JOIN USTo give and receive a surprise breaks the monotony of life, but has its own hazardous side too.
According to my own assessment, a fairly good chunk of people love to give and receive surprises to break the monotony of life. My wife firmly believes that these gimmicks bring people closer. Though we have been married for over half a century, I frankly admit to having failed miserably in the art of springing much-anticipated surprises despite my earnest efforts all these years.
Some of my ventures have given rise to utterly ridiculous situations, ultimately becoming hilarious jokes savoured with great relish by the women folk of my large family circle. The list of those instances that have ended in a fiasco is pretty long, resulting in my wife practically writing me off in desperation from her elite list of such innovative entrepreneurs. Just sample this one which convincingly represents the way things have gone all through in my case.
A year after my marriage, when we were in Bhilai, my wife went to Shimoga for a brief visit to her parents. It was at this juncture that I decided to play smart and spring a real surprise to improve my sinking image in the surprise-department. Mobile phones and STD facilities were unheard off those days. The genius in me decided to make a lightning visit to Shimoga in the hope of outsmarting her at least once. I booked my tickets accordingly and reached Nagpur to catch the GT Express to Madras. As my train’s departure was announced at Nagpur, the New Delhi-bound GT Express coming from Madras, running late, arrived at the platform just next to mine. And lo!
To my horror I spotted my wife alighting hurriedly from her bogie to catch the connecting Express to Bhilai which too was about to depart. It was obvious that she too had planned to surprise me with her unscheduled return visit! We frantically waved to each other as our trains moved out towards opposite destinations and I couldn’t miss spotting the expression of pity in her eyes at my stupidity in venturing into something that was unlike me!
That said, I don’t feel handicapped at my inability to win accolades in this aspect. Giving surprises has its own hazardous side too and I gain an edge over others in being highly cautious about undertaking them indiscriminately. Among the many instances I have come across that have resulted in highly tragic misadventures, this gruesome one remains indelibly etched in my memory:
During my frequent visits to Indore as a member on the Board of Boiler Operations Engineers’ Exams, Madhya Pradesh, I became close to a lovable-natured wealthy businessman, a good friend of my co-examiner. That unforgettable evening, when we were enjoying his hospitality in the expanse of the beautiful garden of his luxurious farmhouse, he suddenly spotted in the semi-darkness someone stealthily climbing up the drain pipe to get access to the balcony of the first floor.
Before we realised, our inebriated host impetuously grabbed his shot gun and fired at the ‘intruder’ - who turned out to be his only son, a medical student at Raipur, who wanted to give a pleasant surprise to his parents! The boy survived with grievous injuries, but the father languished in remorse till his last breath.