In loving memory of 3230..

Tired yet in a hurry, I was trying to cross over the road which separated me from a glimpse of the last few overs of India Pak finals.

The usual busy road had a deserted look today and this reaffirmed my conclusion of being the only honest and hardworking employee in the town.

Though I was missing the action I had plugged on to my earphones, patiently bearing the over enthusiastic RJ and his umpteen breaks but religiously keeping a track of the score.

And as I was just a stone throw away from home I removed the ear plugs and leaped forward to cross.

CRRRAAAASSSHHH..!!

It took me a while to realise what happened.

I was flat on the ground and in pain.

I saw a hand reaching out to me to with an expression of aghast all over his face. Apologising profusely he enquired whether I was ok.

I guess I was.

Meanwhile I enquired with my intimidating looks to understand what went wrong. Apologetically he offered me to drop me home but then I wasn’t that hurt. While taking complete control of my senses I heard something crackle under this stupid motorist-turned- Good Samaritan’s foot.


It was my 3230..!!


Though I survived the accident, with minor injuries, it proved to be fatal for my 3230.

Without another word being said this stupid motorist-turned-Good Samaritan-turned-murderer decided to leave.

All that was left behind was me and remains of my 3230.

While collecting of what was left of my 3230 scattered over the tarred surface I remembered the time when my father had gifted it to me, when he failed to understand this gadget.

I was upset!

I reached home to a nail biting finish of the finals which finally overpowered the grief and loss of my buddy. Glad that such a game exists which makes you forget everything and cheers up the spirit.

Only if I had the slightest clue of what was coming ahead I would have been better prepared.

After we won the match, excitedly I reached out to call up on friends and share the joy..
But..
Call whom..
Or rather how..
That’s when I realised the gravity of my misery..
Till couple of hours back I had my entire world in my hands and now even though they were still there somewhere in the cosmos I had lost them..

Technology not just empowers but over dependence can at times paralyse you..
Unlike few years back, I used to remember some 50 odd no.s at the back of my head..but today I didn't remember any..

Happy yet lonely I retired to bed while the whole nation was celebrating.

Soon it was dawn.
There was no bright sunlight beaming into my room.
No nightmares, no bad dreams.
And I had a sound sleep!
It’s a divine gift to hear oneself sleep..and not many are as lucky as me.

Everything seemed perfect!
It ought to be a good day.

I habitually reached under my pillow but could not find what I was looking for.
I looked around whether I dropped it while performing my usual sleep acrobatics.
But not a trace of it.

Paused.. Thought.. Flashback..!!

And soon the good day had a spill over effect from yesterday.
No wonder why I didn’t hear my alarm go wild and vibrate all over.

But then I think I did pretty well to get up on my own.

Yesterday is past.
And today is a new day.

With this encouraging thought I dragged myself out of my bed to the drawing room to see the time.

Mom, dad had already left for work so it was a quiet morning as usual.

The clock ticked 09:10.

09:10..!!!!

Damn I was late for office.
And I thought I was up early.

Hurriedly I did my daily chores cutting short things that could be avoided.
Cosmetics can make you feel good as fresh as ever.

By 9:30 I was at the bus stop waiting for Bus no. 246 to arrive.

I glanced around to see some familiar faces and some friendly eyes to get assurance that I wasn’t that late. But with no luck!
I soon realised I was late.
Sometimes even hope gives up on us.

But then I did see some new eyes. Pretty!
That’s all what you can see when the entire face is wrapped around resembling some Taliban outfit dressed in colourful prints.

Finally the bus arrived and I got to board it with some use of muscle power.
It supplements my daily exercise, thus giving me more time to sleep.

The bus was more crowded than the usual. May be beacuse the whole world got up late!

Ever been in traffic jams when you are in most hurry?

Ever been in a situation when its jam packed inside the bus and you are holding on to your life by one hand and your bag on the other. Then struggle for couple of inches to stand on your toes. With someone’s arm around your waist fighting his own battle and one of the pretty eyes from the bus stop right under your nose.

And exactly at that time, when you most vulnerable, a tiny drop decides to roll down from your forehead bisecting your eyebrows with great precision, roll over your nose and hang on the tip trying to defy gravity.

Followed by an itch rather a tickle and a strong urge to just reach out and wipe it off.

It’s quite spine-tingling!

Usually when you fail to do anything else, just a slight shake of neck and there it goes.

This was something similar.

At times it can get quite uncomfortable especially when you don’t have any other means of distraction.

Its about 90 minutes ride to office.
I am not a book enthusiast. And in any case one cannot read under such circumstances especially when your nose is also having a treat to different odours some artificial and some purely natural.

So like many others I had found a way out.
I listen to music.
And today I missed it more than anything.
I realised how effective it was to be in bliss and ignore the different experiences one comes across in daily life.
Once you are tuned into your favourite playlist or radio external stimulus doesn’t really affect you.


Now my growing impatience was directly proportional to the time ticking by, which I had absolutely no track.

I had a presentation at 11:30 which I was sure I could make on time.
I had to or else I was screwed!

To be on the safer side I wanted to inform my office but then ‘How’.

My good day was turning into a not so good day.

I finally reached office.
Anxious and cautious I logged on to my system at 11:20 am.
The room was full when I had entered and my boss had this huge question mark about where was I and placed her hands near her ear and mumbled something.
Though I am horrible at dumb charades I got the words correct!
“Why didn’t you call?”

Only, if I could explain myself.

The presentation went well and that saved my ass getting fired.

Over lunch I shared my misery of how handicapped I had become in these few hours. And it was interesting to hear my colleagues empathise with me and admit to similar experiences.

I realised how much this “three two three zero” had become an integral part of my lifestyle.
In fact it was not merely a part of my lifestyle but was more of an extension of me.
It had served me good.
It had been with me for over 2 years, so no wonder I had become so dependant on it.

And now when it isn’t no more I had to get a new one to get over this whole cycle of dependency and helplessness.

I wished to speak to my brother to enquire which one to buy but only if I remembered his no.
So decided to call up mom to take his no. but except the fact that she has an idea connection I had no idea about her no. either.

I thought I was a good brother and more importantly a loving son.

I still think I am..

Finally after two days of similar struggle and lots of research I finally bought a new partner.. 850i..

Since then happy days are back again..