Heartsick

Sharad went to Mumbai to stay with his son and daughter-in-law for a few days. One day he started suffering from toothache that became terrible. He had no option but to make an appointment with a nearby dentist.

While sitting in the reception, his eyes fell on the nameplate on which the name of the doctor was written,
“Dr. Sanjana Prakash Nair, MDS”

All of a sudden, a lightning struck him,  “Is it that Sanjana, my own Sanju?” He was in double mind, “This Sanjana might be some other Sanjana. There are so many Sanjanas, who cares!”  But somewhere within, he was not convinced. He started exploring in the mind that Sanjana Prakash might be his own and might have married to some Nair.

He walked down the memory lane for a while. Sanjana Prakash popularly known as SP or Sanju to close ones, was a fair, tall, beauty queen with curly hairs and with a swag of her own. She was the damsel of the class, who used to put others in distress. Sharad himself was one of her silent admirers.

He could feel his throbbing heartbeat in anticipation. He had forgetten his toothache. When his name was called, his heart rate further increased, but when he entered Sanju’s chamber,
he was in for a surprise that her curly hairs on her forehead were not there, the rosy dimpled cheeks had become well rounded now and one of her dimples had shifted to her forehead. The blue eyes were hidden behind the thick glasses, though the original sparkle was still there in her eyes, but a bit dim.

Unfortunately she didn’t recognize Sharad. After getting his teeth checked, he asked her, “You used to study in Carmel Convent, Bhopal, didn’t you?”

She said, “Yes”

Sharad asked, “When did you pass 10th? In 1979?”

She said, “Correct! But how do you know all this?”

He replied with a smile: “Hey, you were in my class…”

Stretching her mind, she asked,
“Which subject did you teach.. sir?”

Sharad felt hurt in his heart that ached all over. His toothache had vanished into thin hair.

While coming out, he looked at himself in the mirror installed in her chamber. He had never thought that his greying and receding hairline and bulging tummy would hurt him this way.

He went back and started giving unsolicited advices to his son and daughter-in-law to adopt a healthy diet and routine to remain in good shape. They were at a loss whether the dentist had started practising as dietician and fitness expert too.

–Kaushal Kishore

images: pinterest