Two worlds apart

Vikram Das and Jinny Thomas are two worlds apart. They have never met each other. And yet they are connected to each other.

This was first published in Tamarind Rice's
September issue in my column "An Appletini
A Day..." Click the picture to read the entire
 magazine online for free.

Jinny Thomas is seven years old. She lives in an quaint little village within God's own country. She is the last to wake up in her house and goes to school reluctantly, tagging along with her elder sister. The kaccha roads that lead up to her school are forever muddy, worse now with the advent of the recent monsoons. She hates what they do to her shoes but her family is grateful because the rains nourish their crops. The best part of school undoubtedly is the return home where her pet dog Tommy waits at the doorstep, rushing to greet her when she arrives. Though she does not understand the language, she enjoys the cartoons on television. She is seven years old and has her whole life ahead of her.

Vikram Das is sixty six years old. Hailing from the Pink city, he is the fourth generation of his family to deal with the trade of cloth and cloth material. He is a widower, having lost his beloved fifteen years ago in a road traffic accident. He lives alone at the old ancestral house, aided by a servant who comes by every morning and does the cleaning. His daughter is studying in the national capital and he worries for her everyday till he receives her call. His elder son has taken over the family business and helps him now at the store. He indulges in an occasional meetha paan after lunch and dinner. He is turning blind and the doctors tell him that they cannot do much for him. He worries about his fate but does not confide in his daughter because he knows how much she cares for him. He is sixty six years old and life is coming to an end for him.

Vikram travels alone from Rajasthan to Kerala with failing vision and in need of a corneal transplant. He is dignified in his replies and calm as the risks and possible failure of the surgery is explained to him. He waits patiently, alone in the darkness within his room till he gets the news from the hospital that a cornea has been procured for him. He undergoes the procedure that evening. The coming morning, the bandages around his eyes are removed and Vikram Das can see beyond his hands once more. His tears reveal the words that he cannot voice. He has been given a new life. Vikram Das can see again.

Jinny Thomas will never see another day. Jinny is there in the operation theater with Vikram Das, the surgeon and myself. She will never know why her sister is so enamoured when Hrithik Roshan and Prithviraj appear on the television screen. She will never learn the difference between a GAP and a United Colours of Benetton shirt. She will never know the taste of a cappachino or Maggi noodles. She is seven years old and will remain seven forever. Killed in a landslide the previous day, she is just an unknown face, buried once more as an inconsequential footnote in a corner of the local newspaper. It is her seven year young corneas that now give light to a sixty six year old cloth merchant in a city no one in her family has ever been to. Vikram Das and Jinny Thomas are two worlds apart. They have never met each other. And yet they are connected to each other. Forever.

Authors note: Since a few people have asked, I will clarify: This is based on a true story.