The Significant Other

Once you discover that they are significantly better known in the common lives, you tend to notice their behavior. By this I did not mean the TV talk shows & tabloid magazines bestowing a great deal of attention but the ones in proximity who are achievers in their own strength.
I’m reminded of an IAS officer who lived a few blocks from our apartment in Delhi – Saiket Das. How well do I remember his name without even striking a conversation in 12 months? But we spotted him in the mornings dressed in crisp white shirts in his chauffeur driven car that read his name followed with designation. Since we were fuelled with ambition bug to the brim, we could not stop admiring him. This certainly filtered to his family that consisted of his wife & a 4yr old daughter. From ‘him’ it suddenly became “them”. We noticed everything about them – their morning jogs to dropping their daughter to the school bus & their evening outings. We liked everything about them & almost everything seemed an unlike behavior. We soon learnt that Mrs. Das was an English professor at Miranda college. The admiration for the seemingly high “intelligent quotient” family grew. To the extent that the little girl & her demeanor added credits to her parents though it wasn’t any different from the other kids. Mrs. Das’ pleasing mannerism while she bargained with the hawkers or her caution alarms for Ayushi (she shared over a few candies in the park) while she’s at her tantrum-play. To come to think of it, the smallest action in their lives was a big deal for us. Our microscopic attention made it larger than their real lives were. Probably ‘coz they were significantly better placed to be demonstrated best as ideal individuals. They had happy faces that appeared as a practiced emotion that gets better with age. They seemed content, they looked pleasant and they certainly came across as special as if the right mix of emotions coupled with intelligence has been bestowed. But, it all appeared! We never discovered if there existed a second life.