The Grey...Matters?

By Anindita Baidya
Anand, India

.....not sure, though. I have heard from somewhere that the human mind has shades of white and grey. But how much does it matter? Let me share an experience...
 That evening I was having coffee with Hrishabh, my close buddy. He was my colleague but we worked at different locations. On tour to our office for a meeting, Hrishabh and I had decided to catch up after office hours and so hit our favourite joint ‘Aroma’ for coffee and chat.
 Curious that I was, one of the first questions were, “When are you and Shelly getting married, Hrishabh?”. And then there was a pause, a loaded silence between us. Hrishabh cleared his throat and clarified, “We are not marrying, buddy!”. That was the most shocking statement I had heard. Not marrying? Hrishabh and Shelly not marrying?
 Hrishabh and Shelly, both my colleagues, were the perfect couple, we thought. We vouched by them. How could, anything, for Heaven’s sake, go wrong between these two? For as much as I knew, Shelly was a perfect person. Shelly was a strong woman, Shelly was the University topper, Shelly was rewarded the best employee, Shelly was the one everyone dreamt of wooing. Shelly was a disciplinarian, Shelly was the greatest cook we knew, Shelly was an icon on housekeeping skills, Shelly was this, Shelly was that, Shelly was perfect.
 “But…Hrishabh, Shelly is perfect…!” I still had not regained my senses after hearing the cruel truth.
 “Yes, buddy, Shelly is perfect. She is too perfect” and the river had started flowing and I listened, “Buddy, she is too perfect to be true, I am not. She is pristine, white, she is angelic, I am a poor human. She is like a banyan tree, I am a small shrub growing by her roots. Buddy, I can no more behold the blue sky, the grey clouds. She covers me. I need my air and sunshine….”
 Those were his words and after that I did not have any! We said those ‘Goodnight’ and ‘God Bless’ and left for the day with Hrishabh’s last emphatic words, “I cannot partner her!” I have met him a number of times after that but have not hinted on the subject again.
 I met Shelly just three months after they had parted. In full smiles and glow in her eyes during the meeting, she seemed to be in full control when she was introduced to us as our new Regional Manager. I did not fail to see the upsurge of pain which she hid deep within her heart. I was her friend after all!
 Hrishabh had his turn to explain but what about Shelly? The lady with very few words never revealed to me what she felt, never narrated her feelings of betrayal, hurt, bitterness. She has not sketched any philosophical contour between the ‘heavenly perfect’ or ‘humanly faltering’. She is just like that, perfect, pristine, angelic! Long ago, I had written these following words, keeping Shelly in my mind:
Inn Deewaaron par
Unn Kathgharon par
 Aasmaan kee oonchaayee par
Saagar ke darpan par
 Rakha apne aks ko
Tolaa apne hunar ko
 Hoon har kamzori se pare
To aye aasmaan
Itni duaa de do
 Main insaan banana chaahtee hoo
Mujhmein kuch khaamiyaan de do!!