Forgetting at crucial moments

 

 

 

 

BY T K BASU  

 

THINK of an unreal world where one cannot forget anything – either blissful or painful. It is a living hell, you know! But forgetting crucial things at inopportune moments is neither a virtue. We forget as we are ordained to live with. Daughter booked a room in the guesthouse of their sprawling Institute. It is the beginning of winter, sunrays have started mellowing. From the glass window of the room I saw pigeons flying in flocks, gardeners watering marigold plants, and flowering Jarul branches swaying in northern breeze. I instantly fell in love with the ambience and decided to go for a walk after lunch. Variety of flowers smiled at me from the horticulture lawn and the horseshoe-shaped gymkhana lake reminded me of my childhood when we used to play hide-and-seek inside water. Names of roads and academic blocks of the Institute charmed me further. While roads were named after great scientists, academic blocks were designated as Takshila, Nalanda, Vikramshila, etc. The whole surrounding is bound to raise a sense of pride about the nation. Next morning, I was to check out by 10.30 am. Daughter took me on foot to show their agriculture campus where experimental plots of tea and maize plantation, controlled fruit-saplings of papaya, banana, pineapple, etc. were enough to enthrall anybody. However, temperature was rising slowly and I was to return to the guesthouse. When I could touch the guesthouse, it was 9.40 and breakfast time was over.

 

Somehow two pieces of toast, butter and a glass of milk could be managed. I was yet to pack up the suitcase and have a shower before vacating the room. At that height of moment, memory played a nasty prank with me. As I tried to open the room, the touch-key failed to work! In a hurry, I ran to the reception for recharging the key. When the lady enquired my Room No., I confidently said: S-110. Opening the room, however, something uncanny struck me. How come my bed is so neatly arranged with a pair of fresh towels placed on it? And where is my trolley bag? The house keeping staff must have rearranged the room, guessed I. Anyway, keeping the specs in front of mirror I prepared for a quick shower. Suddenly a chilling sensation passed through my spine - I left the bag open with some cash. It could not be located within the room! I was about to lodge a complaint when a doubt pulled me back. Did I unlock the proper room?? Was it not the identical room one floor above? Hence, instead of complaining, I requested the receptionist to recharge the touch-key for room number S-210.

 

She looked at me for two split seconds and then abided. The room opened without any trouble and behold! My bag is standing where it was! Since time was running, I quickly had a shower and got ready. But another bombshell was yet to hit. I have forgotten to pick up the specs from Room no. S-110! While making the payment, I hesitantly asked the counter again to check whether my specs were lying in Room No. S-110 or not. The lady was overtly peeved but rang up the supervisor of house-keeping. The man was kind to return the specs and asked: “Sir, how could you enter the Room No. S-110 when we have kept it under repair? Hearing my complex reply, he was so puzzled as to leave the scene in a jiffy.