Adieu my Friend .....

This is my story , story of a 10 year old who rose the ladders of fame bringing about a revolution in connecting people… I was named after my Turkish Dad creator, who was so loyal to his company Google , that he gave me up to them to be brought up and they lovingly called me Orkut ..

Like any child , I started on my knees, crawling, trying to find my way and I kinda found it quite fast. I was termed a child prodigy then.. My website was a novel idea basically to revive friendships, bring people closer, connect people and allow them to freely interact and express….. I was witness to so many outbursts of joy and happiness when people found their childhood friends on my platform, when classmates had a great time scrapping messages for all to read, when lovers found a way to express their self privately… Scraps, testimonials, videos and photos… it was a lovely world of glitter for everyone to see….People across the globe loved me…

But just like every coin has 2 sides, some people misused me …they created fake profiles, chatted with many at the same time under different names, made groups on me that insulted the public sentiments of certain groups . Photos and pics were misused and subjected to vulgarity. Users were dragged to several groups even without their knowledge or mine…

USA, India and Brazil loved me , while Iran, UAE , Saudi & Bahrain hated me and banned my presence in the names of national security , ethical issues about dating and matchmaking etc.

I was just a silent spectator to all this abuse. I let myself be carried away in the glory of my fame. Nobody was there to guide me and put me back on track.

During the same time, I noticed a severe competition budding up… new kids on the block were Facebook, Twitter, My Space etc .. And Facebook was the strongest competitor. I should admit, the kid had great looks. He learnt from my mistakes and people love him for the same. He was charming yet private, he was friendly but cautious, he had groups, but had moderators, he had pictures / videos but they were protected. The kid started pumping blood ( hard cash) into the website… marketing campaigns, like groups , internet marketing etc etc.  In 2011, he became a hero by surpassing me ….

My own Dad started praising Facebook, I even hear from private sources that he invested in him. And in 2011 , my Dad himself paved way for my fast death today…he brought in my younger brother Google +. Instead of trying to revive me , bring me back from my rehabilitation , he disowned me ….maybe he was ashamed or maybe he wanted a better son ; a son who would put him back on the charts with his peers.

Today my rehabilitation centre too, has given up on me. I used to get a few loyal visitors every now and then , now they have been strictly prohibited as well. I am confined to this room as in quarantine. In fact the rare visitors and my old friends have been told to take back any of their memories or remnants they have mistakenly left behind with me.

Today I’m just like a brain dead vegetable, people have taken out all the removable parts from my body – my life, my heart, my lungs, my brain and I have been left to die… a silent death… the D Day has been fixed , September 30th is when I shall breathe my last, will the hangman come with his noose or will I be beheaded… don’t know…all that I know is that I have been left to die, unwanted , uncared for …Couldn’t they have been a little more kinder to me than leave me suffering till the D-Day ? Will someone come and release me from this pangs of waiting for death?

With these thoughts, I bid Adieu to you today….

Lovingly ,

Yours Orkut ….

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

Going Away.... But I'm here to Stay !!!

It is 6 in the morning …. I have been awake for more than 2 hours now, hearing the ticking clock…awaiting the first buzz of life around me…. Can feel the warmth from my husband, Balu’s forehead on my arm, where he fell asleep last night by my bedside…. His long heaves of breath have always been my solace for the past 30 years of our married life….  This is something or maybe the only thing I will miss after today….

Yes, today is my last day of life….I know it today…though I did not know it 2 months back. All that I remember was being admitted to this hospital for a heartburn or gastric issue for which Balu insisted I needed a checkup. Following that everything happened so quickly , checkup, some heart blockage issues and an unexpected cardiac arrest on the operation table, which left me hooked up to this wonderful machine which hums and ticks and beeps standing like a warrior by my bedside today. Don’t be disillusioned by the  looks of it, Mr. Ventilator is more expensive than he looks, Balu’s bank account will vouch for that , trust me  J !!

Getting back to the story, after 2 months of long struggle, finally the doctors, relatives and my 2 children, Gowri & Shankar have convinced Balu that he should let me go. According to the doctors, in layman’s terms, I am in a vegetative state; don’t know why the word makes me picture myself as a cow or goatJ. Upper portion of the brain is not working, however I am breathing only because of Balu and the 2^nd warrior beeping away by the bedside. They have tried hard to convince Balu that I am not able to hear him that I won’t ever wake up from this coma to nag him again. Gowri & Shankar have also left all their work and been around from then.

The ever cheerful nurse, Malini came in sharp at 6.30 am. Even she looks a little solemn today, or am I seeking sympathy in her eyes? Balu woke up with a start, he always had a sheepish look when he awoke first thing in the morning, which only I was privy to J  . He kissed me on my forehead and nuzzled my nose whispering “Rise & Shine ….” which was a customary tradition to wake me up for the last 30 years.

He quickly freshened up, I heard the voice of Gowri trying to explain on a long distance call to her kids and hubby that she would be coming home soon, but till then to manage to find things by themselves, not fight with each other, listen to Daddy etc.; poor thing, she & Shankar have been a rock of support to Balu throughout. I thank God for giving me such a family….

I can hear the ruffle of the white coats… the doctor is here…along with Shankar, talking in their medical jargon. Balu and Gowri have also huddled up to them. The nurse asks them to step out since she has to get me ready. Do I still need that sponge shower today, I wonder? Is Yamraj particular that his clients should have a shower before they meet Chitragupta to gain entry to the other world? Will make it a point to ask him when I meet him today.

A small tear dropped on my face by Malini, when she finished dressing me, brought me back from thoughts. She was a woman of few words and only duty, she combed my hair and smiled and told me that I was looking pretty and left without turning back.

Gowri & Shankar came in together, sat by my bedside, held my two hands, and bid me silent goodbyes. They have done me proud by being such dutiful children that any parent would die for (no pun intended)!!

Next came in Balu, I heard him tell the doctor that he needed some time with me… Man, wasn’t 30 years enough for you, I wanted to scream J. He came and sat by my bedside, held my hand… and said, “ Bhadra, these white coat idiots say, you can’t hear anything, but I know you can. And again we never needed words to understand, did we?  Except for when you used scream your head off when we had our fights… or my mother had an opinion on your cooking or when I would sit playing cards with my friends or when …..  , he was rambling away all those beautiful moments non-stop. “ I have loved you from the moment you dropped the hot coffee all over me when I first came to see you before marriage at your parents’ house, the day we got married, the day Shanker was born, the day Gowri was born, our home, their marriages, our retirement , grandkids  everything was so beautiful and it still will be… “Slowly he took a bit of kumkum from the bedside and placed a round bindi on my forehead and the remaining in my sindoor. (quite a romantic he was in his times J)

He continued , “ I cannot let you go as they say, but I promise to follow you soon, because as you always said “One should get married, after all happiness is not the only thing in life, is it?” So you may go and get settled down and as soon as things settle down here, will meet you there….could feel him holding back tears behind the old black specs… I still remember my heart swooning for the serious looking Lecturer in his bell bottom pants and so does it even today…

Once again, he kissed me on my forehead, held my hand tightly less it pains me while they switch off the machine. I was happy to go, I was at peace …. My eyes still closed the last sound I heard was Balu’s breathing, while mine went silent eternally.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.