Novel Illusion (Complete) - Based on a true story

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Priya had not got the opportunity to come back in the same town of her own when Priya was of the desire to work where her father and Vijay were staying. But now, thanks to her father’s efforts, it was now she had got the opportunity to come back in the same town when Vijay was no more a goal to be achieved for her and when her earnest desire to come back had vanished. But now she was of the keen desire not to be in the close proximity with Vijay and was trying to be as much away from him as possible although she had not been able to overpower her father’s desires. Besides that her father’s health too was not keeping well because of his old age. At such a critical age of his life, when Priya was his only child, it was her moral duty to be in his close company. She had requested her father to get herself transferred to some other town but her father was not completely accustomed to this town only and therefore he had opposed this idea which naturally meant that even Priya was destined to begin her medical practice in the same town and get settled there itself. Moreover, Priya too was unable to discuss about her state of mind with her father and was therefore being forced to accept whatever that was happening in her destiny against her willful desires as though giving her a feeling that she was only a puppet stung to the strings of the fate. Probably, this is what people must be calling it as luck. Priya would curse all such people who would put the blame on their fate whenever anything wrong may happen but now she could see the destiny’s hand in anything happening. In fact, now if anybody would behave wrong, she would not get angry as might have she been angered before because now she had come to believe the role of her destiny in any such untoward happening and would accept it willingly as somebody’s way of behavior.

Till such time her practice had not settled, Priya continued working for a brief period at Dr. Nadkarni’s clinic itself. Even while working there the thoughts about Vijay would keep coming to her mind but they would never trouble her as much as they were troubling earlier. But she was finding it difficult to control them since Vijay too was staying in the same town. One she had sensed a very strong desire to meet him but somehow she had managed to curb them and had avoided meeting Vijay. The only remedy she could see to eliminate this troubling thought process was to get herself deeply engrossed in her work. Therefore eventually she buried herself so deeply in the work that it was as though the time had stopped for her and she could never know how many days, weeks or even months were passing by. She was thus deep with her work, work and work alone.

Several such days passed without any knowledge of Vijay’s whereabouts. It was actually the fact that Priya had herself not bothered to find anything about Vijay. Not that she had any anger against him hidden in her mind but all she wanted was to never interfere between him and Nayana. She avoided meeting him because unknowingly she would reveal her feelings after having gone to meet him under some or the other pretext. She was exactly afraid of this particularly because that day when he had exposed his true feelings about Nayana before her even she had felt tempted, at a point of time, to reveal her dreams in front of him in the stroke of overwhelming emotions but only she was aware of how defiantly she had restrained herself even at that critical moment. On the other hand equally true that neither Vijay had ever looked upon her anything more than a good friend nor did he ever have any selfish interest in their mutual friendship and therefore there was no point in blaming him for anything.

Then what went wrong on her part?
But one day all those thoughts did explode in her mind at least.
Was she suppose to have clearly express her feelings before him vividly much earlier?
But was she not behaving in the same manner sufficiently indicative?
How much clearer expression was necessary on her part?
Or had she fallen anything short in her intimate feelings toward Vijay?
Neither was there any element of truth in this question too!.

Finally she had reached a conclusion to settle all the blame on her fate and continue living the harsh realities of everyday life. But unfortunately the ill shadows of the bad past were not willing to get out of her mind completely and she had done everything necessary to forget the past. She had severed contacts with all her old friends especially because after meeting them the topic of Vijay would invariably emerge but even then her emotions were not stabilizing much. She thought that perhaps time will prove to be a best medicine for all her wounds to get healed but unfortunately with each passing day her emotions were becoming all the more intense and the shadows of Vijay’s image were getting more and more thick.

After a long spell Priya happened to meet Rajesh. Of course, even he had not come to meet her with any specific purpose but rather only to get the medical check-up of his wife done from Priya on her clinic.

‘How nice to see both of you together after such a long time!’, Priya welcomed Rajesh and his wife.

‘Actually it was impossible for us to come at your clinic any time before?’, Rajesh cunningly said.

‘What do you mean?’, Priya asked.

‘If we were to have come to meet you much earlier than today we would have had to get married much before!’, Rajesh mischievously remarked looking at his wife making that poor lady feel blushed.

‘Oh! Is it? That means the development is serious! Congratulations anyway!’, Priya endorsed.
By this time, Rajesh and his wife had settled down in both the chairs kept in front of Priya.

‘How is everything else?’, Priya asked in an enquiring tone.

‘We are doing fine. How about you?’, Rajesh asked Priya.

‘Of course I am fine!. I am so busy with all my ongoing work!’, Priya pretended to be happy with her life.

‘But after my wedding none of you seem to be visible anywhere!. It was me who got married but you all have vanished!’, Rajesh pretended to be angry.

‘It is not that Rajesh but don’t you know a newly married couple is not to be disturbed!’, Priya stood up from her chair holding her stethoscope in her hand.

While requesting Kamal, Rajesh’s wife to come along for the sake of check-up, Priya said, ‘Kamal! Please come here!’.

Rajesh’s wife got up and even he too started following her as though he was so happy for his wife turning pregnant. His wife signaled him with big eyes but it did not even occur to him and he continued following her. Then Priya laughed at Rajesh and instructed him, ‘Please wait here only!’.

Suddenly Rajesh realized his mistake and he felt extremely awkward to say, ‘Quite right! What am I to do inside?’. He sat down on the chair again.

‘Are you facing any trouble?’, Priya asked Rajesh’s wife while going behind the curtain of the partition.

Without uttering a word Kamal, Rajesh’s wife started going behind which made Priya aware that she probably wanted to say something but was finding it awkward to disclose in front of Rajesh. During the course of the medical check-up Rajesh was getting hear a whispering sound of both the women talking but was unable to understand what was going on and hence he had to wait sitting there for a long time.

After the check-up was over Priya came out with Rajesh’s wife, Kamal and assured her by saying, ‘Just like we the women feel anxious whenever any new guest is to come, the same way a woman’s body too needs time to get adjusted with the new entrant in her family and the whole of her body starts preparing itself to meet the challenges of the new situation since that new member of the family is to first blossom in her womb only and therefore many harmonic changes keep taking place in a woman’s body because of which such small troubles can possibly take place unavoidably’.

Rajesh was listening to all this intently and was feeling proud of his erstwhile college-time friend Priya having become a full-fledged medical professional.

In the meantime even Kamal had settled in the chair kept next to Rajesh and Rajesh said, ‘In fact we both were tremendously worried because sometimes Kamal behaves as though she is tremendously frightened and worried’.

‘There is nothing to be anxious or worried about’, Priya assured saying, ‘During this phase of a woman’s life not only physical but emotional changes too take place through the harmonic changes’.

‘Did I not tell you there is nothing to be worried about!’, Rajesh assured Kamal and said, ‘Don’t you think my friend like any other doctor!. She is really an expert now!’.


‘I am not any prominent doctor or like that’, Priya replied courteously, ‘but it is necessary that certain things be told to a woman undergoing pregnancy for the first time since they are completely ignorant about them’.

‘I will just prescribe you some Vitamin and Calcium tablets’, Priya whispered while opening her writing pad, ‘which you need to be consuming regularly’.

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Priya was busy writing her prescription and some time passed in silence. During that time Rajesh kept himself occupied in watching different pictures hanging into Priya’s clinic and he soon suggested his wife too to look at the picture of a beautiful infant child.

Priya sensed their communication and she smilingly asked, ‘Do you want to take that picture with you?’.

‘No…..What for?’, Rajesh replied.

‘If that picture keeps hanging in front of your wife’s eyes then even her child too will be beautiful like that child’, Priya explained.

‘How is that possible?’, Rajesh asked.

‘It may not happen completely but the mother’s psychological state of mind does bear a strong influence on the health of the fetus indeed and your wife will continue to feel pleasant if the picture of that child remains constantly before her which is bound to influence the child to be born’, Priya explained.

‘But…….’, Rajesh tried to argue.

‘Don’t worry about that. The Medical Representatives of several pharmaceutical companies keep regularly visiting my clinic and they do keep giving me several such pictures every time’, Priya explained.

Rajesh rose from his chair and pulled out that picture from the wall and while rolling it he came back and asked something he was not sure whether to ask or not, ‘Did you meet Vijay anytime in last weeks?’.

‘No! I have not…….Why?’, Priya answered without lifting her head while busy writing the prescription thus avoiding to reveal her expressions on face.

‘Then you must be aware that Vijay………’, Rajesh was about to tell and Priya interrupted him, ‘Why?, What happened to Vijay?’.

‘I thought you must be aware of……..’, Rajesh tried to explain.

‘Will you please tell me what has happened?’, Priya angrily said to Rajesh.

‘I heard that his company has terminated him from his job’, Rajesh answered.

‘What? Terminate? But why?’, Priya exclaimed in surprise.

‘Something happened between him and the daughter of his boss!’, Rajesh explained.

‘ That means you still did not meet him’ Priya asked.

‘Of course I did meet him but he is not revealing anything. In fact, what I told you just now is too something I learnt from others!’, Rajesh revealed.

‘But he is love with that daughter of his boss!’, Priya explained.

‘What? In love with her? But you…….’, Rajesh exclaimed and sensing what he was about to say further, Priya instantly interrupted to say, ‘And you are disclosing this to me now after so much time?’. Priya quickly got up from her chair and rushed to the door of her clinic while saying, ‘Don’t you know how important his job was for his family and sister? I must go to meet him immediately’.

Priya started from her clinic and stopped only after reaching at Vijay’s home. from across the gate of his bungalow he peeped inside and it reminded her how during their days of college life she would come the same way at his home and her eyes would keep searching for Vijay while looking all over from the gate. But today everywhere there was complete silence as though nobody was staying in that house. Unrepaired for several years now, that old structure of that house was adding to the tranquility spread over there. Instantly then, Priya sensed some movement in some corner of that open space in front of that house and she carefully looked over there to discover it was Vijay sitting alone there in a chair deeply engrossed in his thoughts. He did not notice her even after Priya opened the gate and entered inside. With beard overgrown on his face he was sitting alone deep in his thoughts.

‘Vijay! What poor state you have reduced yourself to?’, Priya asked him.

For the first time, while stepping out of the world of his thoughts, Vijay looked in front and gave a welcome smile to Priya. His face was gleaming yet with the same formidable confidence in his mind.

While sitting over the chair kept next to him, Priya asked to Vijay, ‘Rajesh had come to meet me and he was telling that your company has……’.

Vijay interrupted her to complete her sentence himself, ‘Terminated me!’.

There was not an iota of worry or anxiety visible on his face.

‘But Why? What happened that you should be terminated?’, Priya expressed her concern toward him.

‘Not anything serious!’, Vijay replied.

‘And you did not find it necessary to even take the trouble of informing me about it’, Priya said to express her agony.

‘If it was to be anything special I would have told you but I did not find it necessary!’, Vijay replied.

‘Oh! That means only when there will be any necessity will you tell me anything?’, Priya expressed her anger.

‘I really mean it. There is noting great about it!’, Vijay lifted his legs spread over the chair next and clarified himself while positioning himself well in the chair again.

‘And what about this overgrown beard like any sad lover?’, Priya was not yet willing to leave him from disclosing the reality.

‘No! I have avoided shaving for long just because there is no more any formal life of going to office everyday’, Vijay explained.

‘Anyway……..you cannot escape from explaining everything to me about what exactly happened’, Priya was now determined to find out the truth.

‘Ok fine! I will tell you what happened’, Vijay said and started his story.

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Today was the ‘Annual Day’ to be celebrated in Vijay’s company. Annual Day was a day of lavish fun and frolic for all the employees of the company which would be celebrated on a very grand scale. Actually every ‘Annual Day’ is joyously celebrated in a lavish manner throughout all the companies. All the employees would set aside the stress of their routine work and spend time in thoroughly enjoying the day. They would remain occupied with variety of outdoor and indoor games like football, cricket, table-tennis, badminton throughout the day followed by an entertainment cultural program in the evening to refresh oneself from the day-long tiredness in which a dance on orchestra would be often played. Along with the company employees even the other outside guests invited there would quench their zest for dancing and singing. After the end of that dance and singing orchestra would be the lavish dinner at 9 pm but experience was that nobody would be able to begin the dinner party sharp at 9 pm and everybody was allowed to stay doing all the fun as much as possible till one can remain in the party at night which means there was no end to the fun and frolic. Besides, the next day would be a holiday which means everybody could afford to relish the fun till late in the night even up to 3 AM.

Actually speaking, this ‘Annual Day’ in the company was Vijay’s first to be experienced of its kind. He had heard a lot about it so far. Therefore, today he had lavishly enjoyed all the indoor as well as outdoor games such as Cricket, Table Tennis, and Carom and all other possible play activities till the time his thirst for joy was fully quenched. Besides that, while participating in each of these activities, Nayana was inducing him constantly, to double his enthusiasm. As a result, he did not feel much tired as such. In fact, in the evening he even abundantly enjoyed the fun of playing ‘Musical Chair’ in the cultural programs by constantly occupying every other chair adjacent to Nayana. And now the moment of enjoying the peak of that day’s fun and joy had arrived finally – the evening party had started. Today, no one had any restrictions of eating and drinking anything up to any quantity he or she may want to relish. All types of liquor, such as Beer; Rum; Vodka; Whisky and even Red Wine were made available to all the employees and guests equally alike. The hard core liquor fans were bound to jump at this golden opportunity but those who would remain aloof from consuming liquor too would feel tempted by the lure of this unique freedom of its own kind – available only once in a year.

So the games were played abundantly followed by the cultural program and now the liquor party and dinner was scheduled. All the employees arrived at the venue little before the scheduled time and were whiling away their time by standing in small groups. Obviously, the topic of the entire talk was how lavishly they had enjoyed the day while playing variety of games. The evening party was organized on a fresh green lawn outside the hotel venue and there four counters organized in the four corners of the lawn to serve liquor and cold drinks. All the counters were attended by the catering staff in their formal ironed white clothes with white gloves in their palms. The whole atmosphere was appearing out to resemble with the grand ball room or a dinner banquet hall of a five star hotel. While chatting among themselves everybody’s sight would time and again settle on the four wine and liquor counters set up there but no one had any courage to go and fill his or her glasses because the boss was yet to arrive and therefore no one had any guts to begin the party before the boss had arrived. Without boss’s arrival no one would think of touching the liquor or even fill the glass with plain chilled water. What if the boss arrives and he unnecessarily doubts the plain water glass to be that of Vodka causing a grave misunderstanding in his crocodile mind. It is for this reason, throughout all the annual day parties, an unwritten rule, that no activity should begin without boss’s arrival would be strictly adhered with. Therefore, although all of them were pretending to be busy in the chats among themselves, all of them were curiously awaiting for the arrival of the ‘Big Boss’. All of them were too eager to see the boss present there so that they would fill their glasses and quench their annual thirst and feel the thrust.

Suddenly the whole atmosphere was electrified when a hustle-bustle was noticed at the main entrance of the lawn and that wave of excitement reached and spread among all the invitees……..Ah! Finally the boss had arrived. Complete silence spread in the lawn and everybody’s attention turned at the entrance.

‘Yes! Quite right! The boss had arrived!’.

Immediately after stepping on the lawn, the boss had greeted all of them either by a smile, pat on a shoulder or a greeting expression with palms together – especially for the women. Boss was followed by his wife and daughter Nayana too. Finding that the boss had arrived with family the cunning employees, master at the art of appeasing the ego of every boss, had started lavishly demonstrating their skill.

‘Hello everybody! Today is our party and it is a special annual party! Then why are your hands empty! And why are you looking so pale and quiet?’, boss tried to make everybody’s fun.

In fact, if the boss was to have noticed anybody drinking a glass of liquor before his arrival then he would have made a serious note of it and instantly thought of a cruel idea to teach a memorable lesson to him. But everybody knew that when it comes to talking to a boss one needs to follow double standards. Therefore some of them started laughing at the mischievous gesture of the boss whereas others started forcibly smiling at the remarks passed by the boss. Vijay always hated all such appease-masters because he knew that they were the same people who lacked any talent. In fact, Vijay also hated his boss because of his attitude of feeling joyous at the unworthy appreciation. But the position of his boss being different and delicate he could never express his real feelings toward him. However, he was going to one day reveal his thoughts to the boss because these were indeed the same people who, in spite of being inefficient and relatively unproductive, were managing to rise in the company as compared to the other meritorious employees who were being treated in an unjust manner. This was indeed the crux of the reason why the real life atmosphere in the company was being highly polluted. Although, apparently the atmosphere in the company was appearing to be fine this infection in the minds of the people was bound to prove harmful for the future growth of the company.

After the boss entered there the whole atmosphere had changed radically. One of the pawns of boss prepared the glass of liquor for the boss and offered it to him. Only after the boss galloped a first sip of the liquor that everybody rushed to the wine and liquor counters. Soon from all corners of the lawn the noise of glasses and bottles started echoing. During the college days Vijay had tasted the beer with friends after being pressed by them and he also knew that in a corporate atmosphere one needs to taste it again because of the formal pressures but on the whole he had never liked the taste of a beer. But he had very firmly resolved not to ever go beyond drinking the beer given the kind of pathetic state his father had reduced himself up to. Although many of his colleagues and friends had tried persuading him to go for hard drinks but Vijay was not going to succumb to their demands. He would rarely break a rule he would have bound himself with.

Soon Vijay started enjoying the state everybody else had brought himself down to because everybody was revealing his or her mindset and thus it was a golden opportunity to learn the true feelings of what the other colleagues might be otherwise thinking of. But very soon Vijay realized the futility involved in it after noticing many of his colleagues were only repeating what they had said earlier. On the contrary, Vijay’s first glass of beer too was not yet empty and therefore he glanced throughout the crowd gathered in the lawn. His eyes were now searching for Nayana. One of the corners of the lawn was fully occupied by women and there among them he saw Nayana standing beyond a pole. She was having a glass of soft drinks in her hands and she was deeply engrossed in the chat with her girl friends. Holding the liquor glass he strolled in front of her under the pretext of going to the serving counter and both Nayana and Vijay saw each other and she gave a pleasant smile to him. After reaching that serving counter he thought of moving away from there because as such he was not going to consume any liquor. So he paid a glance at the group of all the girls with whom Nayana was standing and he could only hear the sound of their discussion. But the sound alone was not sufficient to understand what they were talking about.

Once again Vijay looked at the surroundings carefully and thought, ‘What if I stand before that curtain close to Nayana and try to hear what these girls are talking with Nayana?’.