GODBOLE APPEARS IN THE SCENE
A.K.RAMAN
“Tap……Tap……Tap”
I knocked at the door and prepared myself for the customary wait in front of my house. I have to repeat the knocking at least two to three times before my wife opens the door. This wait is compulsory irrespective of the weather conditions outside. I have stood outside hot and perspiring, numb and shivering due to cold, wet like a sack in pouring rain and sometimes under pleasant conditions. She always took her own time.
So I was taken aback when the door opened immediately after the first knock. I was totally unprepared for this and things that followed.
“Oh! I thought you would never come” She spoke loudly as if in great relief.
I entered inside the house and was shocked again as my eyes focused on the lean and thin man sitting on the sofa, totally relaxed.
“Dear! This is Godbole’s husband. Do you understand! I hope you understand. Have you understood?” My wife winked at me and continued
“You please take care of him. I am coming in a few minutes.”
My wife moved like a tempest and disappeared outside closing the door behind her. This is another difficulty with her. Whenever she utters the surname of a person, she means the female. I had faced many award situations immediately after our marriage before understanding this. When she said that Hegde said such and such thing, I used to take it for Mr.Hegde while she meant Mrs.Hegde. I used to be completely confused when Mr.Hegde denied saying that thing. The lean person sitting on the sofa is Godbole’s husband, not simple Mr.Godbole?
Even after three decades of married life, I am still finding it difficult to understand even her oral communication. Without understanding my difficulty, she would resort to communication through body language like winks, gesticulations, waving of hands, excetra. During such occasions I would have found it easier to vend my way blind folded in total darkness. Today is one such day. As it is wise not to breed over spilt milk, I braced myself for the eventuality and started to take stock of the prevailing situation. The best way to describe the man sitting on the sofa is to describe Professor Calculus of Tintin comics.
“Hello! I am Jokelekar. Glad to meet you.”
I introduced myself expecting him to do the same in return. But he just looked up and stared at me. After a few minutes of annoying silence, I volunteered,
“What can I do for you?”
“Nothing.” The reply was sudden and coarse. I was expecting that he would say the purpose of his visit. But he preferred to be silent. I cursed my wife for not telling me “how to take care of him” clearly. Deafening silence continued and I pondered over the ways to break the ice. But before I could find a way, he broke the silence.
“Why don’t you sit down?” He ordered. I obeyed promptly. Silence descended again for few long minutes. I shifted my position uneasily and wetted my lips not knowing how to proceed. Then I decided to ask for more information about him, come what may. I mustered my courage and started,
“Mr.Godbole!.........”
“Dr.Godbole! Not Mr.Godbole! Do you understand?” He snapped.
“I am sorry. Mr…..er…Dr.Godbole! May I know your field of research?” I wanted to impress upon him that I know the difference between Mr. Godbole, the doctor and Dr.Godbole the scientist. But he completely ignored me.
“If I say, you can not understand it” He crossed me again.
“Please tell me in simple words. I can certainly understand” I begged.
“Do you believe in Time machines?” He asked.
“I have read about it in stories.”
“I want a direct answer. Do you believe or not?”
“Well ….er….er…..nobody has built it so far.”
“Yes or no?”
“Well! I am yet to come across…………..”
“Is it possible to go back on time and what happened yesterday?”
“Sir! I have not heard of anybody going back on time” I evaded again completely confused what to do with such a man.
“Is it possible or not? Yes or no?” His voice was harsher.
I decided to come out clean.
“Frankly Sir! I don’t know.”
“What do you think? Is it possible or not?” He stressed the word ‘you’
“I told you Sir! I don’t know.” I surrendered meekly.
As if pitying on my ignorance, he said in a matter of fact tone,
“It is possible, my dear friend. It is possible.”
“Is it so?” I was really surprised.
“Yes! I will explain to you in simple way.”
“Please go ahead. I am all ears.”
“See! Assume your friend ‘A’ started from here few minutes before. He is to go to the post office by walk. Now you take your scooter and go to the post office which is about two kilometers away. Please tell me who will reach there first?”
“I will reach there first Sir”
“Exactly. If you wait in the post office, you can meet your friend after sometime. Isn’t it?”
“Yes Sir! Of course I can.” I replied not knowing what the post office had to do with the Time machine.
“Do you know how do you see things?”
“I see with my eyes Sir!” I replied like a KG class student, slightly confused.
“That is not the point, you fool. I will tell you how you see me. My body reflects the light fallen on it. When the reflected light reaches your eyes you see me.”
Yes. Yes. I know it too Sir!” I replied duly enlightened.
“Suppose yesterday I killed a person. You could have seen me killing him when the light from the scene reaches your eyes”
“Yes Sir!”
“The light from the scene of killing travels in all directions at a speed of 186000 miles per second.”
“Yes Sir!”
“You can see the act of killing at a place 186000 miles away only after a lapse of one second. Isn’t it?”
“Yes Sir! You are absolutely correct. Only your eyes should be sharp enough to feel it.”
“You are really bright. Suppose you start from the scene of killing at twice the speed of light you will reach that place before the light from the scene of killing reaches there. Isn’t it?
“Exactly Sir! I will reach half a second before the light reaches that place”
“If you wait for half a second there you can see the act of killing one second after it happened. Isn’t it? Provided that your eyes are sensitive enough of course”
“Of course Sir!”
“Now tell me the distance traveled by light in two days.”
The question foxed me for sometime. Then I replied,
“It will travel 186000X60X60X48 miles”
“We call that distance as two light days” The tone was very kind.
“Yes Sir! Come to think of it. I also know that”
“You are very intelligent” He commented.
“Oh! Thank you Sir! But I am nothing in front of you” I replied in a modest tone.
“Suppose you travel at a speed of two light days per hour and wait there, you will be able to see the act of killing 47 hours after the occurrence the murder. Of course your eyes should be sensitive enough or you have gadgets which can make that light strong enough for normal eyes can see that.”
“But Sir!.........”
“What ‘but’?” His voice showed irritation.
“But Sir! Light from all over the place will reach there. How will you differentiate the light from the scene of killing from light other scenes?”
“You are brighter than I expected you to be. Tuners and filters can be designed. Leave that to experts like me”
Encouraged by his appreciation, I asked another question.
“For making it possible you have to travel faster than light.”
“Yes! Of course. I told you so”
“But as per Einstein’s theory of relativity, you can not exceed the speed of light.” I thought that I have cornered him this time. As if he had read my mind he snapped,
“You believe Einstein more that your own people, you fool”
I was completely shaken this time.
“Do you mean our(?) People have exceeded the speed of light?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.”
“But Sir! I have not heard of such thing” I murmured meekly.
“I will clarify. Then you will agree”
“Please go ahead Sir.”
“Earlier I told you that light from me should reach your eyes for you to see me. Isn’t it?”
“Yes Sir!”
“Now I am standing in front of you and talking t you. You are seeing me because light from me reaches you”
“Yes Sir”
“If I move away from you faster than the speed of light, will it be possible for you to see me?”
“NO Sir!”
“That means I have suddenly disappeared. Isn’t it?”
“Yes Sir”
“After sometime, if I return back and stand in front of you, you will be able to see me again. Isn’t it?”
“Yes Sir! But again………”
“Don’t interrupt. Have you not heard of our ancient Rishis appear and disappear at will. Not only they were able to move faster than light but also they had clear knowledge of the whole universe. They were visiting planets inside and outside of our solar system.”
“Do you mean to say that you know how to travel faster than light?”
“No. But I am working on it. I am trying to develop tuners and filters of light so that I can get exactly light from a scene which happened long time before.”
“How far have you progressed? Can I be of any help? Please tell me. I would be glad to oblige.” I volunteered with lot of respect and humbleness.
“Thank you. But the main constraint is time. People just don’t allow me to work on them………” He continued to say something. But I was detracted by the sudden appearance of my wife. She along with four stout men and another person looking like a doctor burst opened the door and entered. On seeing them Dr.Godbole’s expression changed. Fear gripped him and he jumped up and tried to escape. But the stout men caught hold of him and held him tightly. The Doctor pushed a syringe in his body not yielding to his loud protest. Within minutes his eyes lost its focus and a mist formed in his eyes. He slowly dropped and went to sleep. Then they carried him away.
I stood like a statue awestruck. My wife closed the door and turned towards me.
“Why are you looking so sad, my dear? Godbole’s husband is slightly mad. He thinks himself to be a genius scientist and utters nonsense. Thank you very much for ‘taking care of him’ till I brought help. Poor Godbole! She had to put up with all the difficulties. She was very much worried that he might have run away from our house before the arrival of the doctor. But I assured her that I had hinted you sufficiently (!!!!!?????) and you have understood. Did he give you lot of trouble?” She went on talking rapidly.
“No darling. He was perfectly OK. In fact he was talking sense. His presentation was superb. Even a child can understand his theory the way he presented it. It is only the question of developing tuners, filters and amplifiers of light. He has to reinvent the technology used by our Rishis to travel faster than light. It is so simple…………”
“Oh dear! What happened? Are you alright? Oh God! Save us.” My wife looked really worried. Before she could call the doctor back, I took large strides towards her, put my hand around her waist, pulled her closer and whispered in her ears in a romantic voice,
“Darling! Nothing has happened. I was just telling in a nutshell what Dr…er…Mr.Godbole was telling me in your absence.”
“Oh! I was really sorry. I can understand how much you had to put up with.”
As usual, even though I was telling her the truth, she misunderstood me. Feeling happy that she had helped Godbole to catch her husband, she flowed inside the house like a butterfly. But please tell me your opinion. DID SHE HELP MRS.GODBOLE OR SUPPRESSED AND MIFFLED A GENIUS.
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