Will the donkey know the smell of camphor?

Some 6 years back, in the corridors of Sundram Medical foundation in Annanagar, I promised one girl, smiling with tears in my eyes, that I would attend her marriage for sure. I was not sure at that point, whether I would really attend for I was not confident, but she was very confident, that I would hiding her tears.

But now fear, whether I can keep up my words…….

There are some special marriages in life which you can never fail to attend.

Just think how many times we call up and give all the stupid excuses in the world for not attending some marriages, it can be your friend’s marriage or their siblings. But if I really think of those excuses, there is no honesty in it at least for me, for if I had wished and honestly tried against some minor constraints, I could have easily attended for sure.

This is a real story about three musketeers and one girl, and have got solid reasons, why am typing this at around 12 in night, for I cannot sleep without shedding off these fine threads of emotions into the following words

There were three friends, Ganguly, Rock and Sachin.

One was a dreamer, who always believed in miracles. He was a lean and an arrogant boy, had horns in his heads. Never cared a damn bit for others or for their emotions. Always would tell his friends that he was a Ganguly, not that he scored 11000 runs, but was very passionate, a step above love, as Ganguly is, in whatever he does.

The other was a well built boy, who was as smart as Rock, the famous wrestler. “You smell what the rock is cooking”, is the theme of the famous wrestler and our Mr. Rock will always smell what his mom was cooking…A typical sapatu raman….

The other was a totally practical boy. His strength is that he knows his weakness. Named as Sachin for the sake of this story, not that he was so good in cricket but was as short as sachin in reality.

All three studied together right from Kindergarden, but their friendship really blossomed only during the tenth holidays, when all three would go and play cricket together in CPWD quarters in Annanagar. There are several common threads between them. All had younger brothers. All were of similar social status, all had similar interests and ambitions in life. And all had super bi cycles…. No body can dare to steal those cycles, even if kept unlocked. And believe me Sachin after getting job in TCS also, is using the same cycle.

Ganguly and Rock were in love with a girl, of course not the same girl, and our Sachin always voiced against it. “Never trust girls”, Sachin would often say.

So they were friends by default. But Ganguly studied in coimbatore and the other two in Chennai. But whenever Ganguly comes to Chennai, it would be a grand get together for all the three. And all the three will walk umpteen number of times near the house of the girl, whom Ganguly loved and often Sachin would remark “Dei! my slipper is getting worn out because of you. You love, but why should I have too loose my slippers”
But still he did that for the sake of his friend. And some times sending reports about that girl to coimbatore .

It was a different get together that day, during second year semester holidays. It was a rainy day, but rains had stopped for a while. Sachin met Ganguly in his house; was collecting money for one of his friends who had met with an accident. Sachin is a very caring person by nature, and so no surprises that he was doing this for his friend. And Ganguly too chipped in with whatever he can. With all the money collected, however small may be, believing that every drop makes an ocean, they left to handover the money to his friends parents.

And as they entered the hospital, it was a horrible sight to see. The boy was totally wrapped in plaster, specially his lower half.

Believe me! The boy wanted to die. That’s what their parents told them.

It is very important that when you go and meet somebody injured in hospital, you give them confidence for their recovery.

But of what, they saw, though there was a dreamer in that group, he too thought that they were fighting a lost cause. They were not able to stay any longer there. Vacated the room and as they were moving out of the room, met a girl.

Ganguly immediately recognized that she was M. Arthi, who studied in SBOA till seventh and Joined Chinmaya Vidhyalaya, where he had met her some time in 10th standard during the annual carnival, for Chinmaya happens to be school where Ganguly’s younger brother was studying.

And now he is speaking with the injured boy’s lady love.

He was in no mood to speak, nor was able to give her any comfort.

But that girl was smiling, with an air of confidence, giving comfort to him, telling that every thing would be fine. Don’t worry.

“No signs of Rain; No signs of Clouds
Yet the valleys and ditches would be filled”

Though she was a Brahmin girl, should have read bible somewhere, for she was so confident. And I promised her at that moment that I would be there for her marriage, but had real doubts whether it would happen.

After that Ganguly would sometimes enquire with Sachin, about that injured boy and M. Arthi. And Sachin would update him on his recovery and also the problems faced by M. Arthi during that period.

Understand she was hardly 19 at that time, the problems that a young girl would have faced in her family, visiting hospital everyday but she did visit everyday. And also heard that, the boy’s family were little reluctant to accept this girl at that point.

But then, if no challenges and testing situations are there in life, we can never split the Annaparavai (mythical bird that splits water from milk) from the crows, flying around with low neck churdhidhars….And she is indeed a modern Nala Damayanthi.

I really love the film ‘Nala Damayanthi’, for it shows what real love is all about. You can flirt. You can think you are in love. But only when the real situation demands, you really come to know whether it is love or infatuation. There is one beautiful conversation between Madhavan and Geetu Mohandoss, where he explains her what real love his all about. And whenever I see this movie, I remind myself of only one person, M. Arthi.

Just some 1 month back, we heard the news that she is getting married to the same injured boy in our yahoo groups, through our very own Sachin, who had met the injured boy somewhere.

Yes, a perfect ending to a perfect love story indeed. 200% perfect

But that idiotic stupid Sachin has got no contacts of that boy nor M. Arthi now. And I still don’t know whether I would keep up my words and attend her marriage coming October. But then my search is on, in orkut.

No signs of rain; no signs of clouds. I don’t know whether I would find her before her marriage. But let us wait and see whether valleys and ditches are filled……….

Sachin still holds “Never trust girls”.

But may be now he says “Never trust 90% of girls” But those remaining 10% are real gems.

And M. Arthi certainly is one among them, would certainly glitter in my heart forever.

There is a solid reason for writing it tonight. Those days, when living under thatched roofs, people fear for scorpion bites. Because, scorpions can never be good friends. Their sting really hurts. They move silently, hurt those who stay along with them. That’s the way god has created scorpions.

And am a scorpio born in the month of December, and many of you in this group have got the real taste of my bites, the real stings, specially those whom I like the most.

And yesterday, it was Mr. Sachin’s turn, for he had commented wrongly on what I wrote and I gave him a real sting. (Check out the mail below)

My sting really hurts,
But it also means
my love for you is true……..

And do remember bites of scorpion really cleanse your blood.

And he is another gem in my life; for he is caring and helpful; a true friend whom you can rely on when you are in real trouble.

Words once spelt out can never be taken back and have never taken back my words. So, still I hold

Will the donkey know the smell of camphor?

All what I wrote never reached the persons whom I intended but now am posting it immediately, expressing to them what they mean to us in life…..But, I bet, that Sachin will never read it till the very end….Will get some nonsense comment instead…Now, you tell me should I have to sting him or not?