WHAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE

WHAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE

Fiction Short Story

By

VIKRAM KARVE

From my Archives: A Love Story with a Difference...

A cell-phone rings at 9 o’clock in the morning in an apartment in Pune.  

The husband picks up, pauses for a moment as if hearing something, and says, “Don’t worry, I’ll be there on time,” and then he switches off the mobile phone and keeps it in his pocket.  

He then shouts to his wife, who is in the kitchen: “I’m going out for some work. I’ll be back around one thirty or two for lunch.” 

 

“Where are you going...? You’ve taken leave today. Let’s go shopping...and then we'll go for lunch and a movie.”

  

“Please. Not today. I’ve taken leave just for this important thing.”  

“Important thing…? What important thing…? Where are you going…?” the wife persists.   

The husband does not want to tell her but he knows now that he has no choice but to tell her. He knows his wife’s nature so well – she is not going to rest till she finds out. She will nag him to death until he tells her.   

So he decides to tell her the bare minimum.

“I am going to the Family Court,” he says. 

 

“Family Court…? Why…?” his wife shrieks in amazement.

 

“A divorce case,” the husband says nonchalantly.

 

“Divorce case…? You are filing a divorce case…? You are trying to divorce me behind my back…?” the wife yells hysterically.

 

“Will you please be quiet and listen…? It’s not us. Pooja has asked me to come for the hearing.” 

 

“Pooja…? Who is this Pooja…?”  

“You’ve met her. She’s my colleague at work.”

 

“Oh...so it is That Pooja…! I knew you always had a soft corner for her.” 

 

“It’s her final divorce hearing today and she’s called me.”

 

“Divorce case…? Pooja…? She called you…? How are you involved…? I hope the divorce is not because of you…? I knew you’d do something stupid. You are so gullible you know – you must have got trapped by her, fell victim to her charms and now you are in trouble being summoned by courts. Respectable persons never see the insides of a court in their entire lives...!” 

 

“Will you please keep quiet…? You just go on and on…! Pooja has called me just to give her emotional support...” 

 

“Emotional support…? From you…? So this Pooja needs emotional support from you…? Why you…? Tell me…why you…? I knew there was some hanky-panky going on. I’m coming with you. Can’t you see what she’s up to…?” 

  

“Please…please calm down and don’t jump to conclusions. Pooja is just a colleague going through a rough patch. As a friend, I have to help her out, show her a bit of compassion and kindness…that’s all…”  

“Compassion…? Comapssion, my foot…! This compassion may soon turn into passion…!” the wife says sarcastically, “I tell you…Drying a divorcee’s tears is one of the most dangerous pastimes for a man, especially a married man…!”  

“Pastime…? I’m not going there for amusement. I'm going just to help out a colleague…”   

“Oh, yes. An attractive colleague in distress, isn’t it...? And our Knight in shining armour is rushing to her rescue…!”  

“Okay. Why don’t you come along and see for yourself...” the husband says exasperated.
 

The moment he utters those words he instantly regrets it, but it is too late. 

His wife has already picked up her purse and is heading towards the door. 

 

“Why are they divorcing…?” the wife asks, as they are driving in their car from their house in Aundh towards the Family Court in city. 

“It’s divorce by mutual consent.”

  

“Mutual consent…? What nonsense…! There must be some other reason.”

“No. They have just agreed to separate.” 

  

“Agreed to separate…? If they can agree to separate, why can’t they agree to stay together…?”

 

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask Pooja that…!” the husband says irritated.

“Of course I will. And I’ll give a piece of my mind to her husband too and tell him to stop harassing his wife.”

 

“Please…I beg you…for heaven’s sake don’t say anything stupid and embarrasing to them over there. He is not harassing her. They are parting amicably, as friends. I told you, it is an amicable divorce by mutual consent...”  

“What nonsense…? Amicable divorce by mutual consent…! There is no such thing as amicable divorce…!” 

 

“What do you mean…? So many people have amicable divorces now-a-days and part as friends.”

 

“Nonsense…! It’s all nonsense, a cover up… Amicable Divorce is a big lie – an oxymoron.”

  

“Oxymoron…?” 

  

“Yes.  Tell me, how can divorce be amicable…? If a marriage is really so amicable, why divorce in the first place…? If they can divorce and remain friends, I am sure they can remain married and be friends, isn’t it…?”

 

“I don’t know. Please let's talk something else.”

 

“I am sure there is something fishy...” 

 

“Will you please keep quiet and let me drive the car in peace…?” 

 

“What’s her husband’s name…?”

 

“Abhishek.”

  

“See… Pooja and Abhishek… even their names are compatible,” the wife says, I am certain that there must be some adultery involved. This Abhishek must be having an affair. Or it must be Pooja. Yes it's her. I’m sure she is having an affair…!” 

 

“Don’t be stupid. She’s not like that.”

 

“How do you know…?”

 

“I know her for so many years now. She’s quite close to me. She’s told me everything…”

  

“Close to you…? She is close to you…? Oh, My God…! I hope it’s not you…?” 

  

“Me…? Will you please shut up…? I told you it is mutual incompatibility…!” 

  

“Mutual Incompatibility my foot…! Let me tell you there is no one in this world who is more mutually incompatible than you and me…! But are we divorcing…?” 

 

“Why don’t we…? At least I’ll have some peace and respite from your constant nagging…” 

 

“Ah…you want to divorce me so you can marry her, is it…? You’ve got a hope in heaven…! I’ll cling on to you till my dying day… And then I will follow you as a ghost and even to heaven after that…” 

They drive in silence for a while and then the wife asks, "Has she got any children…?”

 

“Yes. Two. A boy and a girl. In school…”

 

“Poor kids. What will happen to them…?” 

 

“They’ll go off to a boarding school for a while till Pooja settles down...” 

  

“It’s funny. They’ve got children and are divorcing. We don’t have any children, but we are carrying on together…!” 

"Yes,” the husband says, “I really wonder…! We constantly fight but we stay together... and they have such a cordial relationship but they want to separate…” 

 

“Marriage is not supposed to be cordial and cold,” the wife says lovingly, snuggling up affectionately to her long-married husband.

 

“I’ve realized one thing,” says the husband dotingly hugging his much-married wife. 

  

“What…?” 

  

“The opposite of love is not hate – the opposite of love is indifference.”
 

 

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU and The Lawrence School Lovedale, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog - http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com  

Academic Journal Vikram Karve – http://karvediat.blogspot.com

Professional Profile of Vikram Karve - http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve 

Email: vikramkarve@sify.com

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

HOW TO EAT

THE ART OF EATING
By
VIKRAM KARVE


Are you in the habit of “grabbing a bite”...?

Do you ever eat in the office while continuing to work or just skip meals altogether...?

Do you multitask while eating...?

Do you have power breakfasts, working lunches and business dinners...?

Do you eat fast and hurriedly, finish meals well ahead of everyone else and eat in bigger bites without savoring the taste of food...? 

Can you vividly recall the taste of all the dishes you ate for dinner last night...? 

Do you eat when you eat...?

Do you want to master the Art of Eating and learn how to enjoy your food...?

Remember, there is no love greater than the love of eating – so read on, learn and try to master the Art of Eating...  

Good food must be savored delicately; slowly, attentively and respectfully; in a befitting manner, with finesse and technique, with relish and appreciation and you will experience true gustatory delight.

That’s essence of the Art of Eating.  

It is sacrilege to eat in a ravenous and rapacious manner.

Never eat when tired, angry, worried, tense, hurried, and at mealtimes refuse to think or talk about unpleasant subjects.  

It is best to eat alone, mindfully, with yourself, in glorious solitude, in a calm, serene, conducive and unhurried environment.

If you must have company, you must always eat with friendly, relaxed and tranquil people who love food and whose company you enjoy; never eat with “toxic”, “harried” or “stressed-out” people or in a tense or hurried atmosphere.  

If you want to do full justice to good food, you must build up an appetite for it – merely being hungry is not enough.

And the first step towards building up an appetite for good food is to think about it – simulated imaginative gustatory visualization to stimulate and prepare yourself for the sumptuous indulgence.

An important thing we were taught at boarding school was to read the menu and prepare for the meal by beginning to imagine relishing each and every dish, from soup to pudding, in our mind’s eye.  

Remember: First plan your “eat” and then eat your “plan”. 

It is true.

I eat my food twice.

First I "eat" in my mind’s eye – imagining, visualizing, “vicariously tasting”, fantasizing, strategizing on how I am going to savor and relish the dish to my utmost pleasure and satisfaction till my mouth waters and I desperately yearn to eat it.

And then I do the honours – actually go ahead and physically eat it and enjoy the delightful experience.  

Eating is not a gustatory experience alone; it is visual and olfactory as well.

Food must look good, smell good, taste good and, most importantly, make you feel good.

The Art of Eating – a Holistic, Multidimensional experience, encompassing all domains of your inner being.

Eat in silence. Mindfully. With full awareness.

Savour the aroma, delicately place the food on your tongue, chew slowly and experience the variety of flavours as the permeate your taste buds, fully aware and sense the nourishment as the food dissolves and sinks deep within you.

Chew your food to a pulp or milky liquid until it practically swallows itself.

Never mix food and drink – alcohol dulls the taste buds, and olfactory sensation, and encumbers the unmitigated enjoyment of good food.  

You must always close your eyes during the process of eating.

When you eat, you must eat; nothing else, no seeing, no hearing, no talking. No multitasking. That’s right – never multi-task while eating.

Just eat...Yes, when you eat just eat...

Focus all your senses on your food, eat mindfully, meditatively, and you will attain a state of delightful bliss and happiness.  

It’s simple.

Create a positive eating atmosphere, an environment of happy conducive vibes, honour your taste buds, respect your food and eat it in a proper state of mind, with love, zest, awareness and genuine appreciation and it will transport you to a state of bliss and happiness.

Remember: There is no love greater than the love of eating...  

In a nutshell, this is the "Art of Eating". 

Dear Reader, long back I read a Teaching Story ( Inspirational Tale ), maybe it was a Zen or Tao Story, quoted by Thich Nhat Hanh, from where I derived my inspiration for The Art of Eating. I am giving you this teaching story in my own words below for you to read and reflect on, as I feel it is most apt here, in your quest to master the ART OF EATING: 

Spirituality, Meditation and Art of Living had become the “in thing”.

Courses on the Art of Living were proliferating all over and every one was rushing to attain instant happiness, inner peace, nirvana and bliss.

A wise old man, a teacher, living in the neighbourhood announced that he would teach instant Art of Living free of cost.

On the first day he drew a huge crowd.

“What do you all want to achieve?” the teacher asked the audience.

“Inner peace, tranquillity and true happiness,” everyone shouted in unison.

“For that you have to attain enlightenment.” the teacher said.

"How?" the audience asked.

“By practicing the Art of Living,” the teacher said.

“How do you practice the Art of Living? Please teach us,” the audience asked the teacher eagerly.

“It is simple – just eat and sleep,” the teacher said, “you can practise the art of living by eating and by sleeping.”

“What nonsense!” the astounded audience exclaimed.

 “Yes,” said the teacher nonchalantly, “When Hungry, Eat... and When Tired, Sleep – that is the Art of Living”.

“Everybody does that!” shouted the audience.

“No. Everybody does not Eat when they Eat and everybody does not Sleep when they Sleep”, the teacher said calmly, “but when I eat, I only eat and when I sleep I only sleep. That is the Art of Living I practice – I live in the present moment fully focussed on whatever I am doing with full awareness.”

So now, Dear Reader, you are ready to master the Art of Eating...

All the Best...!
Happy Eating...!

VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

[An essay on the Art of Eating – one of my earliest foodie blog posts on Sulekha which appears in my book APPETITE FOR A STROLL http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm along with my other foodie writings]

Appetite for a Stroll

 

vikramkarve@sify.com  

 

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH TO LIFE - THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING

THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING

A Happy and Carefree Philosophy of Life

By

VIKRAM KARVE 

 

There is one book you will never find in my bookcase – you will always find it by my bedside near my pillow. At night, just before I go to sleep, I open this book to any random page, and read on till I drift off to blissful idyllic sleep.

 

The name of this book, which has had a profound defining effect on me, maybe even subconsciously shaped my philosophy of life, is called: The Importance of Living written in 1937 by the Chinese philosopher Lin Yutang.

 

But first, let me tell you a story, maybe apocryphal, about a scholar who had thoroughly studied the Bhagavad Gita for many years, and who considered himself an expert, and traveled far and wide delivering discourses on the teachings of the Gita and was widely acknowledged as an authority on the subject.

The scholar's ultimate desire was to deliver a discourse on the Bhagavad Gita at Benares, which was the sanctum sanctorum of learning.

 

So he went to Benares, and impressed by the scholar’s erudition and fame, the King of Benares invited the scholar to deliver a discourse on the Bhagavad Gita in his court.

All the wise men of Benares assembled to hear the Scholar, but just as he began to speak the King interrupted him and told him to read the Bhagavad Gita one more time in the evening and deliver his discourse the next day.

The Scholar was furious but he had no choice but to comply with the king’s wishes.

 

As he read the Bhagavad Gita with full concentration in the evening, he realized some new meanings and updated his speech accordingly.

Next day the same thing happened – the moment the scholar began to speak the King interrupted him and told him to read the Gita once more and then come the next day to give his lecture.

And again as the Scholar read the Gita he comprehended some new wisdom – something he hadn’t perceived before. So he incorporated his new findings and proceeded to deliver his talk.

 

Once again the same thing happened – the king interrupted him and told him to read the Gita once more before he gave his discourse. And again the scholar discovered some new wisdom in the Gita.

This cycle went on for days and days till the scholar realized how ignorant he was and how much more there was to learn from the Bhagavad Gita that he gave up the idea of delivering the discourse and decided to totally devote his entire efforts to the study of the Bhagavad Gita.

 

Days passed, and suddenly one morning, when the scholar was deeply immersed in his study, the King went to the scholar’s house, sat before him with folded hands and requested the scholar to enlighten him about the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.

 

It’s the same with any great book.

Every time you read it, something new emerges, and you realize you have so much more to learn from it.

Now let me tell you about The Importance of Living, my favourite book, a philosophical treatise that enriched my life and taught me the Art of Living.

Title: THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING

Author: LIN YUTANG

Published: 1937 (New York, USA); Indian Edition: 1960 JAICO Mumbai

ISBN: 81-7224-829

I have read The Importance of Living innumerable times, again and again, with renewed pleasure, and every time I read it I imbibe a special different philosophical flavor, and grasp new wisdom, which delves on all aspects of the art of living, and I have realized that there is more significance and value in Lin Yutang’s magnum opus than I am capable of appreciating.

So let me not be as presumptuous as to attempt to evaluate this classic treatise – I’ll just try to gently pilot you along in random vignettes to give you a flavor of this delightful philosophical gem.

 

Let’s open this delightful book to a few random pages, read some lines to give you glimpse into the wisdom on the art of living contained in this masterpiece.

In the section on Leisure and Friendship are these words: “Only those who take leisurely what the people of the world are busy about can be busy about what the people of the world take leisurely”.

Reflect on this, let these words perambulate in your mind for some time. There is nothing that man enjoys more than leisure.

The highest value of time is when you are doing what you love and want to do. During leisure you are free to choose what you want to do and enjoy doing.

Leisure enables you to realize the highest value of your time!

Tell me, why do you work?

Is it for job satisfaction, "on the job"?

Or is it to earn money "on the job" so that you can enjoy satisfaction "off the job", to enhance the quality of your free time?

In fact, most of us work for our leisure, because there is nothing we enjoy more than leisure.

Elaborating on a theory of leisure the book says: “Time is useful because it is not being used. Leisure is like unoccupied floor space in a room…it is that unoccupied space which makes a room habitable, as it is our leisure hours which make our life endurable”. 

Those who are wise won’t be busy, and those who are too busy can’t be wise.

 

Enunciating the distinction between Buddhism and Taoism: “The goal of the Buddhist is that he shall not want anything, while the goal of the Taoist is that he shall not be wanted at all”, the author describes the tremendous advantages of obscurity, and deduces that only he who is not wanted by the public can be a carefree individual.

It is true isn’t it – only he who is a carefree individual can be a happy human being?

Lin Yutang deliberates delightfully on his philosophical view: “Nothing matters to a man who says nothing matters”.

“How are we to live? How shall we enjoy life, and who can best enjoy life?”

The feast of life is before us; the only question is what appetite we have for it. 

The appetite is vital, not the feast.

This delightful treatise gives us insights on how to develop, enhance and refine our appetites in order to enjoy various facets of living.

The capacity for true enjoyment comes from an inner richness in a man who loves the simple ways of life.

There is always plenty of life to enjoy for a man who is determined to enjoy it.   

You may find some of the author’s views a bit passé – “mere relationship between man and woman is not sufficient; the relationship must result in babies, or it is incomplete” or “woman reaches her noblest status only as a mother, and that wife who by choice refuses to become a mother… loses a great part of her dignity…and stands in danger of becoming a plaything” or “a natural man loves his children, but a cultured man loves his parents” or “The art of attaining happiness consists in keeping your pleasures mild” or “It is against the will of God to eat delicate food hastily, to pass gorgeous views hurriedly, to express deep sentiments superficially, to pass a beautiful day steeped in food and drink, and to enjoy your wealth steeped in luxuries” – think about it, reflect a bit, and you may detect a iota of authenticity in these nuggets.

 

The book has fourteen chapters, embellished with epigrams, teaching stories, ancient wisdom and wit, on various aspects of the importance and enjoyment of living and once you start reading it this book is indeed so engrossing that it is truly unputdownable.

The Importance of Loafing, The Enjoyment of the Home, Nature, Travel, Culture, The Arts of Thinking, Eating, Reading, Writing, Loving, Happiness – the range and variety of topics covered indeed make fascinating reading.

 

Reading is the greatest of all joys. Extolling the virtues and charm of reading, Lin Yutang says: “The man who has not the habit of reading is imprisoned in his immediate world…the reader is always carried away into a world of thought and reflection”, and on writing: “a writing is always better when it is one’s own, and a woman is always lovelier when she is somebody else’s wife”. 

“He who is afraid to use an ‘I’ in his writing will never make a good writer” and “anyone who reads a book with a sense of obligation does not understand the art of reading… to be thoroughly enjoyed, reading must be entirely spontaneous…you can leave the books that you don’t like alone, and let other people read them!”

 

The best way to read The Importance of Living is to open any page and browse whatever appeals to you, randomly, in an unstructured and haphazard manner.

Think of yourself as a traveler in the philosophical or spiritual domain.

The essence of travel is to have no destination. 

A good traveler is one who does not know where he is going to; a perfect traveler does not know where he came from! 

A true traveler is always a vagabond – he travels to see nothing, to see nobody, with plenty of time and leisure, with the true motive to become lost and unknown.

 

Are you the ambitious competitive go-getter obsessed with an overpowering desire for achieving quick success – craving for power, wealth, fame, and the status and money-oriented aspects of life?

Do you value material possessions more than peace of mind?
 
Is external achievement more important than inner tranquility?

 

If your answer to any of the questions is “Yes”, then please don’t bother to read this book now, as you may be too “busy” in your own competitive rat race of your own making and probably you don’t have any time to “waste” on anything that doesn’t give you something tangible in return – a solid material ROI (Return on Investment) for investing your valuable time and effort reading this book.

But please don’t forget to read The Importance of Living after you’ve burned out, had a heart attack or suffered a nervous breakdown – when you’ll have plenty of time and, perhaps, the inclination, to reflect, contemplate, and delve more deeply upon the more intangible philosophical aspects of life – and ruminate on how you could have obviated that stressful burn-out, agonizing heart attack or traumatic nervous breakdown.

Here’s Lin Yutang’s take: “Those who are wise won’t be busy, and those who are too busy can’t be wise.”

 

If you are happy here and now, wherever you are, in whatever state you are, and you are truly content with what you have, you place living above thinking, and are interested in savoring the feast of life and its joys, then this witty philosophical treatise on the art of living in its entirety is the book for you.

 

The Importance of Living presents an uncomplicated approach to living life to its fullest in today's rapidly changing, fast paced, competitive, ambition dominated, money and status oriented, commercialized world, enabling each one of us to enjoy inner peace and happiness.

 

Sometimes, it is a great pity to read a good book too early in life. 

The first impression is the one that counts.

Young people should be careful in their reading, as old people in eating their food. They should not eat too much. They should chew it well.

Like you should eat gourmet food only when you are ready for it, you should read a good book only when you are ready for it.

Mature wisdom cannot be appreciated until one becomes mature.

 

But The Importance of Living is a book for all ages.

Of 1937 vintage, an ancestor and precursor of modern "self-help" books, it is a delightful philosophical treatise, which advocates a humorous and vagabond attitude towards life and deals with a variety of topics encompassing the art of living.

Is such a happy and carefree philosophy of life relevant today?

 

Why don’t you give it a try and see for yourself.

Slowly, unhurriedly, relaxingly, thoroughly, do peruse this classic masterpiece, absorb the witty wisdom, reflect, try out, practice and incorporate whatever appeals to you in your daily life, ruminate, experiment, enjoy yourself, have a laugh, change your lifestyle, enhance your quality of life, elevate your plane of living, and maybe your entire way of life may change forever.

 

Dear Reader, I commend this delightfully illuminating book.

Though enunciated with a touch of humor, the thoughts are profound.

Do get a copy of The Importance of Living and read it leisurely.

I’m sure you will find a copy at your nearest bookstore or in your library.

And don’t forget to tell us how you liked it, and whether it changed your way of life for the better.

 

VIKRAM KARVE 

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

AUTHOR BIO – VIKRAM KARVE

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU and The Lawrence School Lovedale, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog -  http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com  

Academic Journal Vikram Karve –  http://karvediat.blogspot.com

Professional Profile of Vikram Karve -  http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve 

Foodie Book APPETITE FOR A STROLL –  http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

Email: vikramkarve@sify.com

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder – For Someone Else.

MARRIAGE A LA MODE
Fiction Short Story
By
VIKRAM KARVE

Dear Reader, I am sure you have heard the saying: Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Now, please read this fiction short story:


At exactly 8 PM her cell-phone rings in her hand. She’s expecting the call – that’s why she’s holding the cell-phone in her hand. She looks at the caller-id, accepts the call, moves the mobile phone near her ear and says, “I love you, darling!”

“I love you, Sugar!” says her husband’s voice from half way around the globe. On his bed beside him, sprawled with arms and legs outstretched like a fallen statue, the woman is still asleep, her breathing untroubled.

It’s a long distance marriage, and the ‘married bachelors’ have been following the same drill for quite some time now – two calls every day at exactly the same time (Eight in the morning she calls him up just before leaving for work and eight in the evening she receives his call from half way across the globe just before he leaves for work. And both of them start their conversation automatically with the words: “I love you, darling! Or, I love you, Sugar!” He’s her ‘darling’ and she’s his ‘Sugar’!)

“How was your day?” the husband asks.

“Hectic. Lot’s of work. Deadlines to meet!” the wife answers. She steals a glance at the handsome young man sitting beside her in the darkened lounge bar.

“It’s terrible here too,” the husband says, “It’s killing – the work. Too much traveling. Sales meets, seminars, conferences. One hotel to another. Living out of a suitcase. I’m feeling exhausted.”

It’s true. The husband is indeed feeling exhausted; a relaxing, satiating kind of exhaustion. He gets up and opens the window and allows the early morning air to cool his body, then turns around and looks at the marvelous body of the woman on his bed. She looks lovelier than ever before, and as he remembers the ferocity of her lovemaking, he feels waves of desire rise within him. Not for a long time has the mere sight of a woman aroused the lion in him to such an extent. 

He smiles to himself. He feels proud and elated; it was a grand performance. Spontaneous lovemaking at its best; not like the planned and contrived “quality” lovemaking with his wife, full of performance anxiety, each performing for the other’s gratification, putting on an act and both faking pleasure thinking the other would not know.

“Yes, darling. Poor you. I can understand,” the wife says, and sips her potent cocktail. It’s her third. She wonders what it is – the mysterious but deadly intoxicating cocktails her companion is plying her with, and she is feeling gloriously high.

“I am just waiting for this hectic spell of work to be over so we can meet,” the husband says. He sits on the edge of the bed and looks at the sleeping woman. Mesmerized, marveling. It is difficult to believe that in a few hours from now they would be addressing each other formally again.

“Oh, yes. It’s been three months and I’m dying to meet you. When are we meeting?” the wife asks.

“I’m planning a fantastic vacation. I’ll let you know soon. We’ll go to some exotic place. Just the two of us. Quality Time!” the husband says to his faraway wife and at the same time looks yearningly at the gorgeously sexy woman lying so close to him.

“That’s great! We must spend some Quality Time together,” the wife says to her distant husband while she snuggles close against her strikingly handsome colleague. He presses his knee against hers. She presses hers against his. He moves his hand around her over her soft skin and pulls her gently. She feels an inchoate desire. He gently strokes her hair, and she turns towards him, her mouth partly open as he leans over her. Fuelled by the alcohol in her veins, she can sense the want churning inside her like fire. And as she looks into his eyes, and feels the intensity of his caresses, she can sense her resistance melting.

“I love you, Sugar!” the husband says.

“I love you, darling!” the wife says.

Their lovey-dovey conversation completed, both the long distance spouses disconnect their cell-phones, focus on their present objects of affection, and, with renewed zeal, carry on the passionate amorous activity presently in hand. After all, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

At the beginning of this story I had quoted a famous saying: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
 
Now I am temped to say: Absence makes the heart grow fonder – for someone else.

MARRIAGE A LA MODE
Fiction Short Story 
By

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU and The Lawrence School Lovedale, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog - http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com  

Academic Journal Vikram Karve – http://karvediat.blogspot.com

Professional Profile of Vikram Karve - http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve 

Email: vikramkarve@sify.com