‘Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning and welcome aboard Lufthansa flight 476 from Frankfurt to Dallas. We hope you have a pleasant flight.’
The aircraft lurched forward and began to move towards the runway in order to line up for the take-off. The air-hostesses took up their positions on the aisle and began to demonstrate the safety drill procedures.
Among the many passengers that were not paying any attention to them was a 45 year old man looking out of his window with concern. Mr Amod Gupta was observing in particular, the dark clouds that had gathered overhead which were being lit up by the odd flash of lightening that fell out of the sky onto the earth. The light rain that had begun added to his worries. The take-off during a flight always filled him with dread and the unfriendly weather made him feel even worse. He sat back, shut his eyes and waited for the aircraft to get airborne.
His worries however, were ill-founded as the aircraft took off uneventfully, climbed smoothly into the sky and levelled off. Amod noticed that the seat-belt sign overhead had been turned off. He decided to make his routine post-take-off trip to the restroom.
On the way back, he noticed a young couple sitting on the seats in the middle row. They appeared to be deeply in love and were gazing devotedly into each others’ eyes. Amod smiled and returned to his seat. He noticed that his co-passenger’s attention had been similarly drawn to the love-bird couple.
‘Ah! Love! All Thoughts, all Passions, all Delights; whatever stirs this mortal Frame, All are but Ministers of Love, and feed this sacred flame!’ The attractive lady sitting next to him suddenly burst into song, evidently impressed by the couple.
Amod smiled and nodded appreciatively. ‘Wordsworth, I presume!’
The lady’s eyes widened, pleasantly surprised. ‘You do know your English Literature quite well, Mr………?’
Amod blushed at the compliment. ‘Gupta. Amod Gupta. Well, I guess I should be aware of Wordsworth, I teach English at the University of Mumbai.’
‘Now, isn’t that a surprise? I’m happy to have met you, Mr Gupta. I’m Leena Mathew. I teach English myself, at the University of Dallas.’
They chit-chatted on general matters and were soon on first name basis. He found Leena a vivacious and interesting conversationalist and found her company delightful and comforting. Amod was drawn to her immediately, almost as if he had known her for many years.
Shortly, their attention was drawn again to the young couple. The male counterpart had brought out a large heart shaped card and heart shaped candy box and was in the process of offering the same to his beloved.
Leena turned to him. ‘Did you know, Valentine’s Day is named after two martyr Christian Saints of the past and there is no reference to romantic love anywhere in that legend?’
Amod blinked at the mention of Valentine’s Day and just for a second, his expression betrayed the sudden rush of emotions that he felt within. But this did not go unnoticed by the sharp eyes of his companion.
‘Are you married, Amod?’ She laughed, ‘I’m sorry for being so brazen in my manners, but I warm to people very quickly.’
‘Oh no, it’s perfectly all right. No, I haven’t found the right person as yet,’ Amod hastened to clarify.
‘And yet, your eyes speak of something deeper than that, Amod. Then surely, you are in love?’ The last question seemed to be more of a statement of fact.
‘Well, not exactly…..’ Amod hesitated.
‘Had been in love then…’ Leena persisted.
Amod laughed, ‘You are a wily woman, Leena.’
‘As all women are, my friend. But coming back to you, I say, what’s there in that? Everyone has loved at sometime or the other.’
‘Or lost, Leena. Loved and Lost.’ Amod’s voice was tinged with sadness.
‘And yet, as Tennyson says, ‘tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all!’ Leena’s tone was encouraging.
‘Indeed, Leena, of that there is no doubt!’ Amod laughed.
‘Look, they’re starting the movie…….Ohhhh! ‘Gone With The Wind!’ It’s one of my favourites!’ And with that, Leena abruptly pulled on her earphones, her eyes fixed on the screen.
‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’ Amod didn’t feel so sure. He looked out through the window. Bright golden-yellow streaks of sunlight had appeared on the horizon and had begun to illuminate the sky in a kaleidoscope of colours, announcing the arrival of dawn. But the beauty of this exhibition by Nature did nothing to suppress the volcano of emotions that were beginning to erupt inside Amod upon hearing the word ‘Valentine’s Day.’
For it was on Valentine’s day that it had happened.
He began to envisage in his mind’s eye, the events as they had occurred in Chennai several years ago. It had been love at first sight for him. From the first day of college, when he had seen her in his class, Sunita had captivated his mind and he could not stop thinking about her.
He was fascinated by everything about her; her dark, soulful eyes, the perpetual gorgeous smile on her face and her sweet, helpful nature. During discussions in their study-group, he would steal numerous glances at her and relish every gesture of hers; the way she tilted her head when talking to someone, the way she carelessly pushed back her long, lustrous hair from her face. Every time she would read out aloud, he would watch her, mesmerised by the musical sound of her voice.
And she would seem to respond! Every time she caught him looking at her, she would smile at him and suddenly his world would seem full of laughter and song. He was truly and madly in love with her.
Then came the point where he could not bear it any longer. He had worshipped her for over two years. He desperately wanted to tell her about his feelings.
And that was the difficult part. How was it possible?! How could anyone like him propose to someone like her? If anyone got as much as a whiff of it, he would become the laughing stock of the University!
And yet, she had almost completed her M.A. Soon her parents would look for a suitable boy for her. He would lose her forever! Fear gripped his heart.
He took the decision to propose to her the very next day.
St.Valentine’s Day.
Not being confident of having the courage to propose to her in person, he wrote a long letter to her confiding his feelings to her and asking for her hand in marriage. He added that given his status, he would understand if she declined his proposal.
But if she felt the same way about him and accepted his proposal, she should send him a handkerchief with a small heart drawn at one corner.
He hid the note in a book and left it on her desk just before the class began. Unfortunately for him, Sunita arrived late that day and the book, and in consequence the note, fell into the hands of her friend who sat next to her.
The news travelled like wildfire and wherever he went, he could feel the amused eyes of everyone upon him. Everywhere he went, the jibes and comments incessantly rained down on him. Finally, one day, he was summoned to the Dean’s office.
The Dean had been very blunt and categorical. Never in the entire history of that esteemed University, did exist a Teacher, a Professor, who had abused his position and misbehaved with a student in that fashion. The University had no place for a person like him and he was required to submit his resignation with immediate effect.
His mind screamed with the desire to argue his cause. After all, what had he done? Fallen in love, that’s all. Was that such an abhorrent act? He loved her. He genuinely, sincerely loved her. He had wanted to spend his entire life with her. He wanted to make her his wife!
And he had not forced her! He had very honourably proposed to her, as a gentleman to a lady. Was that such an abominable thing to do?!!
But he found no words forthcoming. For the same mind also knew that the love of a 37 year old professor for his 23 year old student, however genuine and honourable, would always be looked upon with horror and contempt. His arguments would find no takers in the society that he lived in.
He left the town the very next day. As a small consolation, in view of his excellent academic record and with the help of a few sympathetic friends among the staff, the incident was not mentioned on his record. He moved to Mumbai where he managed to secure a low profile teaching job at the University of Mumbai.
But he always felt that the pain of losing his job was far less than the anguish that rent his heart upon losing Sunita. Given the situation, he had not had the opportunity to even say good-bye to her. A couple of his friends from Chennai who had maintained contact with him kept him updated about Sunita. As he had guessed, her parents had married her off to someone in her community. And that was the last he had heard of her.
He absently removed his wallet and gazed at her photo. This was something that he did almost everyday. And even more so on every Valentine’s Day.
He wondered if she looked the same now. It had been so long ago. She probably looked even lovelier than before. He would probably not be able to recognize her. He gave a deep sigh.
‘So you still love her, don’t you?’ Leena was watching him intently. The film had ended and she was now keenly interested in what Amod was doing.
Amod sighed again and nodded.
‘Tell me your story… please…..’ Her eyes twinkled with anticipation.
Amod gave a laugh. ‘You women are all the same! Always out to enjoy a good sob-story! OK, don’t say I didn’t warn you…...’
When Amod finished, Leena’s eyes were full of tears. She put a hand on Amod’s hand. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say…..’
‘Hey, It’s all right, you don’t have to cry. It’s all in the past now. Are you OK?’ Amod was concerned but touched by her reaction. He offered her his handkerchief and she dabbed her eyes with it.
Leena nodded and gave a short laugh, ‘Yes, I’m OK. It’s just that your story is so……. touching. I’ll just go to the rest room…’ She got up and left.
Leena returned just as the Captain was announcing the commencement of their landing at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. The next few minutes were spent in silence. The aircraft touched down smoothly on the runway and slowed down quickly to complete the final journey towards its assigned gate.
Amod and Leena left the aircraft together and walked towards the Immigration Clearance section.
‘Is someone coming to pick you up?’ Amod asked Leena.
‘Yes. And you?’ Leena asked as they both brought out their travel documents for inspection.
‘No one, actually. I’ll take a cab to my cousin’s house. He stays fairly close to the airport.’ They finished the Immigration formalities and walked towards the baggage claim area.
There was a grunting sound followed by a dull humming as the conveyer belt began to move, bringing out on it from behind the curtains, various articles of luggage.
I think that’s mine. Thank God it didn’t take too long!’ Leena pulled her suitcase off the belt with some help from Amod.
‘And there’s mine as well’ Amod just managed to pull his heavy bag off the belt before it passed by him.
‘And this too, I believe belongs to you?’ Amod heard Leena say.
He turned to her and froze.
He blinked once or twice in disbelief. In her outstretched hand, she held a pink handkerchief with a small heart embroidered at one corner.
With trembling hands, Amod slowly took it from her. He looked at the handkerchief fondly and tears sprang to his eyes. He jerked his head up towards Leena.
‘Where did you get this?’ His voice came out as a whisper. He was finding it difficult to speak.
‘From the same one whom you have longed for, Amod.’ Leena’s eyes were brimming with tears. ‘She was to give you this if she had the same feelings for you, was that not what you had requested?’
Amod’s voice broke down to a whisper, ‘Sunita?.......She’s here?..........In Dallas?’
Leena nodded vehemently. ‘Yes, Amod. She’s here in Dallas. And she is waiting for you.’
Amod shook his head, nonplussed. ‘But how is that possible? I had heard that………’
‘She got married?’ Leena cut him short. ‘She did, Amod, she was forced into it. But she loved YOU all along. She had fallen in love with you from the moment she had laid her eyes on you. She was deeply impressed by your knowledge and your wonderful nature. But you had no way of knowing that, did you?
While the whole world was criticizing you for proposing to her, she was the only one who was overjoyed that you had done so. But Sunita came from a very strict and orthodox family. She did not have the maturity and courage to accept your proposal and revolt against her family and society. And by the time she decided to do so, it was too late. You had left for good.’
‘Sunita was forced into marriage with a rich boy from her own community. However, she was widowed shortly after marriage when her husband died in a train accident. She then desperately tried to contact you but you had left no traces behind. She left her family and took up a job with Lufthansa which brought her to Dallas. She stayed unmarried, just like you, Amod. And she pined for you all these years. Just like you did for her.’
‘And then one day, your name showed up in the list of passenger bookings. The age seemed to match. Sunita was ecstatic. She sent me to Mumbai to confirm if it was really you. She booked me on the same flight as you from Mumbai to Dallas. At the Mumbai Airport just before our departure, I identified you, using one of her old college photos that she had given me with you in it.
Sunita then wanted to ascertain if you still felt the same way about her. She felt afraid. After all, you may have married or become committed to someone else. Or you may have forgotten about her. She wanted me to sit next to you during the flight so that I could befriend you and try to find out if you still cared for her.
So using her influence in Lufthansa, she tried to get me the seat next to yours on the flight. She was not successful on the Mumbai-Frankfurt leg of the journey, but she managed to get us to sit together on the flight from Frankfurt to Dallas.
After talking to you during the flight, I had no doubt that you still loved her intensely. I conveyed the same to her over the satellite phone when I got up to go to the restroom.
She then told me to go ahead and give you the handkerchief that I had carried with me all along. Just as you both had agreed. Eight years ago.’
Amod’s mind was reeling with what he had just heard. Words failed him and he put his arms around Leena and hugged her tightly.
‘Thank you Leena. Thank you. I don’t know how to express my gratitude…..’
‘No…..Amod…Please don’t embarrass me. This is the least I could do. After all that I’ve done…’
Amod drew back and looked questioningly at her.
Leena looked at Amod and said softly, ‘You haven’t still recognized me, have you?’
Leena’s voice sounding strained. ‘I am the cause of your misery, Amod. I am the girl who used to sit next to Sunita in your class. The same girl who had read your letter of proposal to Sunita and was stupid enough to broadcast it to everyone on the campus. I was immature and foolish at that time. By the time I realized my folly, the harm had already been done. I regretted my deed to no end. I swore that I would set things right for you, and God gave me this wonderful opportunity to do so.
Now don’t waste any more time, Amod. Go out and meet her. You both have waited long enough.’
And so saying, Leena kissed him on the cheek and hugged him briefly. Then she turned and walked away into the crowd.
Leena was right. It had been a long wait. He looked around and noticed for the first time, that the waiting lounge was decorated with bright red ribbons and hearts. He could hear the strains of ‘Unchained Melody’ by Righteous Brothers playing softly in the background. He looked at the sunshine streaming in through the gate that led outside. Where his beloved Sunita would be waiting for him. His heart had already begun to beat faster in anticipation.
It was going to be a beautiful Valentine’s Day, he thought as he smiled and walked out through the gate.
