“Have you downloaded the latest Space Angry Birds?” Jaideep
asked me a few days ago. True to my reaction to everything related to games, I
ended that particular conversation by replying, “Nope. I don’t like video
games.” In hindsight, I believe that that was the precise moment when a gaming
enthusiast God/superpower decided that He would ensure that I would never
answer that question with so much indifference ever again.
If you ask me today, I believe in video games. In fact my
mom’s battle against cancer is akin to a video game. Each level is difficult
and full of dangers that we had never imagined or were ever prepared for. Once we
cross a level, it seems it was not too difficult. As in a video game, the Maker
of this game ensures that the next level is more difficult and the challenges
are different. He leaves no room for mundane in the battles that need to be
fought.
During the first level of the battle, I had it easy. I can
say that it was easy now because, I had family in full attendance in Jaipur. Mama
and mami were there to take the important decisions. Sign the documents that
said we understood the risk to the life of my mother. They, my elders, were
there to provide transportation, food and shelter at every step of the game. Most
importantly, mami was there to ensure that my player, my mom’s, mood or morale
never dipped.
Then the Game Maker decided to give me some resting time, little
too short if you ask me, where I breathed and took in the scenery and before I knew
it I got involved in the mundane. Decorating my room, trying to find a husband
(still unsuccessful), putting everything I had into work and arguing over small
things with my mom kept be busy.
Then, very rudely, I was shaken up and even before I could open
my eyes and ready myself for the challenges ahead I was in the thick of things
trying to figure out the switches that will help me cross this level of the
game. This time, though mama and mami are still just a phone call away, they
are in a different city. I’m a year older and so much wiser. I need to take
decisions and sometimes put my foot down. Thankfully, in my own eyes and in my
expert opinion, I’m really good at the game. Though shocked at first (every
bloody time), my player and I do handle stress very differently from most of
the people around us. After a stressed visit to the surgeon’s office at 9 am,
even before most roadside hotels start serving breakfast, where he gives us not
the best of news, we decide to head for an Akshay Kumar film. We laugh our
hearts out. We have a lunch which roughly comprises bhel puri, sev puri, 2
glasses of cold coffee, a chocolate muffin and a black forest pastry.
This video game, CANCER, is a tough one to crack but my
player (who is not just my mother but also my teacher) has a wicked sense of
humour that she transfers to me and sometimes I return the favour. The result
of this exchange is a very confused group of co-passengers aboard the Ajmer-Delhi
Shatabdi Express. They are confused because they see two women, a 55 year old
and a 29 year old, crying and then laughing loudly through their tears, talking
about cancer, surgery, PET CT scans, blood tests, etc. on phone and then
animatedly discussing with each other how good a person SRK is, how Akshay redeemed
himself (in their eyes), and how Aamir Khan will never be able to amount to any
good (at least in their eyes).
This game, like any other popular games available in the
market, comes with its share of cheat codes. About this I’m sure. The cheat
codes are in the form of prayers, thoughts, positive vibes that I get from my family,
friends, colleagues, well wishers, readers of my blogs, twitterati, relatives
of people who know me, people who don’t know me, etc. I strongly believe that
these cheat codes help me win.
So, here I’m again asking you to pray for my mother and her
recovery, strength for Akshat (my lil brother) and me. Help me cheat so that we can win this level of the battle as well.
Thank you!
