Queer Friend

Queer Friend


He entered the room as if we were invisible to him, rested his bag on the table with a thud and his eyes looking for something of value. But we knew that what he was looking for, was for us to break the ice. I introduced myself and waited for his response. On getting none, I asked for his name.

“Balbir Singh,” he answered in a hesitating tone.

He had very sharp features, long height, intimidating long beard, but all of his features seemed to hold no sway for him due to his peculiar countryside clothing. I congratulated him for getting the job and he bothered not to reply. I found that my new colleague has now started to feel uneasy in our room. My lady colleague had just married and was too ecstatic to attach any importance to this new person in our professional life.

The more I became acquainted with him the more I found him queer. His behaviour and talk seemed to me abnormal. He loved to sit in one corner of the room ignoring our presence for hours. It seemed that he loved to remain aloof. One day when I reached school, I found him waiting for me anxiously, as he wanted to talk about something serious. His want to talk came as a surprise to me.

He told me that his only son has been kidnapped from his village in Punjab by terrorists. I was appalled, not at the kidnapping but at this queer person’s behaviour. He was so calm as if someone else’s son has been kidnapped.

Why is this queer person sitting here? Doesn’t he want his son to live? Doesn’t he love his son? All of these questions started to race in my mind.

Balbir started to laugh on seeing all of the sudden rush and change of emotions on my face. I was more deeply concerned about the mental health of this person. I was unable to speak a single word to him. He, on seeing me, so tensed, ceased to laugh and intently looked at me with his big piercing eyes and said, “April fool, April fool.” Only then I realised that today is 1st April and this person is mentally normal. And this realisation helped me to burst into laughter with this queer Balbir Singh.

But I was still shocked at the behaviour of Balbir as I was unable to decide upon his sanity and insanity. Then from that day on we became friends.

We started to roam the city on daily basis with, of course, me being the guide to him. I enjoyed his company and I think he enjoyed mine too, though I am sceptical about it. I loved his company and especially his thoughts on God, supernatural happenings and philosophical look towards life. The more we hanged out the more our friendship grew in depth. Still he never shared his family life with me. I only knew that he is married and has a five-year-old son except that he never bothered to mention and I never asked. In this way, one whole year elapsed and the summer vacations arrived.

Balbir went to his village and whenever I called his phone sounded switched off. He did not call me even once during the whole one-month long vacations. After summer vacations, I reached school looking forward to meet my friend Balbir and worried about his well-being. Then I got the biggest shock of my life from my Lady colleague that Balbir has resigned during the vacations and has joined in his hometown in Punjab in a Government School. I just could not stop my laugh on thinking of Balbir and his queer ways though I may have looked like getting an impression of Balbir’s insanity. He even did not bother to intimate me that he was leaving this job though he had my mobile number and knew my house address. Till date, four years have elapsed and Balbir has never bothered to call or pay a visit though my mobile number and house address remains the same.

My face still gets a smile on thinking about Balbir’s strangeness.