Life Reunited!

Bangalore as a city is growing on me; my friends are making it happen. My two close and old friends live near to my house. We went to the same school where they fell in love and married after 10 years of courtship. I am referring them as Veena and Ashish as they don't want their names to be public. Often on weekends we hang out together for dinners, go clubbing or hit pubs, but an email changed our way of life.  We got a school reunion invitation scheduled on a Saturday after two weeks. Veena and I got very excited at the thought of meeting our old friends and also because it was time to shop.

We met at my house to decide about our shopping spree. While we were discussing it I noticed that Ashish is a bit worried about something. I nudged Veena, she was clueless.

“Ashish, what happened? Is something bothering you?”

“No yaar, just that I am not interested in your shopping”, irritation was evident. We did not buy his reason and after minutes of persuasion he yelled, “I don't want to go to any such reunion. People will laugh at me”. He pointed to his pot belly.

We both chuckled quietly. This concern was not new. Ashish never liked his chubby cheeks and pot belly. This weight made him introvert. He won't shop with friends, he won't get his photographs clicked but the worst was he felt a lot inferior when ever he met any guy who is any slimmer to him. He has shown his anguish over his weight several times before but never did much. He made exercise regimes and diet charts but they all went to trash within a day or two. So we don't take his weight issues seriously. However, we did not realise that for him stakes were high this time. In school and college, Ashish was the handsome hunk. From last 4-5 years he has put on oodles of weight without bothering much. With a roly-poly body, he was not happy to meet the same guys who envied him for his looks and the same girls who fell for him.

“Oh come-on! It’s OK. Don't start it again. Just come with us to buy a new jacket. The old ones won’t fit you anymore”, Veena uttered all this while making the shopping list.

“I won't go, will make some excuse. You guys carry on”, Ashish was really upset.

Later, in the kitchen I said to Veena, “I think he won't come. I have never seen him so nervous”.

“No, he will forget about it in the morning. And most importantly nothing much can be done in 10 days”. We dined and they left.

Next day at 6:00 AM my phone rang. It was Veena in a lazy voice. She told me that Ashish woke up early and went for jogging. “What? I told you it’s different this time”, I blabbered as I yawned.

A new day started and went as usual for all of us except Ashish. Around 4:00 PM, Veena texted me that she is leaving early as Ashish has reached home and have severe pain in his legs. Ashish couldn't go to office the next day too, he did some extreme running due to which his muscles swelled up. After my office I went to his place to meet him. He opened the door, he was limping. He looked tired and disappointed. Veena and I were talking but he was not speaking at all. Just to make him smile I said, “Hope your leg gets better or else with whom will I dance at the reunion”. He smiled sadly but said nothing.

“He has gone mad. He is mulishly harping that he will only go to the reunion wearing his blue jacket that I bought him last Diwali”, Veena said angrily and then stared him, “Why don't you understand Ashish, it no longer fits you. To be in that jacket you'll have to loose at least 5-6 kg”.

“I will lose, but I will only go to the reunion wearing that jacket”, Ashish was stubborn. It was clear that Ashish has gone steps farther than his routine weight concerns. This time he has taken it as a challenge to his will, determination and stamina. He will go to any extent to achieve it.  Unfortunately, if he fails he will lose his self-confidence terribly and may get into an abyss of low esteem. This was a dangerous. To give him some hope I said, “Why don't you try GM diet? It works. You will lose 4-5 Kg in a week.”

Ashish smiled, we could see his eyes brimming with hope. For the next one week he was on the diet following it without any fail. The effect was visible and so was the confidence of Ashish. But we were still scared about the jacket. We were not sure if the diet will help him loose so much as to fit it the jacket. Veena and I were happy but the 'jacket' thing was killing us.

The day arrived when there was no escape to the moment of truth. Ashish was very excited; people at his work, friends, all have been complementing him for his weight loss. He was sure he will get into the jacket but the weighing machine was a little rebel. He lost around 4 Kg in a week, a big achievement in the diary of weight losers but was less to deal with the jacket. We were waiting for him to come out of the room. The door opened with a thud and I was shocked. The jacket not only fit him but also gave him enough room to dance. We screamed in happiness. Ashish was glowing with confidence. I had never seen him this happy since long. His eyes were proud, victorious and joyful.

At the party he was high with excitement. He was laughing, cracking jokes, living old memories to full. He was no more ashamed of his weight. Veena too was very happy; she knew how crucial it is for Ashish to wear this jacket. She knew that if Ashish would have failed to lose weight he would have failed himself. His efforts were well paid.

While he was dancing madly to the tunes of 'Tamanche pe disco', I said to Veena, “To be honest, I never thought Ashish would make it. It's a pleasant miracle. He lost so much, WOW”. Veena sipping her Vodka with Coconut water replied to me, “A good wife is who supports her husband in everything, but a GREAT wife covertly replaces the old jacket with a bigger size one when no one is watching.”

I was stunned, unable to say anything or even to react. She winked at me and went to join Ashish on the dance floor. It was divine to see them dancing in love. Ashish was enjoying his triumph over himself. This reunion made him reunite with his life.