior which I felt that day. In the coming days GK uncle took good care
of my physical and mental health . I was overwhelmed as his kindness indeed
became infectious. The healing process was on. I soon regained my creativity
and sanity. My faith in virtues of life was back. There was a strange bond with
GK uncle which was inexplicable. He soon became my parent, mentor and
guide above all my guardian angel . His house became my usual abode where
we shared every thing from practical to moral talks. One day I reached his
house as usual and found the door ajar. I was apprehensive and inquisitive as
there was no response to my calls. I decided to search the place and to my
shock I found him lying unconscious in the bathroom. He lived all alone neither
he talked about his family nor his house had any family photographs.. I never
discussed this aspect as I myself was living in a glass house and did not want to
pelt stones at others. I hailed from a broken family where my parents were
separated long back and I got their court battle in my share. As I came to my
senses , the present contingency warranted immediate medical care to him. I
called an ambulance and took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed as
suffering from last stage of blood cancer. To my utter shock doctors declared
that he had only few days to live. I was dazed, disoriented and broken .He was
in ICCU and heavily sedated. I dozed off in the waiting area and it was in the
midnight that nurse informed that he had regained consciousness .I was
shaking as I proceeded towards ICCU and profusely sweating in peak winters .
There I saw him , he was barely oriented but his angelic face was glowing with
glory of his kind soul. I was mesmerized when his thin pale face smiled at me.
He came back to life on spotting me. He called me by name while he coped
with pain. “ Aditya, its time for me to go,” he faintly said . By then I was
shaking and crying inconsolably. “You can’t go uncle, NOT NOW, Please don’t
go”,I was sobbing as he held my hand. “ I had to go one day,” he smiled this
time for real. I don’t believe that he knew he was ill but it appeared he knew
everything for there was no fear or surprise in his tone and tenor .Gosh! he
knew that life was slipping and still he was so placid ,optimistic and full of life.
He never brooded or mentioned his pain to anybody. But few things I needed
to know. “ Uncle, where is your family? ”, I asked reluctantly. Perhaps I had
touched the most painful chord for I could see despair and hopelessness in his
eyes. There was a stoic silence as if he was stuck on seven crore question in
KBC but finally my perseverance paid off and he vented out the bottled up
emotions.

He started emotionally, “ I lost my wife long back in my youth and

my only son was my family . He is now a world renowned cardiac surgeon in
New York. My son Krish could never recover from loss of his mother and I
somehow couldn’t replace her or fill that void. He drifted apart to the extent
that we lost touch after he moved to America. I had nobody to share my time.
Everyday I used to come back home disillusioned and lonely. One day I
happened to visit a hospital . There I saw some terminally ill patients . They
were celebrating somebody’s B’day. They were not clinging to life but living it
and enjoying every moment alive. I came back and pondered that its so foolish
to glorify my miseries which made my life a living hell. I changed my outlook
and started giving rather than expecting anything from anybody .It gave me
new lease of life. I could connect to people , increase their happiness and
lessen their sorrows. And four years back when I was diagnosed with blood
cancer, I decided that I would not undergo the ordeal of chemotherapy to
prolong the life which would eventually be confined , pitiable and unlivable. I
shall live life as IF TOMORROW WOULD NEVER COME . In you, my son I found
my soul’s son and rightful successor to accomplish all the things I always
wanted to do”. “ ME!!”, I thought, a little astonished at his choice. But his pale
eyes were transfixed on my face waiting for an answer. I was in a trans zone
and speechless. I did not say a word but perhaps he got his answer , for he
smiled and closed his eyes, His face contained such saintly aura as if he got free
from cycle of births and deaths.

After that moment of eternal bliss , he never opened his eyes again
leaving me bewildered in disbelief. Next day I got a call from his lawyer that GK
uncle wished that I should lit his pyre and that he had left a legacy of two
million rupees and his properties in my favour. I was stunned at this windfall
and pondered the big question DO I DESERVE IT?

But life is life, as time is the greatest healer, it healed GK uncle’s

physical separation but it could not detach his soul from mine. I started a trust
for the benefit of underprivileged to use that windfall which would make GK
uncle happy in heaven. And today I’m a renowned writer and a changed man
having a great connect with my readers because of my newfound empathy for
fellow humans . I try to live and give each day…..WHAT IF TOMORROW NEVER
COMES………..