Bulletin Board

If you are a software engineer who has worked in Bangalore ever in your life, you would definitely have heard of the Infosys Bulletin Board. It is the most famous collaborative platform in India (I am pretty sure about this) and can be described in a variety of ways. Its collective intelligence of 25000 smart people, collective queries of 25000 curious souls and collective creativity of 25000 geeks. So what do you do if you are confused about where to go on a weekend, how to get your form notarised, how to search for your dream life partner, how to .... OK enough lets take examples. The following are some of the discussion tracks today from the Infy BB.

Suggestions on buying a guitar
Where to take my wife to honeymoon (BTW who asks this in a public forum..well)
Remembering Rajiv Gandhi
Wishing NRN Happy Birthday
Alliance invited for a Christian Marthomite girl
Alliance invited for a Hindu Lingayat girl
126 Aircraft deal
Y is BB so quiet???

You get the point rite? Everyday at least 1000 messages are exchanged on Infy BB and trust me you will never be bored if you are surfing BB. And in between these glorious pieces of wisdom are some fantastic pieces of creative writing. Take a look at one below....Hats off to Infy BB and its contributors.



Nothing gets more exciting, thrilling and fearsome than to remain on the other side of the door of the Operation theatre, with the RED BULB on.

You guessed it right, she was expecting a baby and he was expecting news.

37 Minutes ago…..

THEN

With all the pain in her, he could see her biting her lips and he was holding her head, consoling her, telling her it’s going to be alright. He said it, but he wasn’t sure himself. He was scared. Very scared. Will she make it out of this? Will I see her again?

But he had to pretend strong, the usual way. Men’s worst fears are veiled by the pretense called courage. That’s the man’s strength and weakness.

The six feet stretcher kept streaming through that entire passage 3 metres wide. Patients, people, survivors, dead and injured all around him.

He seriously wouldn’t have expected it to happen today. The gynoec told him it was two days to go. How could she be wrong ? Blood oozing from his wife’s lips. Wipe it now? He didn’t know. These are the moments the brain fails to co-operate with the rest of the body. You know it, but can’t do anything.

She had clutched his hands too tight. He felt a heavy pain. He told himself, not worse then what she is going through.

He felt my fingers going numb. His legs kept moving in the direction of the operation theatre, His hands numb, His brain weaker, Eyes worried. But all these, his face would just not show. He kept smiling at her. It will be okay. It will be alright. He kept telling her. He repeated that again to himself.

She was looking at him. He didn’t know what was going through her mind. She continued. Was he supposed to ask her something? Does she want to say something? The noise that she let out was deafening for him.

“We are standing near the Niagara waterfalls now; the noise is so much that, even if hundred thousand motors were running, you still can’t hear them near this Waterfall… Now… Ladies, will you please be quiet so we can hear the lovely sound of the waterfall? “ ………..

His mind was racing….. A Man’s mind. Even if it is going through all pain, it still wouldn’t impede recollecting a very bad joke, from some old digest.

The white linen wrap over her was slipping; he had to hold the end of the stretcher so tight along with the bed sheet that it doesn’t slip.

His eyes quickly fell on the pretty nurse who was walking across the corridor with a tray full of strangely colored bottles. Fabulous she was. She is. She resembled his favorite actor. He remembered the day, he lied to his wife, going out with his buddies for her movie, reached around 2:00 AM in the morning, told his wife, “ Hectic day, sorry sweets…., Did you have your dinner ? “

He firmly moved his eyes off her, as she crossed the short path through the side of the flexi door to exit. He looked at the door again. She’s gone.

He could notice the drop of tears running in succession from the left corner of her eye. Her face was terrified; he could smell and sense horror. He wanted to wipe her tears, but just couldn’t. She held his right hand firm and tight. Won’t somebody help her? He looked around.

Careless attendants were walking, talking and listening to cricket scores over the small transistor radio. The attendant squealed, “S#$*! Sachin, again out on 99 ! “ , Run out !!!

He was cursing Sachin now, “How could he get so careless when he is just a run away from 1oo? “. Such irresponsibility. Who’s gonna come next? Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Pathan ? Sehwag is no use anyway…

The sound from the transistor faded now. He was staring at his sweetheart, she was still moaning. Now, he could see more blood from her lips.. Oozing. Someone, please wipe them off … His heart kept sinking. He quickly kissed her on her forehead; he didn’t know why he did that. But, he did it. She could hardly smile; she let out, a very weak and dry smile even in that terrible pain.

As he was struggling to wipe her tears, he could see one nurse piercing a needle through a hand. The syringe she withdrew now was filled with something that appeared like……. BLOOD. He saw blood trickling down the hands of the lady lying on the bed. He was about to fall, faint. He quickly withdrew consciousness.

It seemed Maroon in color, why do they call it Red Blood, then? Strange. Human mind is so fanatical. It still can afford to think ill logic in distress hours !

They were now near the door. The attendant from inside the room, made a screeching noise and opened the door. A small mouse, escaped through the door. He shockingly jumped up in the air. God, are they gonna take her inside THIS room? What was the rat running away from? Is there a CAT inside the room too? Even with seconds in his hand, before she was gone inside that room, he was searching for the cat inside.

The room inside was nauseating. Medicines, Bottles, Blood, Forceps, Scissors, Oxygen pipes and things he never saw before… Masked human beings! Does he know them? Who should he blame and curse tomorrow, if something happened today? He could hardly see them.

Yeah, I see, he told himself. One stout nurse, one slim one with a scissor in her hand, one attendant with a tray, one tall person, average height, green mask ! Ha! That’s enough! He consoled himself.

They now pushed him out of the room… “Sir, you must go now, please wait outside “, he tried to fight with them. She was now raising her head slowly and waving for him to come. The green masked person beckoned him to step closer. He ran towards the stretcher. She held his hand and he was close to her now.

He could hear her whisper. He thought he heard her say, “Don’t leave me”! What should he say now? “You stupid lady, you are the one who is in trouble, don’t you realize? “ or ……. He didn’t think any further, he kissed her again. He didn’t think at all. He didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. He had to leave. The attender now held his hand and he was out of the room.

He was pushed out. “ Hei, buddy, I am her husband !!!! “ he shouted. He shrugged. Doors closed. People in the corridor were staring at him. He could see a picture of a child hanging on the wall… one note was written on it… “ Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” !!!!!!

NOW

Seconds seemed like years.

RED BULB did not glow anymore. GREEN. He was impatient. The nurse came out and she led him inside.

What’s that pink stuff inside the white cloth next to his wife? What is it? He was restless. It moved. He was scared. He was very scared. His Wife now smiled at him.

He stepped inch on inch. He was now right next to the bed. There in the bed was the prettiest woman he had ever seen in his life and there ever could be. He never felt and saw her so beautiful. Ever. She seemed so, now.

Her left hand, gently moved over the white linen that was next to her. Nothing on this earth would have made him more heavenly than this moment. He grabbed the towel, it felt heavier now.

He saw now, crystal … IT’s a GIRL !!

What exactly happened between 9:16 and 9:53 AM?

Anything that you might want to read, will either turn out to be a spoiler or an exaggeration.

I suffer from inabilities in not being able to express the true emotions of a Father, whose heart beats for his loving wife and kid, and that of a Mother, whose feelings I cannot express.


I AM SORRY.