In the third instalment from his forthcoming book “An Unsuitable Boy”, Jas Kalsi recounts an episode from Kenya in 1956… |
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What was all that commotion going on? Hoards of people were running to the town square, where a motorcade of limousines was arriving. It was June 1956 in Nairobi, Kenya and Rajinder was 27 years of age, out with his friends after a particularly successful hockey match. He and his buddies followed the crowds and as he got up onto a wall to get a better view, he saw her just a few yards away.. As she turned, their eyes met and it was as if a thunderbolt had gone through him, making him shiver. He was captivated by her, but who was she? |
One of three brothers and two sisters, Raj was born in Kenya to a middle-class family of Sikhs, originating from the Punjab region of India. His father was one of the first of the Sikh families to have come over to this beautiful place, which the British & Europeans had transformed from an impoverished nation to a successful economy in less than 70 years, albeit with all the social implications. This was perfectly exemplified by the true story “White Mischief”;- the well healed of upper crust England engaged in a tirade of wild and wicked romps with stories of pills, booze, swinging, cross dressing and even murder! It was interesting in the book to read about the not-so-delicate social, sexual and psychosexual balances of the ‘happy valley’ crowd of faded British aristocrats and other late-era colonials.
“Raj, what’s wrong with you? get down from that wall. Did you hear me” said Arun, his best friend, in fluent Swahili-Punjabi, a strange mix of the Indian Punjabi language and the African dialect. “Did you see her? Did you see her face? She’s incredible… I’ve got a funny feeling in my innards. I just have to see her again” he replied. “Come on – you need a beer my friend” was the decision from Arun as they all headed off. That night Raj didn’t sleep. Tossing and turning in his bed, thinking about her, about how she could possibly have had such an amazing physical effect on him. He had no explanation – he had to see her again. Working as a Project Engineer for an American construction company building highways through virtual jungle, he had to leave the family home at 5.30am every morning. It would take him at least two hours each day to reach the site and he would be off right on time, on his scooter, with his pristine white turban, white shirt and Company tie. His mother would always make him a ‘Parata’ with a different filling each day. Today was spicy potatoes and spinach, known as ‘saag aloo’ and some her renowned home-made mango pickle and always the two hot green chillies wrapped along with it. Life was good he thought, as he enjoyed his lunch followed by a fresh Mango, but that night, it was about to change in an unexpected direction. At work, he had heard about how ‘the most beautiful film actress in India’, nicknamed “Pyari” had just come over to shoot her latest film. “That’s it!” – he said to himself, it’s Her. He discovered from the afternoon paper that she was married to the film Director and had millions of fans back in India, which is not unusual as even to this day, films and film stars are the only distraction for many people in India. Over a family dinner that night, he was being teased by his brothers and sisters which prompted his mother to declare that it was time for Rajinder to be married and that her cousin in Delhi had found a suitable match. There was a sudden silence in the room. What about Pyari, he thought to himself. Days later, he started to visit the film set whenever he could and cutting a long story short, a dramatic and torturous affair took place between them. It was something he would always hold in his heart and he really thought it was all over between them..Then, two years after first meeting her, as she was leaving Nairobi, he and Arun drove alongside her train, with her waving goodbye to him as he hung out of the window of Arun’s Peugeot, following her for miles… Imagine that! As she sat back in her seat in the train, her eyes red with crying, on her own, she opened the poem he left her…
“My Dearest Pyari, the day you love me and want to be with me is the day my life is complete… Like a warm and comforting light entering my World and going deep inside me… Without you my heart is broken, but when you are near, it comes alive and I feel butterflies as if I’m floating in the clouds.. The day you love me all my dreams come true and I imagine everything we could do together and enjoy the gift of life to the full.. The day you love me is the day I realise that the core of Infinite Cosmic Intelligence that lies deep inside all of us and which knows Everything, has brought you into my life. This invisible force that exists in everything, from the smallest cell to the largest Star is the creator of miracles, just as it created the coincidence of our first meeting.. The day you love me is the day you choose to trust in the Universe and not worry about what could go wrong. As the Vedic masters of ancient times professed: ‘trust in your heart as it is connected to the field of infinite intelligence and know that your dreams will come true. But live your life by the thoughts of the Ego (the mind) and you will not be living, just existing, like the coral on the side of the rock, loveless and without the light within’.. The day you love me is the day you believe in this Synchrodestiny of life and that everything happens for a reason.. So follow your heart and ask it to tell you if it is right that on this day you should love me and seize that opportunity that the Universe has given you…
What was to happen next was truly incredible…
Jas Kalsi, BSc(Eng)Hons, MBA is a Management Consultant and former President of the Ennis Chamber of Commerce |
