(The past few days have been a little difficult for me with
the cumulative side effects of chemotherapy being at its peak with an add-on viral infection to
battle with but then, I must not forget to explore the silver linings even
within such mess….)
I have always been envious of girls who are taller than me
even by a fraction of an inch as I could not reach to even a very moderate
height of five feet. That made me terribly “height sensitive” since an early
age. Just to overcome that sensitivity and fear that children of mine might
inherit my “height” related gene, I
secretly dreamt for a very tall groom for myself (the image of Amitabh Bachhan
– Jaya Bhaduri was ingrained in my mind).
After a massive search and drama (the story of my getting
married to my tall husband has been told and retold on many occasions), I
finally was married to a “tall, dark and handsome” person and thanked Almighty
for his fairness of judgment!
Yes, the first time I saw him in a professional gathering,
in a crisp white shirt, black trouser and a maroon tie, walking tall carrying a
stylish leather satchel in one hand and a note pad in another, his destiny was
sealed ( or rather mine!). Fortunately or unfortunately, he was chosen to be
representing the 23 Chartered accountant Firms including mine. When he started
the talking in impeccable English (another weakness of mine – being a village girl,
I never got the chance to study in an English – medium school and always watch
people respectfully from a distance who can speak English like an English man),
my favorite Goddess ( Ma Durga) was flooded with fervent prayers. My prayers were answered within a reasonable
time frame and I got the chance to flaunt my “tall, dark, handsome” husband to
my neighbors and villagers with a hint of visible pride!!
We settled in regular life but always made it a point to go
out for a walk every evening after coming back home from our respective places
of work. Even when the daughter was born, our schedule of a 40-minutes’ walk
with the baby in her stroller, was not broken. We both looked fit and healthy
and enjoyed the time together with so much to talk, relevant and irrelevant.
……and then suddenly, things changed. He joined a corporate
house in a profile which demands extensive travelling and if we would have kept
a log, he has ever since, clearly spent more time in the airport lounges around
the world than he has spent at home. By that time, I became mother to a boy and
life was a roller-coaster ride for both of us in our respective ways.
…..our schedule of “walking-together” was taken over by his
packing, unpacking and repacking for tours and my time was divided precariously
between job, children and household! My “tall dark and handsome” man started to
show up the symptoms of “MNC Executives” by piling on weight on his straight
and trim frame!!
All these years, even after trying very hard, we could not
make even a 10-minutes stroll together (well, I firmly believe that there was
lack of will from his side but could not ignore at the same time, the amount of
stress and fatigue with so much of travelling).
Then the tragedy struck from a hidden corner and our world went
into a spin one more time! But then, I do believe that everything happens for a
reason if only we can see beyond the obvious. Just to take full advantage of
the situation, I made it a point that my taking care of myself was fully
contingent upon his taking care of himself and he must get me back my “tall,
dark and handsome” man as soon as possible.
An immediate visit was made to “Go Sports” to purchase track
pants and tees, the walking shoes were taken out of the cupboard and dusted off
and alarm was set at 5.30 am the next morning. My man has taken the challenge
seriously even though, I would not be able to accompany him till end of July
when my treatment would be over.
I am sure, we will enjoy very soon our “walking-together”
time again by the sea shore with cool morning breeze sweeping past us and we
would again be talking on so many things, relevant and irrelevant while sipping
“low fat, no sugar” coffee occasionally.
All this while, I will be waiting eagerly to fall in love
with the tall, dark and handsome man all over again who stole my heart away at
the first instance 14 years ago.
Wish you all the best in your challenge my Big Man.
All of you, my lovely friends, you don’t need an excuse to
steal some “walk-together” time with your loved one. Life does not wait for
anyone – make the most of it while it is still yours. Stay healthy, stay happy
and enjoy life!!!!
