It’s not that late!

When I was a child and we lived in a thriving colony in Delhi, our 65 year old neighbor was a constant mystery to the entire colony. Today, I pity Mr. Amit Batra, as our colony was filled with the conservatives, the gossip mongers, and the snoopies. So he never did stand a chance against their curiosity. He lived in a two bedroom flat and was always seen to leave the house meticulously in the morning and return late in the evening, he pretty much kept to himself and seemed like he had no friends. Many neighbors tried to gather more information about him, but to no avail. They were severely disappointed when there was no juicy gossip to talk about regarding Mr. Batra. A few months passed, and enough was enough, the neighbors simply could not control themselves. Soon another elderly neighbor was directed to go and break the ice. After the question session, there was a lot of discussion in the colony where it was said that Mr. Batra had no family as they had passed away and he was all alone in the world. People were disappointed as they had been looking for an exciting story. However, as luck would have it, something interesting did come up with Mr. Batra.

A few months later, Mr. Batra was seen getting out of a car and being dropped at home by a younger lady. They were often found in coffee shops sipping on tea, sometimes shopping, and sometimes walking in the parks, oblivious to the whole world. As this went on for a few months, people were pretty speculative. Many spoke ill behind him and some even openly showed their disrespect. The young often giggled behind Mr. Batra and made lewd jokes and the elders frowned upon his behavior. He soon became an outcast in the colony and people began to avoid him. Soon we came to know that the much condemned Mr. Batra was actually a writer and he had even published a book titled “It’s never too late”. Some neighbors bought the book out of sheer curiosity, and once they began reading they couldn’t put down the book till they had read the last page. Chores, meals, and other important activities had pretty much come to a stand still and the buzz word was Mr. Batra and his book. As the news about the amazing book spread like wild fire, we came to know that the book was about Mr. Batra and his own life. It was about how he had lost his wife 22 years ago in a car accident and how he had promised never to love again. The book also spoke about the mysterious woman. She was 19 years younger than him, she was healthier, faster, smarter and much more attractive, but he went on and spoke about how love has no boundaries. He wrote that “I truly believed that love only happens once and I loved my wife with all my heart, I often thought that I am too old to fall in love. I know that the society thinks I have gone mad and they think that I am wrong to fall in love again”. He also mentioned how the society was a huge reason why he wanted to write about the fact that he has found love again. Once my neighbors read this, they realized how hasty and unnecessary their actions were. They gave Mr. Batra his due respect, space and also continued to give him many comical ideas for new books with their exuberant behavior.