No matter how weak you are at the moment, if your loved one sits before you despairingly, trying hard to pull on some courage, but stumbling over and over again in the trial, God knows from where on earth you suddenly start feeling strong and mighteous. Maybe it’s the feeling of responsibility, to keep your dear one comfortable, that grabs the credit. Especially when you are known among your peer to possess a lion’s heart, you will stand taller before your loved ones, guarding them against the stress-inducing stuff, ready to defend, like a ninja warrior. That’s human psychology.
Rehan was kind of baffled now. He was speaking too much, and his mannerisms conveyed the concentration of adrenaline gushing through his veins. He said, almost stammering, “Come on bro! it’s just a rash. Some good bio cream itself may solve this thing. Still, if you want expert advice, it’s not a big deal; we can always consult a dermatologist. Don’t tell me that, you are taken aback by this. Look what you have done to yourself.”
Saarang walked to that wooden cupboard again, he opened it and bowed deep into the wardrobe, as if there was a secret chest deep inside it. Then slowly rose, like he had dug out something from it. He turned around and walked back to Rehan with a white paper envelope. “I had kept it inside the secret rack”, he said. Rehan’s eyes followed Saarang to and fro, curios and somewhat disturbed, sporting a wrinkled forehead.
“Now, what is that?” Rehan enquired while taking it from Saarang’s hands. Rehan opened the envelope and took out a white A4 sheet of paper that seemed to be a medical report, which it was. Saarang observed Rehan’s eyes scanning side to side, down the sheet of paper. He interrupted, “read the second last line in bold letters.” Rehan spelled it out, “p-l-a-q-u-e p-so- r-i-a-s-i-s”. Saarang spoke again “It’s pronounced as ‘plaak soh.rai.uh.suhs’, it’s a kind of non-infectious skin disease, where your own body cells start working against you, with not so clear causative factors and no complete cure.” Saarang uttered in a single go.
Rehan sat unmoved on the couch, his gaze fixed on Saarang, but his thoughts wandering somewhere in the hollow space, that had engulfed him, after being stacked with loads of medical information by his champ. Breaking the silence and the monotonous vibe of the room, from downstairs came the call of Saarang’s mother, the call for dinner. Emerging out of his thoughts and regaining himself, Rehan looked at Saarang inquisitively. “Mom is calling, let’s go downstairs and have something… and er… Rehan, don’t let them smell this by any chance.” Saarang told.
Rehan nodded in agreement. He said, “Bro, it was all Wikipedia information, right?” Saarang agreed by nodding his head, “Ya! almost.” Stopping their talks there, Rehan got up from the bed to move, in the meanwhile he saw Saarang picking up his track suit and rushing into the washroom. Rehan thought, poor chap, he has to make up so many things.
Saarang came out in his usual attire and both friends stepped down the stairs to the dining table. Saarang’s parents were extraordinarily happy to receive their son’s old friend back home. All of them dined happily and Rehan felt so much homely. As if reading his thoughts, Saarang’s father said, “It seems as if Rehan and their other friends were right here last day only. It’s actually been years.” After dinner Saarang went to the kitchen to do the dishes, when his father said, “allow me, my son, you go to Rehan.” Both friends were back to the room, half lost.
They both laid on the bed, gazes fixed on the ceiling. Rehan had dozens of questions to ask but was confused where to begin from. He knew nothing about his friend’s life since the day they left their college. Rehan was placed in a London based company in Poland and had to join immediately after the graduation. Rehan asked, “Where did you go after we graduated?”
This question actually took Saarang on a voyage, reliving it with his friend now; across the streets of Mumbai and Surat in India, then to the east to Hong Kong and then to the European Union and then to the another side of the globe, the United States of America, then the journey was directed to the dark continent, long struggling months at DRC – Democratic Republic of the Congo, where ‘the turning point’ occurred and the research, the hard work, the strategies started paying off. Profession and passion were ascending as one.
Blessings from many families that could be fed, and the very ethical business proceedings brought progress a little faster. Along with the progress came some fame and popularity in the industry. The trade was set up. Everything was controlled from a corporate office at Surat and a branch in Mumbai. Initially had to give lot of time to these offices and then some efficient staff started managing all, with God’s grace. Within a year another branch office was set up in Dubai, that facilitated the imports and exports.
Was always blessed with an insight of picking up the accounting errors, right on the spot while randomly checking the accounts, may be because of the love and passion for accounting, right from the school days. Scrutinizing the accounts was not very regular those days, as much time was spent in the market analysis and developing newer strategies of sales and trade. Moreover, by then our company had nine accountants and all performed pretty well. But still, as the accounts professor at college always said, the blood that circulates and gives life to any business is the money, and to keep a check on the inflow and outflow of money, a company should manage its accounts well; occasional checking was a part of life.
During one such check, few months after opening the Dubai branch, some variations in the accounts were noted. The manager of the branch was found involved. Big money sometimes does alter the minds of its carriers. That’s quite natural and human. So, the company had to remove the guilty. During the same time the shrinking global economy started reflecting in the business. Sudden fall in the global market demand for diamonds increased the tightness of competitions among the huge business companies, trying to build their own monopoly in the industry.
The consequences started reflecting down in the hierarchy too. Some unexpected, unethical, unfair business practices occurred that made many budding entrepreneurs to perish beyond any chances of reestablishment. Survival was the greatest success.
Though somehow held on, but taking a step further was indeed a challenge. Then, no option other than taking a rebirth from the ashes was left. In the search of new shores, the search and research across the salty blue giant water bodies continued.
With high hopes and expectations, in the last to last October the search ended up in Siberia, the Mirny mines, this was the home to one of the largest man made craters on earth, that’s visible from the space, and rather a largest source of raw, high quality diamonds in the world. The stress was over bounding those days, because of fire in the head and the belly and the blood that gushed with high pressure through the vessels those days, the winter of Siberia didn’t freeze this body to death. But all the sufferings and the fight with the bone breaking cold for several months together couldn’t bear any fruit. Setting up a trade was not easy there, clearing up the papers was difficult and much of the mined diamonds were traded within Russia itself, as the internal demand itself was quite high.
Botswana, a country in the southern Africa, became the next destination. There both trade and weather conditions were more welcoming, compared to Siberia. A gut feeling that everything would fit in exactly sustained throughout. An instinct that the universe was conspiring was strongly backing the days and nights of meetings and paper works. But at times, may be almighty feels that, it’s just not the right time. Or rather you get so carried away in the race of life, that you tend to forget the very basis of this life, that’s ‘yourself ’, your body. And that is one mistake, and the biggest blunder man does and definitely he has to pay off. I also had to.
To be continued…
