What does the future hold for you?

Rani, Poulami and Simone were three best friends, who had met in school in Lawrence Ooty. In 1992, in the last year of college in Bangalore, they decided to go on a holiday to Pondicherry together. On their way back from Pondicherry, they decided to stop off in Chennai for a day, before going their separate ways. They were all very excited, they had heard of a Nadi, this community of people in Chennai, who specialize in reading thumb prints. They take a thumb print, and then give the person his/her past lives and present lives, and what the future will hold. They tell you of the Karmic cycle of the soul and how the deeds done in the past, will effect what happens in the future.

The same evening they went to see the Nadi in Adiyar. He lived in a non descript house, and they were taken into a waiting area, and were told that they would be summoned one at a time.

Rani was the first to be called. She was told that in her past life, she was a big Zamindar’s wife, who was exceptionally cruel. She treated her servants really badly. Especially one servant, who looked after her. This servant was born in this life and was going to be her husband. His name would start with the alphabet R, and it would be an arranged marriage and he would also be Bengali like her.

Poulami, went next. She was told that in her previous life, she had been a temple elephant. She had been extremely hard working, and in this life her husband would be the mahout from her previous life and his name would start with K.

Simone was the last to go, and she was told that in her previous life, she had been a man, and was a very unfaithful husband. In this life she would marry a Coorg, it would be an arranged marriage. It would be a loveless marriage, she would have two kids, and when the elder son was 17, he would die of drug overdose, and the trauma of his death, would be too much for the couple and they would get divorced.

All three left the Nadi’s house very depressed. Soon they all went their separate ways.

Many years passed. All three friends met up for the 20^th anniversary of the school reunion in Ooty in 2009.

Rani was married to a French gentleman called Peirre Michels. She had met him while flying for Cathay. They were settled in HongKong and he is a pilot.

Poulami is a professer in Pune University, teaching linguistics, happily married to a man 20 years her senior. He had been her mentor in her Phd studies in college. She did not have any kids, but he did have two kids from his previous marriage.

Simone is married to a British banker, she had met him while working as an intern in Citibank. They live in Dubai, and had no plans for kids.

They all remembered that evening well, and had a good laugh about it…or may be it was for their next life?