Mohan told Vijay, "I am very fortunate that Ram is my friend. He is a very nice person."
Mira said to Sita, "Ram is a very good boy. He is not like others. He is really special."
Vinod assured Ram, "Whenever misfortune befalls you, you will always find me beside you."
Apart from these people, there are many others who are fond of Ram and claim to do anything for him.
As far as, I am concerned, Ram is not very close to me, but we meet often and share our experiences. That day I found him really upset and low. I asked, "What's wrong Ram?" Ram answered, "I'm not happy and sometimes feel very lonely." "What!" I reacted.
The conversation went on for an hour -
"But you have so many friends. They always praise you and can do anything for you."
"They are good for nothing. All they want is favours and more favours."
"So, they are greedy and mean?"
"Not only greedy but liars and hypocrites, too!"
"Okay forget them. What about your relatives: uncles and cousins?"
"You know when you are good, everything is good. However, once you lose your former status in the form of money or position, people's behaviour towards you changes with immediate effect."
At that juncture, I was very interested to know more and more, but I thought that it was a good idea to have a cup of tea. Hence, I stopped myself from asking any other questions. Ram preferred coffee to tea and asked for cookies as well. I did that. After all, I was the host that day. After that break for 10 minutes, we came on the same track. And Ram continued his story on his own, without any trigger from my side.
"You know we are living with silly mortals. Man is a great Hypocrite. After Fire and Wheel, he invented Language to tame his fellow human beings. Language is all about making big but false claims!" Ram mused.
I was surprised at that philosophical version of Ram. He was not like that. He belonged to the 'cool guys' lot. Meanwhile, I received a message from my room-mate. It read, "Where R U? Cm soon". However, Ram was not in a mood to stop. He continued, "People want you to follow what is in fashion. They want you to thrive on it. However, if you don't succeed there, you would be criticized. On the other hand, if you follow your own path, they will criticize you till they are alive irrespective of your success or failure."
"Yes, you are right. People want other people to be like them. Nobody wants to change. Everybody wants to change others. We all are silly and mortals. But, behave like being immortals!" I quipped.
Bingo! Ram was very impressed by my summarisation of his sad story. He added, "Just do what you want to do. At last, nothing matters. If you succeed, you will be treated like a king. If you fail, nobody will care for you. Either way its fake and false; hence, do what you wish to do."
"Most importantly, we all have to die one day. Life is a one-time opportunity. However, those who really love you are not affected by your success or failure. All they know is that they love you. And they will care for you till they are alive," I made another finalising statement.
Ram was really moved by that view and looked at me for a while. Then, he said, "Exactly. And we should never neglect those who truly love us. Right now, I feel like making a call to..." Since I was also in a hurry, I excused him and we departed instantly.
On my way to my place, I kept thinking to whom Ram was planning to call. Mother, Father, girl-friend or any other friend. Unfortunately, his father had died 7 yeras before. Recently, he had broken up with his girl-friend. Plus he was fed up with all his friends and relatives - 'Silly Mortals'. So, Mother was the final answer. Then, I also thought to call my mother.
Before I could pull my cell phone out of my jeans, it began ringing. I thought Mother was calling me. What a coincidence! That's call Mother's love: She knows everything about her child even from a distance. However, the screen read, 'Ram Ahuja'. I was puzzled. Reflex action: I pressed the key, stuck it to my ear and said, "Ram?"
From the other side, the same voice that was with me for an hour, said, "Now I realise you were my best friend. You always supported me and praised my efforts. But, I never lost any opportunity to humiliate you and created difficulties for you. Infact, I'm a silly mortal too. Sorry. Forgive me!"
"But..." was the only word I could utter before it was disconnected from his side.
I reached my room and was lost in memories of college days and thought that Mira actually loved me, but Ram and his group snatched her from me. They had more resources and I had nothing. Plus, I was alone: No gang and group!
I said to myself, "What I am thinking is over and done with. Tomorrow is my job interview. If selected, I would get over 30K!"
[We all are silly. Plus mortals. Fixed and Short Lives. Silly Mortals.]
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