Altercation between two men led to a commotion when both men began physically assaulting each other. Some of the passengers were injured as a result of the incident. The police have arrested the two men and ….’
‘This what the society is leading to, intolerance and violence,’ thought Mr Johal as he ended his brief read of the news article.
Mr Johal closed the news app and checked his official mails. He checked his cup for any remaining coffee, and there was some which he drank in one go.
The main door of the apartment opened and in stepped Mrs Johal with a grocery bag containing milk and bread. She was visibly a little angered.
“What was it? Let me guess it was Mrs Lonia talking about her extravagant trip abroad,” joked Mr Johal looking at his wife’s expression.
Mrs Johal gave a sarcastic smile and spoke, “I am way past Mrs Lonia and the tales of her extravagant life. It’s the house helper.”
“Brijesh? He hasn’t come today. What did he do?” asked Mr Johal
“He said he was down with fever and thus he couldn’t come today for work and when I went to get to the dairy, I saw him going on his motorbike with maybe his friend or brother,” replied Mrs Johal
“So, he lied to you”
“… and he got caught. Let him come tomorrow he will be surprised by the words waiting for him,” said Mrs Johal in an angered tone sitting at the dining table on a chair in front of Mr Johal
“You know what Meher, take it lightly, I don’t know why people want to rely on anger to find a solution. There are always the other peaceful ways,” said Mr Johal
“You are the one to speak, the famous hockey player in the university who was known for his angry outbursts on field,” responded Mrs Johal with another sarcastic smile
Mr Johal turned around to glance at the cabinet on the far end of the room. It contained his trophies. He always got carried away with thoughts when his hockey days in university were mentioned. He didn’t become a professional player beyond that but those days were always special to him.
Mr Johal turned to his wife, “Those days are gone by years, this is not a hockey field and we are not running around with hockey sticks anymore.”
Mr Johal got up with his office bag and went to the apartment main door, his wife followed and spoke, “Listen, don’t forget to bring the mixer from the repair shop on your way back from office.”
Mr Johal nodded and headed out. The day at the office went by with moderate workload. He was a project manager in a website development company.
On his way back home, he parked his car near the repair shop and got the mixer from the shop. He sat in his car, started it and then put the car in reverse gear. He looked into the rear-view mirror and there was no other vehicle at the back, a car was approaching from far left but it was still far away so Mr Johal slowly backed his car and then suddenly he felt a jerk.
Mr Johal was startled by the sudden appearance of the front of a blue car.
‘But how? I did not see this car coming. Well, it is a minor bump. Nothing of concern,’ thought Mr Johal
However, the driver of the car got down to look at where the cars had come in contact and then tried to look at Mr Johal. Mr Johal got out of the car and walked over to the man.
“Hey, I am sorry. I didn’t see you coming,” said Mr Johal in a genuinely apologetic tone
The man looked at him in anger, “I had also parked my car but I didn’t bump it into anyone else.”
“You just backed your car and drove here suddenly. That is why I couldn’t see you all of a sudden,” Mr Johal explained
“Are you saying I am at fault?” asked the man in a tone more tense than before
“I mean you should have seen the reverse lights of my car,” said Mr Johal a little serious now
“You don’t know how to drive and it is my fault? Now pay for the damage and we will go our ways,” said the man
“Damage? What damage? It was a little bump,” Mr Johal looked down and there was no damage on his car bumper, but the bumper of the other car was not in a good condition.
‘This bumper has been damaged before and it needs replacement, this man is trying to put the cost on me,’ thought Mr Johal
“This did not happen as a result of this bump,” Mr Johal told the man
“You mean to say I am lying? You have to pay for the damage,” spoke the man in a tone which had started to turn violent
Mr Johal could feel his own anger rising. The man was about his own age. Mr Johal stayed quiet and started walking back to the driving seat of his car and that is when he felt a hand on his shoulder which violently pushed him back.
“What is your problem? You are clearly trying to get me to pay for the replacement of your bumper which did not damage due to this minor bump” Mr Johal spoke in a subdued angry tone
“So, you are not going to pay for it?” asked the man in a threatening voice
“No, I am not” replied Mr Johal letting his anger loosen a little
Mr Johal couldn’t make sense of what happened next, primarily because he was not expecting it. He felt a punch on his face and his back hit the car and then he fell down on the road. He kept his eyes closed all the while and when he opened them, he couldn’t see the road, he saw grass, grass of his university’s hockey ground.
Mr Johal got up with a boost of energy and he tackled down the man and began to repeatedly punch at him. The surprised man tried to cover his face with his arms. The owner of the repair shop came out running and so did some other shopkeepers and they separated the two men. The driver of the blue car remained in shock for a while from the outburst he experienced.
Both the men returned quietly to their homes without any further exchange of words or blows.
Mrs Johal brought an ice pack as Mr Johal rested on the sofa in the drawing room.
“You know what..” Mr Johal spoke
“What?” asked Mrs Johal
“Brijesh the housekeeper, if he comes tomorrow morning, you let him have those words you were planning on speaking to him”
Underneath the Calm Air
Early Morning Memories 
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