I've Been Kissed - part 1 (a story of Love, Beauty and Stupidity)

Who is sane when in love ?
Who remains the same when in love?
People change when in love 
Every one goes insane in love
T'is all I have to say in defence of my stupidity. 

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I've Been Kissed - A Story about Love, Beauty & Stupidity

(NO, this is not a Yash Raj film.)

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13 Jan 2002 

Time : 3am

Trrrring Trrring (the landline was ringing)

Mom: "Hello?" 

Me : "Hi maa".

Mom (sleepy and surprised) : "Hi Jessu! Where are you ? 

Me : At home.

Mom :  Something's wrong ?  

Me : "A little bit" 

Mom (concerned) : "What happened"?

        

Me : It's just that.....I've been kissed". 

Mom : "Don't kid at this time of the night please".

Silence

Me : "I've been kissed.... by a snake". 

Dead Silence.

Me (suddenly i burst into a barrage of words) : "Please don't ask questions at this point of time.  

I have been told that the only hospital where I can be treated for snake bite is KEM. But I don't know the way to KEM hospital. 

Let's not to waste time, it's best you meet me mid way at Dadar TT circle", I rattled off my instructions like a rattle snake.

Within a minute I was in the car. 

My husband and little son were in Delhi. I had dropped them to the airport a few hours ago, at 9pm. 

I drove my little red matiz with my right arm, at good speed on the Eastern Express Highway, Thane to Dadar, zig-zagging thru the grey smoke emitted from heavily loaded lorries and monstrous dirty black trucks that were barely visible in the dark.

My left arm had a weird pain inside.

It felt it was on fire , as though acid was running thru my veins, but not much was noticeable from the outside.    

  

I turned on the car stereo. 

Yanni's orchestra played for me. I increased the volume. His music enveloped me. 

Hmmm...good, I always enjoyed Yanni.    

I glanced at my arm in the dark. 

Well yes, it had swollen thick. 

I kept my self calm, trying to deny this fact.

   

I got engrossed in Yanni and started to conduct his orchestra with my left arm, as I continued to steer the car with the other arm thru the mid night traffic.

  

I hummed along with the tune and kept my left arm busy by conducting the orchestra with rigid arm movements like the ace music conductor Zubin Mehta.

  

I did a little of bel canto with Yanni's opera singers, then I switched on to bass singing and followed it up in tenor. 

I opened my mouth wide and tried to reach out and within, a rich sound beyond my larynx, from my stomach, forcing my vocal chords to expand more than my waist line and sing like the fabulous Pavarotti. 

Phew! Complicated but nice. 

It kept my mind off the burning pain inside that kept inching higher and higher up my left arm.   

Time : 3.30 am 

Almost musically I was transported to Dadar TT Circle. 

In the dark I could see a familiar silhouette on a mobike.... my dad and my sister were anxiously waiting for me, worried and helpless with frightful thoughts....

what if she gets dizzy or collapses while driving ? 

Sometimes, ignorance and self denial is bliss.... 

I had driven single handed with foolish valour in the dead of the night. 

I honked and flashed the head lights, "please lead the way" I yelled in cheer from the car. 

Anxiety was written large on their face and could be seen through the dark. 

Suddenly the thought of impending reprimand crossed my mind.  

But I was too tired to be shy. On seeing them I felt a little chirpy and bright. 

I followed them to KEM hospital at Parel, Bombay. 

to be continued....