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| A New Beginning - Part 2 |
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In the 6th instalment from his forthcoming book “An Unsuitable Boy”, Jas Kalsi writes about an episode from London in 1983…
In Episode 5, Ravinder Singh Rathor had done the unthinkable. He had left his family home and secretly cut his hair, thereby going against generations of his Sikh culture. It was something he just had to do, even at the cost of alienating his family forever. Becoming clean shaven overnight, he was shocked as to how different he looked, but deep inside he felt happier than ever.. |
Having just completed his Electronics Engineering degree with Honours at the University of London, he had gained a sought-after place as a Satellite Systems Engineer at Marconi, part of the famous General Electric Company. It was what he had always aspired to, remembering at the age of 9, building an electronic rain sensor that set off a large mains-powered alarm and deafening everyone within ear-shot. It was a gadget that he made for his mother to alert her of downpours of rain that frequently ruined her laundry hanging out in the garden of their family home in a leafy suburb of North London. That gadget and others, including a wireless “bug” to listen in on conversations using any FM radio had seemingly impressed the physics teacher at his school and Mr Hamilton had taken it upon himself to teach electronics to the young Ravinder in his own time. Over the coming years, he excelled in his hobby, frequently denying his friends his company for important cricket matches, which he was quite good at, resulting in his expulsion from the School Team.
However, that was over 12 years ago and he had continued to progress well in his field of expertise, leading to one of the finest practical electronics projects ever being submitted in the history of the University of London in the final year of his degree. He was sure that this was a major factor in his selection for the coveted job he was now embarking on. On the first day of his dream job, he was excited and enthusiastic, waiting with his fellow new-starters in the briefing room at the plush offices of the General Electric Company. What would the job be like? He was sure that it would be just like his hobby, a chance to create things from nothing, but this time using state-of-the-art equipment of the highest standard. Wow, he thought to himself, as he sat expectantly, this was going to be absolutely fabulous – doing what he loved and being paid for it. What could be better than that? he thought. At that moment, she walked in. “Miss Karen Ayres, BSc(Eng)Hons, MSc, CEng, Senior Project Manager – Satellite Communications Division” it said on the Agenda. Oh my God - who is that amazing woman? he mused. How elegant and beautiful, those lovely blue eyes, that fabulous figure. He was sure he felt something go through him as he looked at her. Growing up in his culture was difficult for Ravinder. As children, he, his brother and sister had seen hard times in Kenya, their place of birth. Their upbringing was strict, there were few toys to play with when they were growing up and their parents had not showered them with love and affection to any real degree. He could never remember a time when he didn’t do what he was told – instantly and without question. As a teenager, his social circle was mostly Sikh friends and relatives, all brought up to comply with a rigid set of rules, particularly when it came to girls. He had been seeing a beautiful Sikh girl, Jyoti, the daughter of his Dad’s best friend at the local Sikh Temple and he recalled how he would look forward to going there to see her. It was a dangerous game because the liaisons had to be secretive on pain of death itself due to the fact that such things were forbidden.
There was no such thing as dating in the culture and the respective parents finding out was not an option to even contemplate! On the surface, being family friends, it was innocent enough to everyone around them, but the reality was quite different. Jyoti had taught him how to kiss, but he was always wondering where she learned it from. It was a question he didn’t want the answer to and was just grateful for the limited time they had together. He had seen her about a month ago and as they were no mobile phones, communication was difficult, mostly being effected from phone boxes at pre-determined times, as the home phones were out-of-bounds for obvious reasons. He hadn’t told her about what he had done and that he had left the family home so abruptly, but he was sure that she knew about it by now and was probably frantic. The truth was that he was embarrassed and didn’t know how she would react to seeing him without his turban and beard, even though they shared the same views that it’s the person inside that counts, not external cultural customs and appearance. He wasn’t sure how he really felt about Jyoti, but despite the fact that she had told him she loved him, after three years neither of them knew what that was. He certainly didn’t ever feel that ‘thunderbolt’ go through him as it did just now when Miss Karen Ayres walked into the briefing room. His mind had flashed back to recall his feelings about Jyoti, but they were suddenly inconsequential. A month later, he was alone one evening working late with his new boss, Karen, in one of the labs.
It felt amazing being near her and so with butterflies in his stomach and his heart thumping with anticipation, he threw caution to the wind. He drew up to her from behind, put his arms around her waist and kissed her gently on the nape of her neck. It was electric because she held his arms tightly in approval, let him come close to her and as she threw her head back to rest on his shoulder, asked him why he had waited so long because she wanted to kiss him from the moment she saw him. It was the start of an incredible relationship. The worst was about to happen but also the best and he would come to realise the true meanings of the words passion, attraction and pain, all at the same time...
Jas Kalsi, BSc(Eng)Hons, MBA is a Management Consultant and Past President of the Ennis Chamber of Commerce |
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