LOVE AT LAST SIGHT

The higher one moves, the broader become the views, substantially and psychologically. But it was not the case with Vinay, who was standing on the balcony of his 15th-floor apartment in Chennai with a single narrow view of ending his life. It was Independence Day and celebrations were all around the corner in the peppy city. While the kids in the nearby school were rejoicing in India’s independence, Vinay was thinking about true independence from life. The burden in his heart was too much to bear. It has been 5 days since his life tore down and nothing on Earth mattered to him. Waking up itself became a curse for him. Never in his dream, did he ever think that his last moments of life would be so cruel and so early. Now, he had no second thoughts other than dying.

The last words which he spoke 5 days back kept reiterating again and again in his mind. “You know how much I am addicted to you Keerthi. I cannot imagine a moment without you. I have no ego or shame in begging you if that is what you need from me. I am totally surrendering before you Keerthi. Please don’t do this to me. It is August 10 today. Take your time and rethink for 5 days. If you don’t come back to me by 10 AM on August 15th, you may not see me again in life. This is not an emotional blackmail Keerthi but I don’t have any other hope in life. I will be waiting for you…” His time was running and it appeared like there was nobody to stop his death. The clock was nearing 10. The final count down of his life started and he stood in the edge of his lavish balcony. 5 4 3 2 … banggg.

****

One year back….

It was a pleasant evening at Nibhav beach, one of the lesser-known beaches in ECR. The beach was one of the favourite spots for Vinay as it remained empty most of the time and hence peaceful. With the serene sea breeze gently touching every visible being on its path, the impatient sea waves went gushing out, breaking the rocks noisily, creating novel background music for the lively scene. Vinay sat in the sands lost in the spiralling sea waves and memories through time.

Despite being born in an orthodox family, Vinay was always against customs and conventions. Though he joined a software company as per the norms of engineering, he left the job in just 2 years. He did not want to work for orders and desired to start his own company. He could not follow the crowd and strived hard to carve his own career path. But his orthodox family who had all members as salaried employees, couldn’t accept his idea of start-up. After a bitter fight, he came out of his family to live his dream.

It has been 8 years since he started the company. The path he chose was not easy. Right from capital, men and machine, he had to fight for everything both simple and tough. Vinay was a ruthless fighter, a devilish worker, who didn’t give up on anything and finally after so many hardships tasted the fruit of success. His company eccentrically rose above the break-even point and this year was earning huge profits. In the long battle, he lost most of the emotions, and people, whom he trusted in life. Though he was orphaned by his family and friends, he had a wonderful team of employees who out-performed targets.

Vinay silenced his mobile phone which was crying for existence and attention, when suddenly he got hit from behind by an unexpected fall of a person who was walking in the shore close to him. Though he wanted to shout at the careless behaviour of the other person, his tongue got struck when he noticed the amazing prettiness of the lady in the purple churidar. She cried, “I am extremely sorry. It's my mistake. I didn’t notice you.”

He replied, “It's ok. What I don’t understand is, how did you fail to notice a person sitting, right in front of your eyes?”

“I am sorry. It's my fault. I was walking with my eyes closed.”

“Are you serious? Do I look like a joke to you?”

“Definitely not sir. Let me introduce myself first. I am Keerthana, people call me Keerthi. I am an artist whose life is dedicated to painting. Before I draw a scene, I close my eyes and imagine the minutest details. I then open my eyes and check how far reality has matched my imagination. I always paint the imagined realities.”

When Keerthi spoke, Vinay was taken aback by the cuteness and clarity in her words. She looked confident and brilliant. Vinay, who was completely out of emotions, and hardly socialized with anyone, felt a strange attraction toward her. “Interesting. I am Vinay, an IT guy. It's really nice to meet you. I mean it for sure”, he smiled and uttered. She didn’t smile back and showed a kind of nervousness on her face.

He asked, “ Keerthi, Is there any problem?”. She replied worriedly looking around everywhere, “I think I have lost my mobile. Today has been an unforgiving day for me.”

“Don’t worry Keerthi. Have you logged in gmail account on your mobile?”

“Yes. But how will it help”

“Problem solved. We can easily locate your phone using Google’s Find My Device. Use my mobile and login to your gmail and locate your mobile.”

Though she was stressed, she felt a strange kind of strength with him. The phone was showing their own location and when he called, the phone was ringing close to them. When she got back her mobile, she felt much relieved.

“I don’t have words to thank you Vinay. It was really nice meeting you. We should definitely meet up sometime. Thank you very much and sorry about spoiling your mood and time.”

“Not at all Keerthi. I would love to meet you and especially see your paintings and imagined realities.”

Though they parted in minutes, it was very difficult for Vinay to part from the thoughts about Keerthi. Rarely did Vinay meet people who were passionate about what they do. It was in fact the first time, Vinay met a whole-time artist and he was curious to know more about her. He called her the same night, asking about the next meeting which happened in the same week at Keerthi’s house.    

In the outskirts of the city, facing the shore stood the unique house of Keerthi, like an antique jewel, hidden among the skyrise apartments and modernist villas. The intricate carvings in the main gates attested that the house was not made for a normal person. Though not a big sized building, the compact structure looked simple and elegant. Enhancing the richness were done the interior designs and every object showcased was unique and inquisitive. Vinay felt like entering a 10th-century era while entering the house.

   

“Welcome Vinay to my home. You are one of the fewest visitors to my home. Other than paintings, this house is my solace. As a businessman, my father had invested in some worthy properties and this house is one. My family lives in Karur. I am a private person and I live here alone”, Keerthi spoke offering him a cup of coffee while picking herself another. The dinner was already ready. The house including Keerthi felt it very unusual, having invited a stranger for dinner. The red chiffon saree brought a majestic look to her and matched with the red t-shirt that Vinay wore coincidentally.

“Can we see your collections Keerthi? I am really excited!” when Vinay showed his curiosity, Keerthi felt excited too. The top propellant for a creator lies not in the award or appreciation, but in the acknowledgement and excitement in the eyes of the people who view the creations.   

 Vinay was mesmerized and dumbstruck when Keerthi took him to her room. In his entire life, he felt it as the most enchanting moment. The entire arena was fascinating, with the scintillating wall colours alternating with mirror and wooden beams, the luxurious linens, the classy crystal chandelier, the captivating fragrance of the incense sticks and above all the imperial and divine paintings of Keerthi.

Most of the paintings were dark-themed and in night backgrounds. One would get a lot of confusion at the first sight of the paintings as they were extremely intense and insane to an extent. One would be provoked to think from different perspectives, seeking answers to the questions forced by the paintings. None would fail to fall in love at the last sight of the paintings, after understanding the inherent meanings of the paintings, and the intelligence of the painter. At the bottom of every painting, was carved the signature “R.Keerthana” which was in itself a painting. The two letters “R” & “K” were emboldened and regal while the remaining letters were subtle in italics and a little far from the bold ones.

Vinay didn’t know how long he stayed with the paintings. There was pin-drop silence in the room. This silence was different from the silence which he experienced during coding and testing the software. Mind was chaotic and brain was in full swing then. But now, mind was completely calm and brain was totally captivated. Enlightenment usually happens in silence and Vinay was experiencing it. Neither did Keerthi explain, nor did Vinay ask about any painting. It took him hours to understand the viewpoints of Keerthi in every painting. Most of the paintings were on nature but were abstract with very few living beings in them.

The respect towards Keerthi peaked and Vinay couldn’t believe someone could be so intelligent with imaginations. Though they spoke very little, they started to meet regularly. Unconsciously, she kept growing inside him. He couldn’t resist the overflowing thoughts about Keerthi. It was very difficult to name their relationship as it was neither friendship nor love. He felt attracted, initially to the paintings and slowly towards the painter. Whenever Keerthi was with Vinay, he felt hypnotized into a very different world. He was not able to judge what Keerthi felt about him. She never refused to meet him whenever he called but never did she initiate any meeting. But they shared everything that happened with each other daily.

Days eroded like seconds and it was almost a year with Keerthi. Though Vinay felt connected to Keerthi, there was always a strange distance between them.

“Vinay, August 9th and 10th – please book those two days for me. Believe me, you will not regret it”, when Keerthi said that Vinay was surprised to the core.

The actual surprise came on August 9th. Early in the morning, Keerthi called up and asked Vinay to dress like a street vendor. He couldn’t understand why and he was taken aback when he saw Keerthi. Her appearance was completely different and she looked like a villager with pinned dupatta and plated hair.   

  “Vinay, we will lose our identities today and start our lives from scratch. We will earn by doing manual labour by way of street selling, and live the day with our earnings. We will live the life of the poorest of the poor who have no investment in life. You are not an IT guy, and neither am I a painter. Are you ready to start the day?”, when Keerthi spoke, Vinay couldn’t control his laughter.

“Are you crazy Keerthi? You close your eyes and walk in the beach. You will do street selling and live a day. You are incredible.”

“Are you willing to join me or not. Trust me, you will feel happy about joining me in this idea!”

They drove near ECR and requested many street sellers to allow them to sell for a day. Most of them were rejected suspiciously. Finally, an elderly couple who sold tender coconuts and sugarcane juice provided them with employment for a day.

     Marketing amidst competitors was not so easy. Street selling was new to both of them. As they were used to the air-conditioned atmosphere, the moderate heat brought out tons of sweat in them. In the first half, their performance was too poor that the elderly couple wanted to get rid of them. Then they differentiated the market and created varieties of products, tender coconut milkshakes, coconut payasam and tender coconut lassi which attracted tourists and crowds instantly. Keerthi designed a novel artistic cup, made of the left-over bagasse of the cane, and many got sugarcane juice just to hold the cup.

     

By evening, they had tripled the earnings of the elderly couple and everyone around envied them. The elderly couple within a day got attached to Keerthi and Vinay and didn’t want them to leave. It was another herculean task to convince them and leave. Keerthi and Vinay were overwhelmed by the superior hospitalities and true care shown by the couple.

     Though they had earned for a five-star dinner, they gave them all to other street sellers. Receiving something brings a sense of joy. But, giving springs more happiness than receiving. But, both of them are dangerous when they become demanding. That day Keerthi and Vinay enjoyed the joys of both receiving and giving.

After a day’s hard work, having a heavy dinner out of extreme exhaustion and starvation, felt really blissful for Vinay. They had a hefty and tasty dinner, amidst the sweet scent of sweat and dirt, in a roadside stall. When they reached Keerthi’s home it was almost 10 PM. A refreshing shower after that rejuvenated his body and soul.   

     Vinay stood on the moon-lit open terrace adorned with ferns and a few flower pots. There was a small wooden cot along with a small-sized sofa and chairs in one corner of the terrace, from where the glittering waves in the moonlight were clearly visible. Keerthi was lying asleep in the cot owing to the tiring day.

      Vinay was amidst a mix of different emotions. It all looked like a dream, meeting Keerthi and all that happened aftermath. With her, he felt like living life. There was always a profound satisfaction in all the craziness that Keerthi unfolds. Initially, Vinay was an admirer of the acumen of Keerthi. Soon, a kind of friendship evolved and now Vinay felt a different bond between them. He knew she became irreplaceable in his life. He couldn’t imagine a life without her. If that is what people called love, Vinay fell in love with her. He couldn’t wait any more and he was prepared to open up his mind when she woke up.

Keerthi’s flawless face won over the competition with the full moon and grabbed the attention of Vinay. He was just seeing the pure face of Keerthi and she looked extremely beautiful while sleeping. Enchanted by the lovely emotions, he too fell asleep.

     “Vinay, Vinay. Wake up”, when he heard Keerthi’s voice, he felt like he was in a paradise. When he opened his eyes, the scene in front too affirmed that it was nothing less than a paradise. The whole terrace was lit up with candles and Diyas. Keerthi, in a glittering black saree, stood before him with a small red velvet cake on which the words “Happy birthday Vinay” were written.

Vinay was not an emotional person but couldn’t control the overflowing emotions now. His eyes were filled with tears. It was almost 8 years since he celebrated his birthday. He hardly remembered the day and he couldn’t believe someone was treating him so special, in this ordinary world. He never had felt so much love in his life. He didn’t know how to react and became dumbstruck. Words were rebelling to come out of his mouth. He went out of senses except for his eyes which were continuously forcing out tears.

Keerthi took his hands and cut the cake and gave him a piece. The sugary cake tasted salty, thanks to its overflowing tears of Vinay. He was shocked to an extent that he didn’t even mind giving her one.

Holding his hands, Keerthi took her down to her own room. This time the room was completely different from what he saw during his initial visit. All the furniture was removed and the room stood bare exposing its huge volume and removing all diversions except the marvellous paintings.

 Vinay felt like getting a panic attack out of ecstasy, seeing the paintings. This time the paintings were colourful, but with only one theme. It was all Vinay. Keerthi had painted him during every meeting, starting from the encounter at the beach. The paintings were placed chronologically and the story that was unleashed was visible from the changing feelings, reflected in the face of the paintings. His eyes in the last picture, in the street shop, were painted so powerful and exposed profound love. Vinay became numb and in fact, lost all of his senses. Except for the spellbinding candles, there was no other source of light in the room. The darkness was hypnotising and killing him.

He felt like all the happiness in the world was stolen from every being and given to him that day. He cried loudly unmindful of anything like a child. Impulsively he hugged Keerthi and he felt so light as a feather, by the touch, which was awfully magical. He kissed her passionately and she didn’t resist as though she had waited for this moment for centuries. What unfolded next was like a fantasy dream to Vinay. Can life be so wonderful? If so, how long? If there was a boundary for ecstasy, they were moving far beyond the boundary. He sensed it like another painting in the hands of Keerthi. Now he understood, why people get addicted to frenzies and he was willing to get addicted madly to Keerthi for life. If God appeared before Vinay, he would have asked for just one wish: to freeze the moment exactly in space and time. 

 The rays of the sun gently reached Vinay through all windows and woke him up. He opened his eyes with the joy to see Keerthi. He felt slightly nervous and shy to see her after the previous night. When he came to the living area, Keerthi was fully dressed up and waiting for him with a cup of coffee.

Vinay was blushing and avoided looking at Keerthi out of shyness. But he was suffocating and couldn’t hold back any longer. When he was about to open up his love, Keerthi spoke, “Vinay, I have to tell you something important”.

Though he wanted to propose firstly, Vinay stopped and let her proceed first. His heart was thrilled and searching for, how to react when she proposes.

“Travelling is a part of my life and I don’t stay in a single place for long. It was really nice meeting you, Vinay. But the time has come for us to part. I have to leave the city today and may not come back. This is going to be our last meeting. Whenever I move, I remove all remembrances of the place and go empty-handed to the new place. I don’t want to carry any memory or miss any person. Hope you understand, “ when Keerthi spoke so firmly, Vinay felt like a million soldiers stabbing him across his body everywhere.

“Keerthi, how can you do this to me? You gave me all pleasures of life in a day and you want to give me all pains of life the very next day? I love you Keerthi and I am mad about you. I am not forcing you to stay anywhere. Let me travel along with you. I know you love the painting above me. It's ok. But I love you above anything. I will not force you to marry me or give up on anything. Just allow me to be with you. Please don’t get away from me. Don’t kill me on my birthday. I will be destroyed the very next moment without you!..”, Vinay couldn’t continue and sat down on the floor and started crying loudly.

Keerthi didn’t know how to convince him and tears came out of her eyes too.”I know you are a mature person, Vinay. You have overcome so many struggles and achieved many things in life. You will overcome this too. I don’t have a choice Vinay. Please understand. This is how, our lives are destined, and I have to move apart”, Keerthi moved near him and rested on his shoulders with tears.

He cried,” Shut up Keerthi. You are mine and I am yours. The tears in your eyes show that you love me too. Why are you scared Keerthi? Please tell me your problems, we can solve everything.”

“Moving away from you is the only solution before me Vinay. I am sorry.” when Keerthi spoke, Vinay got furious. The penetrating pain suddenly burst into anger and he threw his mobile forcefully which broke into pieces and scattered across the arty floors of the house.

“You know how much I am addicted to you Keerthi. I cannot imagine a moment without you. I have no ego or shame in begging you if that is what you need from me. I am totally surrendering before you Keerthi. Please don’t do this to me. It is August 10 today. Take your time and rethink for 5 days. If you don’t come back to me by 10 AM on August 15th, you may not see me again in life. This is not an emotional blackmail Keerthi but I don’t have any other hope in life. I will be waiting for you…”, Vinay moved out of the house completely shattered. The person who can give the highest pleasure gives the highest pain too...

***

The final count down of his life started and he stood on the edge of his lavish balcony. 5 4 3 2 … banggg. He heard a heavy bang on the door. When he was thoughtful about the bang, the door got broken and a few policemen entered his apartment. Seeing him standing at the edge of the balcony waiting to fall, one policeman ran to him with the shackles and told “Mr Vinay. You are under arrest and charged with murder”

 Vinay couldn’t understand what was happening around him. “Sir, What are you talking about? I really don’t understand. I didn’t murder anyone.”

“Don’t lie Vinay. All evidence is against you and the person you have murdered is not a normal person. How could you do this to a painting genius?”

Vinay couldn’t control his tears. “What happened to Keerthi? Please tell me where is she?”

“Vinay, will you stop blabbering? You killed R.K. at his residence on August 10. We have the CCTV footage of you coming out of his house and nobody else entered the house before or after you. You are the only person who saw him that day.”

“Who is R.K.?”

“You don’t know R.K. Rajesh Kumar, the young genius Indian painter who got “Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts” last year and subsequently “Padma Shri” this year. “

“Sir, I think you have seriously mistaken me for someone else. I was at ECR on August 10th.”

“His house is also at ECR. Now stop asking questions and come to the police station silently”.

“Sir, can you show the CCTV footage. Let me tell you everything so that you can catch the right person in time.”

“Vinay, don’t act smart. You are the murderer. We found your mobile near his body. How can you be so foolish as to leave your mobile just like that? I am showing the footage as I understand you are a prominent person too”.

When Vinay saw the footage, he was stunned. The clippings showed him coming out of Keerthi’s home.

“Sir, this is Keerthi’s house. I can prove to you that. Please call her number. I will talk to her and you will understand everything”

The police officer though was unwilling, he dialled the number to know if there is any other truth left out. When he called, the ring came from the same room.

“Vinay, don’t try to fool us again. This is R.K’s number. If you are not going to cooperate, we will not rest until you are levied the death penalty.”

Without giving him any further time, they dragged him shackling his hands. Everyone in the high raised gated community building was witnessing the live show that was happening. Vinay couldn’t understand why life was so mysterious, to save a person from suicide and charge with murder.

Is this life, real or just an imagination, or one of the imagined realities of Keerthi? Who is Keerthi? Why did she enter Vinay’s life? Who was Rajesh Kumar? Why was he murdered and by whom? Who is the mastermind behind all the mysteries?”

To find out the answers to the above questions, wait for Part -II of the story