Beauty of the Soul...

“The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure…..one heavy mischance after another; not because he cannot feel them…..but because he is a man of high and heroic temper” - Aristotle

When I read this, I couldn’t help thinking about this lady whom I met about 10 years back through a common friend.

That was the first and last time we met…….

She was not one the most good looking persons that I have met......but she had an aura of confidence and composure that made her look beautiful. She had a decent career with a B.A in History, M.A. in Literature, M.A in Sociology, diplomas in journalism, psychology, economics, social work, translation, and a course from NIIT. She had an in-depth knowledge about Indian heritage & culture and she impressed me a lot with her talk, her composure and behavior.

The common friend told me that this lady was married to a well-qualified, rich and well-settled businessman, who was in every way the perfect husband. He encouraged her to continue studies after marriage……and follow her mind. She had a child and was very happy with life.

Until that fateful day, disaster struck her like a bolt from the blue. Her husband was travelling abroad on business. Unfortunately, the plane crashed mid-way and it was reported that all the passengers on board were charred to death beyond recognition. It wasn’t easy for her to come to terms with the disaster…..but she accepted her fate and took up a job with the only ray of hope being her three year old son.

If this was bad enough…… more was to follow……..

Some three years later, her extended family happened to go on a pilgrimage, where they happened to visit an ashram. There they spotted her husband as one of the sanyasis in the ashram, with no knowledge whatsoever about his past.

She rushed to the ashram with his parents and her son. She got renowned doctors to check on him but the doctors couldn’t do much to cure his amnesia. Despite her repeated requests, he refused to go back with her. She kept trying for almost a year until the entailing stress caused him to behave erratically at the ashram and she was denied entry into it.

She moved ahead in life……..not as a loser but as a fighter. When I met her, it was almost 8 years since she gave up the hope of getting her husband back. But pessimism could not get the better of her. She was totally optimistic towards life, and during that short talk with her I understood the meaning of “Optimism Personified”.

Again……..life had more surprises in store for her.

Her son was 14 years old when she decided to get married again. She started looking through the matrimonial section in papers and then decided to meet this person. She got in touch with him over phone and was truthful to him about the tragedy of her life.

They decided to meet. And then……when they met…a huge surprise was awaiting them. He was her schoolmate and it was almost 18 years since they last met. As a teenager, he had a crush on her and tried to woo her in the school.

He was one of those guys in school, who was wooed by many beautiful girls. But he had a liking for her because she was one of the most confident and intelligent girls in school. And then, she was not ready to fall for the teenage crushes. She had a focused outlook towards life and refused to respond to his feelings.

And now, after almost 18 years, they were there..... face to face to talk prospects of a marriage. She had a past to forget and I think – so did he, though I am not sure about this. ..........He was thanking his stars…… he now had the hope of getting married to his first crush and then there she was…..cursing herself for behaving nastily with him during those school days. And now, they were here facing each other with a past to forget and a future to decide.

When I last spoke to her, they have decided to get married and were waiting for the right day. I was very happy for her as her life was changing for good.

I lost contacts with most of my friends including her, when my purse, which had my telephone diary, was stolen in the bus. I never saw her or heard of her again…….but I hope she is happy.