Green Tea

By Anand Kunchanur

For Chennabasavaiah, the taste of green tea was no less than poison but that day the green tea tasted like elixir, and he was approaching bliss with each sip. However, his tongue could hardly sense the taste. Both were sitting at the table near the corner window of the office canteen. Chennabasavaiah was so comfortable with her throughout the conversation that it appeared as though they knew each other for ages. His mischievous eyes had found an excuse to see an area of their interest. “Chyanna, I never imagined that you could do this to me. If I knew, I would not have come this far. You have hurt me”, said Liz, whose words struck him like bullets and shook the foundation of his existence. ‘Yes, she is right. It’s entirely my fault. Only Michelle was supposed to come from the UK Head Office for site visit here in India. However, our long-time friendship, boasting about my country, people, culture during our chats and of-course a slight leaning towards a selfishness to see Liz prompted me to force her to come to me. I had promised her to gift her an unforgettable experience by taking her around Karnataka. On one hand, I was happy as I was meeting Liz; on the other hand, we at office received an email from DCGI (Drug Controller General of India) that made every one of us angry. Nonetheless, I had to bear the yoke of the upcoming problem since I was the Head of the Clinical Trial Department.’

Chenna could do nothing but burn in rage. His limbs were shivering as though fits had taken over them. The DCGI was right on its part to write to us asking for a detailed report on the number of trials conducted, serious side-effects and deaths caused by them, and the amount of compensation our company paid to the victims. All this in just 20 days! Uhh! It’s possible only if I become an astronomer. Thousands of clinical trials, details of each and every patient to find out if he/she suffered side effects; if suffered, were they paid compensation? If paid, how much!? (It was as easy as finding a needle amidst a mountain of trash because he was well aware of the wisely committed irregularities during clinical trials). Chenna sighed, not of relief though, thinking about the fact that consolidation of all the required details would take at least six months; but he had a bigger problem to worry about now – Liz.  

My head was about to explode. I had promised Liz to take her to Mysore in the weekend, but my hectic work did not allow me to do so. So I sent her with our office cab driver Ramesh. Sending Liz alone with Ramesh was a blunder and I realized that last night when that scoundrel Ramesh came to my house and fell at my feet, “please forgive me sir…I have committed an unpardonable sin. I have disrespected your trust in me. Please forgive me sir”. It was quite a confusing situation for me. I did not understand why Ramesh was begging for forgiveness. I took a step backward and asked him, “What happened? Why are you behaving so strangely? I spoke to Liz a few minutes ago. She had told me everything went well throughout the tour. What is wrong with you?”

“Sir, I have always liked white women. When I saw this madam I could not control myself and pounced on her. She did not protest or say a word. I abused her like a beast. However, madam was not angry with me. Instead, she handed me a few currency notes and kept saying something in English. I did not understand a word. May be she was advising me not to indulge in such shameless activities again. I fell at her feet and apologized for my dreadful deed. I was so ashamed of myself that I could not see my face in the mirror. I could not sleep. My mind is filled with chaos, sir. I cannot face my wife and children. Fear has gripped me. Please ask madam to forgive me, please! I can’t live like this.” I wanted to kill him at once. But the human side leashed me and I let my anger out by thumping on the table.

………………

Now, the still water of my mind was disturbed by a bitter moment from my childhood: my uncle had sexually abused a minor girl, who was the daughter of a distant relative of ours. My mother had caught him red handed. He fell at my mother’s feet and begged for forgiveness. I could not read the emotions that brimmed with her tears. Today, I am in the same position as my mother was then. People like my uncle and Ramesh should be shot dead. Bloody dirty minds!

……………..

The green tea bag had silently released its essence into the water turning it into a bizarrely colored liquid. 

“Hey Chyanna, what are you thinking? I was just kidding. Don’t be so serious. Come on, cheer up”, said Liz with a smile. Chenna felt a wrench at his heart. Why is she smiling? I know that people in her country believe in free sex but I was always under the impression that she is different from those people. She appeared very much like a childhood buddy to me. Her humble nature, tender heart and insane generosity made me to wish she should have been born in India, not in England. Then, what about yesterday’s incident? How can she not feel anything about it? I could not feel the AC. It was as though the cool air wanted to accompany in my grief which provoked it to warm itself in the warmth of my breath. Liz and I had been talking to each other since the day I became the Head of the Clinical Trial Department. That’s one and a half years, to be precise. All those chats and conversations brought a gush of new hope into my boring, corporate culture-ridden life. She had pulled me out of the quicksand of the corporate world. She liked the way I used to handle the projects which made her revere me more than anybody else in the office. We had many informal meetings online, where we would serve each other a variety of interesting personal incidents adding a pinch of jokes or gossips. Mouths keep blabbering but the bond woven by the words of Liz was worth more than my life. It is a spectacle for sure! The Liz I see at this moment appealed to me more than ever. Her clothes complimented her beauty, her body language while speaking, that mesmerizing smile introduced me to a new Liz. She too was drinking her favourite green tea. As she lifted the cup with her slender fingers, those neatly coloured nails were painting a colorful picture on the canvas of my heart. Oh, that black circle below her eye kept reminding me of the tragedy that had wounded her deeply a month ago: it was her birthday. I had called her at midnight and wished her, “Happy birthday Liz”.

“Chyanna…” said Liz; she was silent for a moment and suddenly burst into tears. She continued, “Chyanna, I lost my dad today; my dear dad. He never let me feel deprived of my mother. It was a complete family for me. Today, I am going to read each page of my life to you. Chyanna, you must have noticed that I always prefer Indian culture to mine. I like India and I am eager to see that land of rich heritage and good souls like you. That’s because my mother was an Indian. She was charmed by my dad Mr. Richard, who was a famous guitarist in London. My father told me that they parted ways when I was born. The reasons for their separation are unknown to me. I thought I would live a happy life with both my parents. But fate had different plans for me. I was glad to have my father back in my life but my joy was short-lived as I lost my mother. 

That’s about my family life in a nutshell. I am angry with death to have snatched my dad away from me; on the other hand, I am glad that life gave him a deserving farewell. You know how he breathed his last, Chyanna? While bringing a cake for my birthday; yes, he was on his way home with the cake when his fans swarmed him and requested him to sing a song. For a humble soul he was, he acknowledged them with a song he had written for me, ‘I sing for my daughter, I live for her, my only angel, my daughter Elizabeth’…and embraced death. 

Chyanna, I hope you remember the ‘thalidomide tragedy’ that struck thousands of innocent lives around 1960. It was that darkest period when many pregnant women around the world consumed thalidomide as a cure for insomnia; however, the drug hit back by causing death of thousands of babies even before they stepped into the world. And those who took birth suffered limb deformity. My father was one of such unfortunate babies. His hands had not grown fully. It was my grandma Susan, who took care of him when he was abandoned as an unwanted child. Although my grandma was a nun at the church, she loved my dad Richard like a mother and nurtured him with confidence and self-respect. Deformity could never suppress my dad’s talent. He had charmed his audience in the UK by playing the guitar with his feet. 

The ‘thalidomide tragedy’ sends chills down the spine whenever it floats on the surface of my memory. The tragedy led to the birth of a new field called ‘Pharmacovigilance’ and it was the reason I chose this field. I have entered this field with a vision of making people aware of the side effects of medicines and how they can stay safe from such side effects. On the other hand, I wanted to fulfill my duties towards my father. I did not want others to go through what my dad went through since his birth. All my dreams, my vision, the zeal seem meaningless now. The purpose of my life, the beacon light, my dad is no more there to inspire me and cheer me up. Chyanna, I feel I am the loneliest person in the world right now…I wish I had a shoulder to rest my head and let the tears flow.” I went numb at heart as Liz narrated her life in the past, the present and the future. I felt helpless, cursed the distance for not allowing me to lend a shoulder to ailing Liz. For the first time in my life, I felt my shoulders were of no use. But my heart was consoling her. 

Here I was, sitting right in front of Liz, the light of my life. There was no other moment as beautiful as that one when my heart skipped a bit at her exquisite looks.

Liz shook him, “See, how I made you drink green tea. Otherwise, you always preferred Assam tea, right?” Yes, a tinge of bitterness was all I needed to accompany me in my dejected state. However, I did not want Liz to sense the dejection that was squeezing my mind like a python. I cooked up some unheard and baseless theories for the heck of it. This was what I served Liz shamelessly, “Yeah, green tea is the gift of my country to the world. Thousands of years ago, people used a medicinal plant called sanjivini. It has been mentioned in Ramayana that sanjivini saved the life of Laxmana, the younger brother of Lord Rama. And now, sanjivini has been replaced with a modern term, ‘green tea’.”

“People here are well aware of such things but don’t know how to utilize the exuberant natural resources available here. Be honest Chyanna, how many of the medicines produced at the Ojas Pharma run by you and your friend Surya has proper documents? Have you submitted a detailed report of those medicines and their side effects to your government? How many innocent people are you going to loot by claiming your medicines to be Ayurvedic? It is impossible to keep track of the number of medicines and pharmaceutical companies flourishing here. I have no idea who they are benefiting. Even the makers of these medicines themselves don’t have an idea about the purpose of these medicines. I hold Ayurveda in high regard. If it is nourished through a proper channel with a scientific perspective, people will definitely understand and accept it; the whole world will be indebted to India. You say that kids would grow tall and become intelligent after taking the medicines manufactured at your firm; is there any proof for that? If you are doing all this for money, remember, I will be the first to oppose you. You need to look at the larger picture, Chyanna. Don’t be a frog in the well.” 

The bitterness of the green tea pricked my tongue. The truth spoken by Liz had turned it even more bitter. 

Chenna shuddered at the beep of his mobile phone. 

“What happened? Why are you so scared?” asked Liz.

“Nothing, it’s time for me to take medicine.”

“What medicine? What has happened to you?”

“Doctor has prescribed medicines for my psychological complications. I need to take them without fail.”

“As far as I know, you are a very strong and disciplined individual. Even in work, you take the whole responsibility of any project assigned to you and finish it with utmost care. Such a person suffers from mental disturbances? What’s the matter?”

“Let it be Liz. Nothing serious.”

“Let it be?  How can I Chyanna? Is it something you can’t share with me? You are disrespecting our longtime friendship. I can’t see you like this. Please tell me, what’s the issue?”  Liz held my hand. That touch took me away from the chaos of the mundane world. I felt like resting my head in her lap and cry out loud. Holding her hand, tasting the moisture of those mesmerizing eyes, accompanied by the aromatic green tea I spoke, “Liz, I have hot water epilepsy since childhood. Pouring a bit of hot water on my head would cause fits. That is why I had to take medicines for ten to twelve years without fail. The medicines helped me grow stronger physically but made me weak mentally. However, nothing could weaken my interest in reading. I quenched my thirst of knowledge with hundreds of books. My father used to earn for his family by begging for pulses and flour from one house to the other, performing pujas wherever he was invited and singing prayers to gods and goddesses. I did not want to tread the same path. I did not want to beg for pulses and flour. I always wanted to keep pace with the fast-moving world; hence, I worked hard to reach where I am today. I was glad I could shed my previous identity as Chennabasvaaiah Virasangaiah Sambhalamath, at post Kamalapur, District Gulbarga. I was free of those shackles of rituals and ancestral occupation. An issue of any magnitude is enough to turn my brain topsy-turvy. After that, I grow numb to my surroundings. Whether it is my family forcing me to get married, my mother tongue being strangled in the corporate atmosphere, the Gowdas …. the Kurubas on the cars boasting the castes, the chain smoking software engineers near the office exhaling praises about foreign culture, when someone downgrades a Kannada movie, when someone asks me if  I belong to a family that begs to earn its livelihood…any such matter stirs my soul. Thousand thunders strike my mind. Sometimes, people have told me that I keep blabbering to myself. I never realize that. It seems, I was talking to the statue of Sai Baba in a temple recently. I don't have a clue about that either. On another day, I was travelling on a bus and I happened to see a little Muslim girl struggling to read the content on a flex board – “Da...dasoha on...the...occasion of ba...birth anniversary of A..al...alla...allam...Allama...pa...Prabhu. Ammi, dasoha bole to kya?” asked the little girl to her mother. 

My heart was pounding with joy and I was very curious to know what her mother's answer would be. My happiness melted down when the mother said, “Kuch nahi beti, aaja tu”. 

“Ammi, bolo na…” the kid insisted but her mother beat her and dragged her away in anger, shouting, “Tere abba se pooch”. 

My heart felt a pinch, a pinch of helplessness. That incident may not be a big deal for others, but it affected me deeply. Such matters wring my soul and drive away the enthusiasm. When I could not win the battle against my psychological complications, I consulted a physician; he told me that I was a very sensitive individual. He also said that it might be the effect of the medicines I have been taking for my epilepsy. Otherwise, he could not see anything wrong with me. The doctor asked me not to be stressed and prescribed some tablets. My family members do not understand these issues and I don’t expect them to. You know Liz, everything at this moment looks like a lifeless painting to me. I feel like you are the only human full of life on this infinite wasteland.”  Liz blushed and I basked in that moment! Finding nobody around us, I began to seek the path to Liz’s heart and the taste of the green tea elevated my aspiration. 

…………………………

My partner in Ojas Pharma, Suryakanth alias Surya was panting when he approached me; it seemed as though someone had pricked his eyes with needles.

“Oh, thank god, you are here. Chennu, what is the Kannada term for weakness?”

I was quite irritated by his audacity. Disturbing the wonderful conversation between Liz and me was not at all acceptable. What a shameless animal? Yes, animal was the suitable word for him.

“Why do you want it now?”

“Hey, please, I need to know now. I have a bet with Reeba. I must tell her the right word in five minutes. Please tell me man.”

“It’s Dourbalya. Have you not studied in Kannada medium? I doubt if you went to school. Just because you are living in Bengaluru and working in an MNC does not mean you forget everything about your mother tongue.”

“Thank you so much man.” The shameless Surya left without any regret. Liz was curiously looking at me with her glittering eyes and a broad smile on her beautiful lips.

…………………..

The surroundings were quite peaceful as there were no gossip-mongering colleagues around us. It was a perfect moment to share my thoughts with Liz. I said, “Medicines did not come into our lives alone. They carried side effects in them. It’s sad that we did not realize this until we were struck by the tsunami called thalidomide tragedy. Till then, everyone was curious to know the effects of thalidomide and blissfully ignorant to its side effects. Probably, we are too intelligent to understand it. It is just like striving to sculpt a doctor, an engineer or a scientist out of a baby, forgetting the basic truth that a baby, after growing into an adult, can commit mistakes also. Everything is a mixture of good and bad. It doesn’t mean that only the bad qualities should prevail or should be highlighted. All I want all of us to do is to be aware of the existence of vice and work towards moulding it into virtue. When we are under the weather, we go to a doctor and follow his instructions regarding the medicines without fail. Now, here is the interesting part: if we lessen the volume of prescribed dosage, the disease will not be cured; if we take more than the prescribed dosage, it would lead to other complications. It’s just like playing with a double-edged sword. If we do not take an appropriate medicine at the right time for our disease, our body won’t be able to bear it. In fact, it’s more sensitive than the mind and equally complex.”

“What we know so far is just the tip of the iceberg. The intense competition between the pharmaceutical biggies has given birth to several diseases. Our country has over thirty thousand medicines and more than twenty thousand pharmaceutical companies. If only they could invest half of what they are investing to invent new medicines for improving the infrastructure, we can easily get rid of the diseases. Can’t we? Most of the pharmaceutical companies come here to exhibit their inventions and prove their might in the market; none of them bother to labour towards the benefit of the people, sir.”

“Liz, when I told this to my teacher, he did not have an answer and kept staring at me till he went out of the classroom.” Thus, I listed out my achievements to impress Liz. She might have found all this childish!

She smiled at me and said, “Chenna, you are quite knowledgeable but you are also a part of that field now. Have you forgotten the oath you took while becoming a pharmacist? There is a bunch of issues here and it takes a leader to resolve them. You just be a good pharmacist; I am always with you.” I felt that Liz was the answer to all my queries and medicine to all my illnesses. She was that Ms. Perfect I had been searching all my life. Having her in my life has doubled my strength. I would be the luckiest man in the world if she married me. Whatever happened so far in our life should not bother us anymore. Let’s just wrap them all up and throw them away into oblivion. We should build a life with the bricks of our interests and cement it with abundant love, and we should emerge successful. I was extremely hopeful that our beloved green tea would prove to be a tonic for both of us. My feet were tapping involuntarily in joy. I must speak to Liz without further delay and tell her about my decision. I am sure she would agree with me. I should not let go this golden opportunity of bringing my life on track again. Elizabeth should be my queen…I must tell her now…yes, at once.

…………..

Surya came running to me, “Chenna, what are you doing here alone? Haven’t you got the news?”

“I am not alone. I have been talking to Liz.”

 “What? Liz! She took sleeping pills last night. She is in the ICU now. I have heard that she has gone into coma. I am going to the hospital. Are you coming with me?”

Chenna’s sweat drenched even his chromosomes. He could not gather courage to look at the empty seat across the table. He was cold; so was the green tea bag.

By Anand Kunchanur