Herbert

Margarita was upset with Herbert over something she felt was wrong. In spite of her telling him so, he had stood his ground. His insistence – that there was nothing wrong – in her opinion, was an affront to her. It was the worst thing he could have done, she felt. And she had told him so several times. She was so irritated with him that had also barred him from any further communication with her. The two had parted ways and there seemed to be no scope for reconciliation. He did not know what had hit him.

He had waited a few months and then tried to contact her. But she was not traceable. No one knew where she had disappeared. He too moved out of the town that gave him uncomfortable memories. It really didn't help. The mind is a funny thing – it remembers what one would like to forget, yet forgets what one would like to remember. Her memories remained. He knew they would remain for the rest of his life.

**

Margarita had given up her job and left town, and taken up a new job and settled in a new place. A few months had passed and she made new friends. He gradually faded from her memory as her well-paying new job kept her busy and took her to exotic places around the world. But once in a way, he had an uncanny way of coming into her thoughts. She regretted her rigid stance and tried to contact him, only to discover that his talent for disappearing was as good as hers. He too had vanished without a trace.

**

Margarita loved travelling. She had been around the world on work and on holiday. She loved sun- kissed beaches and decided to travel to Mauritius during her Christmas holidays. A week by the seaside should do wonders to her, she hoped. On a hunch, when in Port Louis, she decided to take a day cruise to a nearby French island, where Indians are not required to have a visa. The cruise boat left in the morning and reached late at night and included a gala dinner with live music and dance.

**

As she walked up the narrow gangway of the cruise vessel, she noticed a pizza delivery boy carrying a pizza carton was just in front of her. She was intrigued and asked the sailor at the entry point, "Your cruise advertises that it provides the best and varied cuisine to its passengers. How come some one is ordering pizza from the shore?" 

The sailor replied, "Our Entertainment Manager likes to eat pizza, whenever we are on shore or about to cast off, though we have to keep it warm for him till he asks for it. He always gets it on COD basis just when we are about to cast off. I shall attend to the delivery boy after I finish with your paperwork."

He added, "By the way, he is an Indian like you," as he checked her papers.

The pizza delivery boy was still waiting for his cash. Feeling generous, Margarita paid off his bill, adding a generous tip, telling the sailor. "Well, tell him that his pizza today is a treat from another Indian."

The sailor beamed and said, "Thank you, Ma'am. I shall certainly inform Mr. Al. He doubles as our keyboard player and lead singer. Maybe he'll sing an Indian song for you tonight. After a couple of drinks on the rocks, he really rocks!" 

The pizza boy handed her the receipt which she subconsciously dropped into her purse as she was led to her cabin by a steward.

**

The Entertainment Manager, Albert had a habit of having a drink or two at the ship's bar before he had his lunch. As he was about to walk in, he stopped as if he had seen a ghost. On a stool, at the far end of bar, was a person he recognised. He was not sure whether it was appropriate to approach her. He decided to be cautious.

**

The live music started just after sunset, and she struggled to see the stage. The blinding lights prevented her from seeing anything clearly. Albert too could not see the audience clearly, but hoped that she was in the audience. The band played several popular and classic songs. Some of these she recognised, as Herbert used to play them. 

After around ten songs, she heard the singer announce, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I hear that we have an Indian aboard this boat today.  I am told that she has been kind enough to pay for my food. I am grateful to her generosity. In return, I would like to play a couple of Indian songs for her. My only regret is that, as my other friends in the orchestra are not be familiar with these songs, I shall be playing it alone."

He announced, "The first one is a song in my mother tongue Konkani called GoDDacho Pão1."

Margarita had heard this one before. At Herbert's.

Al came back on the mike after the song and announced, "And now, a Hindi song that's close to my heart. Friends, please bear with me if you are not familiar with it. I shall sing a popular Elvis number after it."

Before he started playing, there was a little faux-pas, as the words of the steward who delivered his drink to him came over the sound system, "Here's your fifth Margarita, sir. The last one for today."

As the first few notes of "Pal pal dil ke paas tum rehti ho"2 came over the system, Margarita had an odd feeling. This was Herbert's favourite too.

She clapped heartily at the end of the song, for it had evoked dormant feelings in her. Al announced that he was now going to play the last song for the night, Marguerita3 . He added that he sought the audience's attention to an extra stanza that he had added near the end. Several stewards gathered behind him to assist him in the opening chorus as he started playing.

As she heard him say Marguerita, the way he pronounced it awakened some memories. She suddenly remembered that Herbert had been her name for him. He was earlier called Bert by his friends. After getting to know her, they had started calling him her-Bert, and she had happily adopted the nickname. She had used Herbert so often that she had relegated his real name Albert to a distant part of her memory.

She recalled him saying, in another world, long ago, "I drink, eat, sing and dream Margarita". With a strange premonition she dipped her hand into her purse and pulled out the pizza receipt. The receipt showed a charge for one pizza – a Margherita, as her intuition had told her. Her mind in a whirl, she fell into deep thought.

When she came out of her ruminations, the song was still going on. Al was singing the additional verse:

Once she and I had a difference,

Somehow we drifted apart,

But still, I feel, both of us,

Should have tried to make a new start.  

Margueritaaaa-aaa-aaa-aa-aa ....

As she heard this, and the song started ending with a crescendo, a tear rolled down her cheek ...

  

The ship's horn tooted announcing that they had arrived at Réunion.

***

1. Sweet bread, in Konkani. Video of this song from the movie  Amche Noxib can be seen here.
2. Video of this song from the movie Blackmail can be seen here.

3. Gentlemen are welcome to sing this song using their sweetheart's name. It works specially well if her name ends in the letters "ita". Try it, guys. Ladies whose names end in "ita", may imagine their names in the song too. Try it, gals.  If her name does not end in "ita", try substituting a generic Señorita. It should work well too, though not as customised. Video of this song from the movie  Fun in Acapulco can be seen here.


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