The Mute Conversation

This story is selected as Editor’s Choice and won INR 500

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“Why the hell didn’t you speak, Rakesh? Huh?”

“I didn’t think that there was any need for me to speak. Okay?”

“Oh please! Don’t give me that rubbish.”

“No Rekha, seriously, I mean your dad was not speaking and I did speak to your mom. Well I accept that there was a few moments when nobody spoke, but that is all right, I think. And is it that I disrespected your mom, or dad? We spoke amicably.”

“Okay okay. Forget about my mom and dad. My dad isn’t a social person. But what about Tanvi and Aditya? Today when we met them accidentally, I introduced you to them, didn’t I? Why didn’t you strike up any sort of conversation with Aditya at least? They must have thought that you are a churlish person.”

“Oh come on! I spoke with them. And anyways they were your friends. You had more to talk to them than I had. And there was no atmosphere of animosity between us, Was there? I shouldn’t boast about my own charm, but I felt that Tanvi was totally checking me out.”

“I don’t believe this! We are having a serious conversation right now, and you are joking!”

This conversation was on Rakesh’s mind when he boarded his flight to Bengaluru. This was not the first conversation of this type that he had had with his long time girlfriend Rekha. Quite often, He was accused of being taciturn; only by the people more close to him. They cared for him a lot. They thought that he did not speak up when needed and just being a very nice person would not help him. They thought that he would not survive the street-smartness of people of the cruel world. There were at least two of these conversations every month. But this one was on his mind because it was a fresh one.

He nodded politely to the airhostess who welcomed him and moved forward to look for his seat. He found that he had gotten a window seat right on top of the wing. He grunted with disappointment, for he had thought that at least the view from the top would take his mind off the argument that he had had with Rekha. The airplane was about to take off in a few minutes. He looked once at his laptop bag and shook his head before putting it up in the closet, thinking that he would take the laptop out when the plane was midair.

He threw himself on his seat and sunk into it, clinching his face with his hands and sighed. He wished that this flight would end quickly and he would be able to immerse himself in his office work as soon as he reached Bengaluru. His thought process was interrupted, when a middle-aged man who was clearly going to sit next to him, took efforts to put his bags in the closet above. First thought that came into Rakesh’s mind was that – “oh god, why can’t I sit alone.”

Then as he saw that the man looked feeble and was struggling to put the bags up, Rakesh stood up to help him. He put the man’s bags in the upper closet. The man thanked Rakesh by giving him a benign smile with a nod. Rakesh smiled back and got into his window seat. The man sat one seat away from Rakesh, in the aisle seat.

The man looked peculiar. Although he had a feeble body, he had striking features and looked smart and astute. He wore a black hat, a man scarf around his neck and a Prussian blue winter jacket along with a pair of denim jeans. The man had a straight nose and kept a striking handlebar moustache.

The captain turned the seat belt sign on and the airhostesses trod along the aisle area, checking every passenger’s seat belts. And in a couple of minutes, the flight took off.

Rakesh tried to peep through the window in order to get a glimpse of his beloved Mumbai city; but he couldn’t see much because of the wing, above which his seat was positioned. Once again, he cursed his position and turned to look inside the plane. After fifteen minutes, the airhostesses were now serving newspapers and magazines along with refreshments. The man next to him asked for the “entrepreneur” magazine, by showing the airhostess a list of magazines that was kept in a pouch that stuck out from the backside of the seat in front of him. While the airhostess searched for it in the trolley, he tried to ask Rakesh if he wanted anything to read, by signaling him with his hands, mimicking an open book gesture.

Rakesh smiled and said,” Yes please, I’ll have the Entrepreneur magazine.”

The airhostess replied sounding apologetic,” I am sorry sir we only have one magazine left and this gentleman over here asked for it first. Is it okay with you if you could get it from him after he is done?”

“Oh yes yes sure! I’ll take it from him after he is done.” Rakesh said as he looked at the man sitting next to him. The man nodded politely, gesturing that he would give Rakesh the magazine. The airhostess asked them both,”Sir, do you want any refreshments?”

Rakesh asked for a glass of water, and put the glass on the tray that was embedded on the backside of the seat in front of him. The airhostess took their leave. The man took out his spectacles from the inner pocket of his winter jacket and started reading it.

Rakesh remembered how Rekha used to urge him to strike up conversations. Also, how the people close to him felt that he was always reticent. He decided to have a chat with his new neighbour. “So, are you a businessman?”

The man next to him nodded enthusiastically and tried to ask Rakesh whether he too was a businessman, by pointing his index finger, first at Rakesh and then at the title of the magazine.

Rakesh thought that maybe the man was eating something and hence was not speaking. The man understood the doubt in Rakesh’s mind. But Rakesh continued the conversation by asking him,” So what kind of business do you do?”

This time, the man first did something to clear Rakesh’s doubt. He pulled down his man scarf and patted gently on a white coloured object that stuck out from his throat. Then he shook his right hand in a pattern suggesting negation. Rakesh looked for a few seconds at the object and quickly understood that The man had a catheter installed for some medical reasons, most probably due to laryngeal cancer (voice box cancer) and hence was unable to speak.

Reading the gasped expression on Rakesh’s face, the man shrugged first and then made a gesture suggesting that it was okay, and there was no need to gasp in shock. Rakesh quickly changed his facial expression and tried to act as if they were having a normal conversation, and not staring at the catheter. “Oh I am sorry; I didn’t know you had a catheter installed. Anything serious?”

The man inter-mingled his fingers of both the hands and made a symbol out of it. At first Rakesh thought that it looked like a spider, but then a spider bite wouldn’t have caused this much damage, would it? Then he realized that it also looked like a crab. And his previous doubt was confirmed. The man had laryngeal cancer. Rakesh looked at the man’s head. Beneath the black hat, he could see that the man’s head was clean-shaven, and the black-hat-look suited the man. Rakesh said,” Oh, cancer is it?”

The man nodded and gestured that it had been a year since operation, but he did not have a miserable expression on his face, he was beaming with joy, for some reason. Soon the reason became clear. He was happy to meet a fellow businessman. He first pointed at the magazines title, then he pointed towards Rakesh and then again towards himself. Then he shook hands with Rakesh.

Rakesh felt happy too. He also thought about the irony of getting into a conversation with a person who cannot speak. But he put aside those thoughts and moved on with the flow of conversation.

The man took out a small notepad and a pen, from the inner pocket of his winter jacket. He wrote something on it and then showed it to Rakesh. Rakesh read it: “V.Happy to meet a fellow businessman. What line of business are you in?”

Rakesh responded amicably.” Nice to meet you too. I started an online logistics portal, two years ago. And am doing quite good. What do you do?”

The man superimposed his right hand on top of his left hand and wiggled his thumbs sideways. Rakesh looked quizzed. He asked, “Fish? Oh, do you mean you own a fishery?”

The man nodded and in addition, moved his right hand in the air while letting air blow through his mouth. Rakesh was clueless. “Airplane?”

The man wrote on his notepad: “ I export from my fishery. Internationally.” The man had a proud look on his face.

Rakesh was amazed and said,” Wow, that’s wonderful. Actually, I am vegan, so I don’t know much about fishes. But it seems that there is a huge demand for our domestic fishes in the international market.”

The man shook his head vigorously suggesting that he agreed with Rakesh and then moved both his in air making a big circle. Rakesh guessed it right: “Big demand, huh? That’s good for you.”

The man smiled from ear to ear. Then suddenly he coughed, or at least tried to cough. Clearly, it was painful for the man. Rakesh quickly leaned forward and patted on his back, then gave him some water to drink. After drinking two sips, he felt better. The man had a grateful look on his face.

Rakesh asked the man: “ Don’t you have anybody travelling with you?”

He replied on the notepad:
“Usually I do travel with a medical assistant,
but today I couldn’t get one. And I had to travel home.
It’s my daughter’s B’day.”

Rakesh was astonished to see this man’s love for his daughter. He just said : “ I see. ‘Daddy love’ I guess!” and smiled. The man just shrugged, smiling.

They both chatted for the whole duration of the flight with gestures, notepad and one voicebox. The man talked through his gestures and his notepad while Rakesh talked to the man. But later Rakesh found himself making gestures and laughing together with the man, communicating with just a few words. Rakesh had forgotten about the thoughts that he had had before boarding the flight. And he was immersed in the conversation.

They both were interrupted when the captain turned on the seat belt sign and their flight began its descent. The flight landed in a few minutes. Rakesh helped the man with his luggage and they stood in the aisle region waiting for the door to open. Soon the flight attendants opened the door and the passengers started deboarding.

While deboarding, Rakesh felt a deep satisfaction, he felt contented. He was elated for having had a conversation, without actually having a conversation. Soon they reached the arrival section of the Bengaluru airport. Both Rakesh and the man shook hands. And they bid adieu.

Rakesh turned and took his bag, then suddenly realized something. He turned towards the man, but he had already moved a few steps ahead. He paced his way through the airport crowd and stopped the man. : “ I’m so sorry, I didn’t even ask you your name, nor I told you mine. I am Rakesh Tripathi. It was nice to meet you. And you are…..?”

The man smiled happily. He took out his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and then took out his business card from it. He handed it over to Rakesh.
It read :

“ RAKESH IYER
Director, Vishnu Fisheries”

Rakesh felt his eyes moisten and just hugged the man sideways, careful enough not to hurt the catheter.

–END–