THE PROPHECY

The fortune teller who held his hand looked up, then asked for the other one.Quietly muttering he again looked at us both,I sensed he was hesitating to articulate his observation.As I did not believe in such soothsayers,I told him to just be done with it.I held out the money,his fee.

     'Be patient and do not give in to pressure' he said distinctly.

Wondering what he meant,I quickly turned away and we moved on.Our group of friends,all final year students meeting for a last time before parting ways had decided to spend this penultimate day of campus life visiting the seaside mela where a circus in town had put up a tent.
Music,dance,stunts,stalls,merry making,we put on a brave face though each knew a sense of trepidation for the future.
 
 Carefree,fun filled and enjoyable specially for the FastFive,as we called ourselves.Hiral,Sheela,Nuraj, Kathleen and I, Raghu.
Four years had gone by,we were just planning what to do in the future,Hiral with interest in business would join forces with father and uncle to set up and run a pharmaceutical at Hirandani, Powai.
 
Nuraj who was interested in teaching the Quran would be joining the advanced studies for Muslim Clerics.
Kathleen,who had come as an exchange student from UK,wished to do dance and drama course so she could start a school teaching fusion of  the two cultures.I was interested in film ,graphic design and photography.
Sheela,a lover of animals wished to do a course in veterinarian science and become an animal doctor.
 The graduation day dawned bright and clear, the event was conducted in clock work precision, soon we all parted ways.

      Seven years to the day today,I stood at the beach.
Peering over my dark tinted glasses, I played a guessing game.
Who would be the first to arrive and what would be each ones status?
 The decision had been made that we would not be in touch but today would be the big reveal.

Would they even come,I wondered. Thoughts churning,I looked around.
 The whiff of perfume was so familiar.Kathleen,I decided but was taken aback to see soft spoken studious Sheela,stepping out of a sedan with two identical toddlers holding each hand.Black glasses screening her eyes,she looked at me and smiled tentatively.

A quick roar of a Bullet heralded Nuraj.He looked and acted like the film hero he had become,a far cry from the cleric he wanted to become.Kathleen would he the last to arrive,I concluded.

          Wait a minute,just who was the nun seated nearby who had been observing their arrival.Shocked I looked on at Kathleen as Sheela was hugging her and the kids soon perched on her lap.

 Hiral  walked in,far removed from a businessman,he was a Doctor who worked for a world renowned Multinational Company.

    Well, life had turned upside down.Each and every one of them were --

He was now the Head Priest in the local temple.
His father who had succumbed to a stroke had left him no option but to keep the family furnace lit,so stepping into his shoes he had taken over the management of the Hindu Temple. Using his talent and wide knowledge he had built up the small piece of his ancestral holding into a world famous religious tourist spot which was known far and wide.

  Kathleen who had gone to meet Mother Theresa before leaving for UK,had decided to dedicate her life to the care of the ill and outcasts at the Ashram.
Sheela, forced to wed  an NRI,was back home with three year old twins after leaving US and her womanizing husband

Nuraj ,who had gone to visit a friend in Mumbai had been forced to stand in as his cousin was drunk,had made a lasting impression on the Director who had been searching for a sombre face. The small deceit paid off and he was now N Khan,the Tamil superstar and a heart throb of teens the world over.

         They all looked at each other.Older and wiser,they held hands and talked.

Raghu spoke of how he had taken over the management of the Temple and using modern technology soon changed the working.Building new arches and extending the precincts he had installed more and more deity so people came from far and wide to offer prayers,The hall was spacious  and used for wedding banquets,meetings,conferences and tourist information centers,offering guided tours and vacations.

  Kathleen,who along with her induction into the home continued her studies had a Doctorate in social and religious studies ,She looked after the administration of the whole Ashram and was deeply committed to the welfare of the orphans and destitute.

Nuraj, the actor had turned to direction and was into producing short scripts illustrating a social cause.like drunk drinking,smoking,rape and its social repercussions.He was mature and sombre,still shy, hesitant and gentle.

Sheela,who was single and alone with two little girls,expressed her desire to start over and had just been assured of her spot in the veterinarian Institute.She saw the love and understanding in Nurajs' eyes and their hearts spoke across religions and cultural barriers.

Hiral who had defied his family and gone to Stanford University to get his medical degree had joined Doctors without Borders,an international enterprise.He gently explained that he had contracted a terminal infection and had only a few months to live.

       The sun had set and all were silent,each absorbed in their own thoughts.The sky darkened and the Temple bells pealed as they all bowed to the Supreme who has set a different agenda for each one from what they had set out to do....