My Wanderings - 43. Short story No. 25. Signs of Life

To  day Brij Mohan was feeling so exhilarated and thrilled . He could feel his heart beats very eloquent  and fast ,which was most unbecoming of him at the advanced age of seventy three years,  that   he was about to cross. Once in his adolescent age also his heart used to beat  so loudly often, that he became  skeptical about it  and had to consult a Doctor. Doctor after checking him thoroughly advised him not to worry about it as heart beats which he is skeptical about are actually signs of life. If God forbid heartbeats stop, there will be no life anymore . But today's  beating of heart was not with out any reason. To day he  had an encounter with his first love of life in the common room of Old Age Home at Jammu which he had recently joined after undergoing   prolonged miseries   and forlornness  during his stay at USA in general and  after the death of his wife thereat in particular.
Both the daughters of BrijMohan were actually settled in USA. He after his retirement from  a public sector job, wanted to settle himself at Jammu alongwith his wife. He had already purchased a house at jammu as he wanted to remain in touch with his relatives and community members. At the insistence of his wife, Brijmohan used to  visit his children in USA once in two three years. But after the birth of their grandchildren Brijmohan  was compelled by his daughters  to join them permanently  in USA. After spending some years in USA with his grandchildren, Brijmohan began to feel homesick. He was fed up with the monotonous and aimless life there.  He could feel his pulse very low and even missed  a beat sometimes. But Doctors advised him that all his clinical tests were o.k.and he was not suffering from any heart ailment .  He wanted to return to his roots but his wife appeared very satisfied  with children and never agreed with the proposal of her husband. Then only after death of his wife due to cancer , Brijmohan decided to  return to his native land and leave USA for ever. He remained in his house at jammu for some time. But on the advise of his well-wishers , he hired a room in Old Age Home at jammu, so that he will be looked after better  by the attendants and Doctors available there.
Yes she was Veena, his first love when they were studying in college together. It was very difficult to recognise her. No body could beleive, except Brijmohan that a simple old woman could have been once a paragon of beauty. She could not recognise Brijmohan at the first instance,  but it was he who  introduced himself to her. After a long deliberation she could recognise him, which was evident  by her greeting him with a smile and a familiar blush occuring on her wrinkled face. She told Brijmohan that after the death of her husband, she was compelled to come here as she had no  children to look after her. Her only daughter died very young when she had to deliver her first baby. The baby also could not survive.Then It became a daily schedule for Brijmohan to spend some time with Veena and look after her necessities . It was neither sentimental involvement of adolescent age nor even platonic love but a feeling of joy to meet an old acquaintance or a companion with a streak of nostalgia. It was perhaps to fulfil their psychological urge of mutual understanding and companionship which in simple terms can be called  friendship.
It was not only Veena but he came across with several other acquaintances  by and large . They all were his friends relatives or colleugues .One day he discovered that one of his own cousin Bushan Lal was also living in the same dwelling. They were having some ancestral property dispute  case lying pending in the court of Law at Srinagar for long ,which got resolved automatically when they had to sell their house after migration  of Hindu community from Kashmir  through mutual attorney. He also met one of his colleagues Chaman Lal , who had many times taken credit of his good work and conspired against him to his disadvantage in office. Both of them were feeling apologetic towards Brijmohan. But Brijmohan accepted them with an open heart  and never let them feel embarrassed. Moreover, it was Brijmohan who took the lead in greeting and exchanging  pleasantries with them. If someone remains confined to himself and will not go to people voluntarily, no body is bothered to go after him even if  he is a celebrity . When a person wants to maintain relations he has voluntarily to come forward to engage others.
Slowly Brijmohan won the heart of all the inmates of old age home as he began to take Intrest in their lives and helping them in their problems. He initiated in arranging cultural programmes and picnics at Old Age Home.  Brijmohan found a purpose in life. He was successful in wiping the tears from the gloomy faces of some of the  inmates. He inculcated a sense of comradeship and unity in them. They were always ready to help each other. They learnt not  to consider  others as obstruction or intrusion in their way but an opportunity for  providing  a space in their lives  to accommodate them. All the inmates of house could  now feel their heart beats prominently.  Brijmohan recently celebrated his 80th birthday. He is Hale and hearty. He has a proper schedule in life. He goes for long walks early in the morning with other inmates of old age home. He exercises daily and reading and writing has become his passion. He spends evenings in the company of his friends. He is constantly in touch with his daughters in USA through internet and telephone. Whenever his daughters visit India, he shifts to his own house at Jammu and lives with them for a month or so. But whenever her daughters insist him on  visiting America, his heart starts beating slowly and even sometimes he misses a beat.