An Orange Day

It was an orange day. I don’t know why but it was one of those rare days I classified as orange. Days can be so easily classified using colors. I don’t do it; my mind automatically arranges them for me – yellow when I am bright, white when I am calm, black when I am mournful, grey when I am tensed and so on. Every hue carries a message and today was orange.

I did not see anything special about today but somehow I never see a specialty in an orange day right from the start. But my heart says it is an orange day and so, it has to be special. As usual, I leave for college at 7:30 am and reach college late by half an hour. It makes no difference since the lecturer whose class starts at 8 never makes much sense to me. I am allowed to sit for the class and I am happy. Attendance is what I attend for. Less attendance and you are black listed. See, even the lists are colorful. I wonder what a yellow list would be like.

The college goes on till the scheduled 3 pm. In Mumbai, it does not rain, it pours. Last one hour, it was pouring heavily. We requested our lecturer to allow us to go home; he denied permission. Heavy rains aren’t unusual phenomena in Mumbai. And when the college bell rang, we rushed for home. Moving down the staircase that took us to the front gate, we were stopped short in our tracks. I live in Mumbai from 21 years, right from the time they changed my first nappy, but I had never witnessed this before.

The rains looked catastrophic. Meanwhile, cell phones started beeping wildly and the verdict was out – No moving out of here. All rail routes, road routes were closed. Stranded and happy I was. Happy because a day in college doing nothing but chilling out called for a celebration.

The next few hours were spent discussing as to whether we will be able to go home today, cursing the lecturer for not letting us leave early (good he was stranded too) and gossiping about our "favorite" lecturers. I did not know that Reema was going out with Akhil; they were two of my most hated lecturers! Wow, what a combo. We cracked jokes on what would they name their kid when they have one. “Artificially intelligent” came a prompt reply to the question put forth by Rajesh, an out-of-the-box thinking friend of mine. And someone said it would be “Network failure”. Reema taught us Computer Networks, Akhil Artificial Intelligence.

Another few hours gone by and the rain had subdued a little. The more adventurous people had started moving out of college and slowly and steadily people seemed to be moving out. Going back home was impossible but people were trying to go to places of some people known to them living nearby. Seeing the college getting emptier, I decided to move out. A distant cousin of mine lived some blocks away from college and in India, you know all your distant cousins, however distant they may be. I saw a plus in this for the very first time as I moved out to reach his place.

Today was different and hence, it should have classified as green, I was still waiting for the orange spark. And then it dazzled brilliantly through the grey alley I was moving in. She asked me if I could help her under my umbrella, she was drenched. And I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was beautiful, elegant, graceful. It was her eyes I couldn’t take mine off from. Dark jet black, something so beautiful within her. I felt a deep connection. I don’t know if you would describe her as beautiful or elegant when you meet her; most people don’t. But, I saw something I had not seen in any of the girls I had met before, however beautiful they may be. The key had fit the lock perfectly and I felt my heart had closed for any other woman on earth. It was unusual but it was a moment to be revered for life.



“Excuse me?” she got me back to my senses. “Sorry”, I mumbled. “You can get under the umbrella. But I don’t know how well this would be able to protect us both.” She got under my umbrella. She smelt of sandalwood – pure and holy. She looked at me to say “Thanks”. I was wondering if she felt the same clinking of metals within her, the same current running under her skin as was running through me.

She got under the umbrella. I tried controlling myself but blurted out, "You are so beautiful." How can you ever say this to a girl when you have only just met her? What will she think about me - would she find me ugly and desperate? But she only smiled. She said, "I know and I am glad you can see it too". I did not understand what she meant when she said this. Glad that I saw it too? Does this mean other people did not see her as beautiful? I was confounded.

And it again started pouring madly. The water in the lane we were now walking in was already a little above waist-level. But, this sudden pouring had taken me aback. Luckily, I noticed that an electricity pole was dangling dangerously around the corner of the lane. If the pole fell down, it would electrify us both to our deaths. And I caught her hand and asked her to run. The pole could collapse any moment and we had to hurry. But, she did not move - out of fear or shock I do not know. And I said,"What? Do you want to die?" And she said,"Nobody wants to die. But we all have to." This wasnt time for philosophy. But she continued, "People find death ugly for it takes them by shock. But, there are few who understand the beauty in it. Death is transformation. Can you imagine how would it be to just live on and on with this body ageing but there being no death. How ugly that kind of immortality would be as compared to death?" I thought she was crazy.

I left her hand to run away but she held my hand tightly and I couldnt move. I was just attracted. And she continued, "People see in death what they are. And you saw beauty in me. You are beautiful. And you will pass into a newer life without any pain, without any trouble. You deserve a beautiful transition". Till I could just grasp what these words meant about her,the pole collapsed. A strong current ran through my body and I smiled. Life had passed in the time my lips had curled. It was surely an orange day - the last of this lifetime.