Walking with Krishna: Based on True Life Events

By Dipal Parikh

Inspired by true life events, comes the story of a young Rutgers University student who had lost his memory after getting into a life changing car crash. His life turned upside down as he could not remember anything... from who he was, to who his parents were, where he went to college, what he studied, his friends, girlfriend, and that he once had a passion for dance. After being diagnosed with Retrograde Amnesia, Dipal was basically starting over; rediscovering his own life and other new experiences, almost like he was a child again in a 20 year olds body. No one knew if Dipal would ever regain his memory. This is Dipal's journey, in his own words, as he rediscovers himself through family and friends, his lost passion for dance, with unfortunate lessons on how society can treat those they do not understand... all with a little help from the God within and the lessons of learning how to truly let go

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9781468561159

Dipal Parikh

Dipal Parikh is a graduate from Rutgers University in Criminal Justice who currently resides in Lodi, NJ. Dipal works at the property management offices of SDK apartments in Hackensack, and also works for Arya International as a dance instructor in Bollywood fusion in areas all over NY, NJ and PA.

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CHAPTER ONE   May 20th, 2007- A Night to Remember

It was a Sunday night. Everything seemed too good to be true. I found myself in the middle of all my students who were from ages six to ten years old. They were all dressed up in their dance costumes; the costumes looked pretty bright and shiny as they were supposed to be all dressed up to be in the spotlight - it was their end of the year dance recital. We were on the stage left side line of the dance floor hall at the State Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey. This was the Paramus NJ, small group, one of the two groups I taught part-time with Arya Dance Academy.

I kneeled down and said, Guys, guys, hey hey, gather around put your hands in, come on, look, you already know this dance inside and out, now you gotta show everyone else ok, just do one thing for me and when you dance, just remember to have the biggest smile on your face and be happy, can you guys do that for me, k, Arya on three, one…two…three….ARYA!

The lights dimmed down, and the announcer said the next dance number that was about to begin. I walked onto the stage to place the kids in their proper positions, and went back to stage left looking on. The lights came back on and the music had started. As much as was already going on in my life, drama, family ordeals, college struggles, and relationships, seeing those kids dance away with the brightest costumes shimmering in the spotlight, dance relieved everything away as always. All my pain was gone instantly. I cheered and clapped on like a crazed fan from the side, they were my students, and I wanted to encourage them on.

My mom, my younger sister Ekta, mom’s best friend Chhaya and her daughter all came to see the show and saw me on stage towards the end when the teachers made a final appearance and received flowers and a plaque for teacher appreciation. When Rupal called my name, the founder and director of Arya International, I came on with a big smile on my face and thanked her, Thank you Rupal Aunty. That didn’t quite sound too appealing to her as she is young and hip, but still only several years older to me. However, it did fly with the audience as they all got a little laugh out of it. After that moment the night ended too quickly, especially for me. Mom and everyone left with her friend in their car, and I was heading home the same way I came, alone in my car, my babey.

Good bye Rupal Aunty.

Later Dipal, oooo before you go, pictures pictures. -Rupal

All right all right.

After the pictures were taken, Ravish came up to me and I guess he was just being nice and all, because we never really talked, he was a very important person in Arya Dance Academy. He was hired by Rupal from none other than film city Mumbai, India, or Bombay as the Gauras call it. He’s the bollywood choreographer who basically trains the senior dancers and is one hell of an amazing dancer himself.

Dipal man, stay back. –Ravish

Nah Dude, this is your night, have fun with your Yeh Raat crew. (The senior troupe Hindi song)

We were shaking and holding each other’s hands at this point when he told me…

Dipal, me and you, we will do a dance, me and you, take care man. –Ravish

Yeah…sure, that’s cool, you take care too, bye.

I didn’t know what to make of that, and thought Righhhtttttttt back to reality; I need to get my butt home before mom starts yelling and getting mad at why I’m out so late especially now that I was home on the weekends. Man, living under her roof is like lock down, you got to always tell her who your with, where you’re going, does she know them, do you have any money, when will you be back, and pick up your damn phone whenever she calls, even if it’s in the middle of a dance recital and she’s right there in the second row watching on. Ugh… Indian parents, chill back.

Surprisingly, there weren’t that many police officers on the roads and highways on my way back home from New Brunswick. But still, I lived an hour and half away. I couldn’t risk it; I could still hear my father’s voices in my head…. Go slow betta, dhere ja. It’s like Dad, chill back, I got this, I aint no rookie you know. I was 19 years old, been driving for nearly two years now, when I sped, I speeded, it was Jersey, the limit saying 65mph really meant going 80mph. For some strange reason I started to get hungry and went to the Suburban Diner before I came home, spent about a half hour there eating just mozzarella sticks. Only thing open at close to midnight was just diners, nothing else was open, I didn’t care, I needed food, and knowing mom, her fridge is filled with food, but non eatable foods, like all immigrant families. I ordered mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce, and a Pepsi to go with that. Life was amazing when you’re a vegetarian, yeah pretty much, they need more of a variety over there, it was either the sticks or a veggie garden burger, and my stomach knows it cannot handle diner garden burgers, ugh. What can I say, that’s all I wanted even though I was vegetarian.

Mr. Aliano, my 8th grade student teacher for history class was there that night with what appeared to be his family. I said hello and good bye before he and I both left. I hadn’t seen him in years, and he still remembered my face, I don’t know how, I was growing out my beard and hair, it was getting a bit too shaggy, I didn’t know why, but I liked the way I looked in it, though some people have told me otherwise… mom especially.

I left the diner around midnight and took the Century Road exit to cut the cross street Fairview avenue where my house street gets off from. The speed limit there was 35mph, and in a residential zone so I never took chances, especially when there were hardly that many people on the road on at this hour. I was nearing three to four blocks away from my house street, Haase Ave. I was going straight on the two lane street, when on the opposite side of me another car was making a right turn onto a street, and a car behind it jumped the gun and came on to my lane.

OH SHIT!

Made a quick ass sharp right turn, and hit the top curb of the street block as I was now going down the hill of the church street, literally the block before my street.

WHAT THE FUCK??

My brakes, wouldn’t budge, what the hell was up with that shit? I looked down, and from the back a packaged water bottle of Poland Spring got caught underneath my brake. This must have happened as I hit the curb as I made the hard right to avoid a head on collision with the other car, UGH, stupid woman drivers.

MOVE BITCH, MOVEEE!

The bottle wouldn’t budge at all. Ok, let me take off this stupid seatbelt, and so I did, and bent forward and down to reach the bottle. Never mind that since I am actually going downhill, I am actually picking up speed and accelerating now, to speeds nearing 50mph.

I GOTCHU YOU LITTLE PIECE OF FUCKK!!

As I was lifting the water bottle, my car hit with full force head on an island curb in the middle of the church parking lot. The steering wheel was only inches from my face as I was bent down to pick up the bottle. The last thing I remember was the rapid flush of the airbag popping out. It was so fast that it jerked my head back against the back head rest of my driver’s seat with such force. I dropped the water bottle which rolled back underneath my seat, and my head kept hitting back and forth against back seat and airbag. I was completely knocked out. I was unconscious at the scene of the car accident when the Paramus police officers and paramedics arrived. It seemed strange to them as they all were intrigued to find out the cause of the situation. They were unable to interrogate or interview me as I was still unconscious at the scene when they arrived. They put me on the stretcher and in a neck cast. The New Jersey Police Crash Investigation Report, stated in their 135 Crash Description:

{Veh #1 entered the parking lot of 234 Farview Ave. and struck a curbed median. Front airbags deployed. The driver was unresponsive, thus officers were unable to interview him. Treated at scene by EMS #1 and ALS #401 and transported to HUMC.}

Date of the crash was May 21st 2007, as it happened a half hour to an hour after midnight. During the ambulance ride to HUMC (Hackensack University Medical Center) was when I first regained my consciousness, and was that an experience. They opened up my eyelids and flashed a strong LED light close to my eyes snapping me wide awake. I could move little as I was strapped onto a stretcher and had a cast around my neck and head. The paramedics started asking questions.

Hey buddy, hey hey, look at me, can you tell me what happened? (The paramedic officer asked)

Huh, what? What’s going on? – I was clueless…

Hey hey, you tell us that, you got into a car incident, what happened?

My head, oh ow, my head, my head my head my head!

Dude, did you strap on the brace to tight I think? – EMS Officer 1 said to the other

I thought it was alright, lemme recheck it. – EMS Officer 2

Hey listen, are you ok? Do we need to take you to the hospital? – EMS1

Hospital? Where am I now?

Call HUMC, make sure their expecting another one tonight, hey can you tell me your name?- EMS1

Name? My name? No, I don’t know name

This kid better not be pulling something from House MD on me –EMS1

Dude, I think he hit his head rather hard then we thought, check for swells or bruises – EMS2

There’s nothing –EMS1

We gotta get him in, it could be internal. –EMS2

Ow my head, my head.

Alright, strap him down, hey can you tell me what year it is? – EMS1

His license is 1987 issued, makes him what 19 right now. – EMS2

Yeah, kids can’t drive these days, can they not see a freaking curb before they hit into it, such a waste of time man. – EMS1

1987?

K, he’s a bit messed up, we’re taking him in. –EMS2

I had no idea what happened. I didn’t know where I was… hell? I didn’t know who I was or what I even looked like. Was I that messed up to be in a stretcher strapped in? Was I really involved in a car accident? What was name? Did I have a name? What was year? What was year 1987? Why was this thing I was strapped into moving? Why do I hear such strange noises that sound so irritating? So many questions had kept on coming from all different angles into my mind. My head was pounding, like someone was drilling an iron into it. From hindsight I know that it was the sirens creating the noises, it was really the year 2007, and my name was, is and will be Dipal… or so they told me at that time.

CHAPTER TWO     At the Hospital

I never knew I would be wearing a hospital gown until I actually had to. I didn’t know where to even put my hands through or my legs but I did anyway with help from my roaming eyes looking at other patients in the E.R. room. I was already transferred to this bed with all these little things attached to it and poles sticking out and these long drape things hanging over, which were really known as curtains. I didn’t know where I was, some type of place where they treat people like me I guessed. Were they all clueless there too? I thought. They had already taken the neck brace off me gently as it didn’t bother me that much without it on anymore. My head was still throbbing from the inside, this time smaller shots of pain coming ever so often but not killer as a half hour before. The lady, also known as a nurse came to me as so many people were going this way and that way and I couldn’t concentrate on any one thing because it was so busy, apparently.

So how are you? I’m just going to check on a few things, k? Give me your hand.

My hand?

She held her’s out to get mine so I did just the same.

Oh, yes hand.

Now give me a squeeze

Squeeze?

She gently squeezed her hand and I responded back just the same.

Hmmm, let me just check a few more things, just put your head back and relax for me, and

keep your eyes open for me ok?

Yeah sure…

She checked on my heart rate and pulse, and wrote down other things on her sheet pad as she did something with her face, it was a smile, and said,

The doctor will be here shortly, mm k?

Doc door? Ok

She left from the side of the curtains as a man with a black coat and a black hat came up from behind her. He had hair underneath his nose and had these eye thingers on. It was a mustache and glasses Dipal…jeez.

Dipal beta, kevu che? –Dad (Dipal son, how are you?)

Huh? I don’t know…. You…? (Giving an utterly confused expression)

It was my father; I did not even recognize him. My father was talking in our native tongue of Gujarati, and asked how I was. I did not know what language or what dialect or what on earth he was saying, it sounded like gibberish coming from his mouth or to me it was.

Dipal…it’s me, tha ne kevu che? –Dad (…How Are You?)

Who are you?

The nurse intervenes and basically explains to him what the situation was. Another lady, behind the nurse, shorter, a little more rounder with the same glass thinger on her face but had much shorter hair came up to me along the bedside. It was my mother, also wearing glasses, and has a boy cut, as it’s apparently the new look on women her age.

Dipal? Mommy chu beta, how are you? -Mom

Huh? I really don’t know you...I’m…I’m…sorry.

Don’t be sorry, I’ll see you a little later. –Mom said last before she closed the curtains and started this hugging touching thing with the other man who was inside previously before her, and the nurse tried to calm them down and explain the situation. My mom was crying, and my dad was trying to comfort her, sucks knowing that your son has failed to recognize you, ouch, that would hurt any mother I’d bet.

I sat there, and didn’t see those two people again, for a while, and after 15 minutes or so the same nurse came in along with another person, I knew who it was. It was the doc door. The doc door looked at me and talked to the nurse saying things that I could not clearly make out. They decided to take me to another corridor for something called X-Rays and internal X-Rays, mostly concentrating on the area where I told them was hurting me…my head. The services were long and tedious, but as described and done to me that early, early morning of the 21st of May were IV insertions, oxygen set up, CT head/brain without dye, two chest views PA & L, cervical sp, min four vie, pelvis-AP only, a single drug screen, urinalysis auto without mic, initial evaluation, intermediate service and ketorolac tromethamin. The attending physician at the time was a lady, Kathleen O’Hara, MD.

Everything seemed to check out fine, and it disturbed some of the doc doors and nurses a little to figure out a specific diagnosis for me, whatever diagnosis meant. They shifted me again to some other wing across the ER side where the Psycho doc doors work. This man came to me as I waited in an empty room isolating me from the other patients in the busy emergency room. He was tall, seemed old and had no hair like my supposed father had, but not by that much. He didn’t have the glass thingers on and he asked me questions.

Deepaul, how are you, so what seems to be the reason for you to be here?

Huh? I don’t know, they brought me here.

Who brought you here?

The people in the too roo roo sounding box thing.

What? Deepaul were you being followed? Did you have plans to commit suicide tonight?

What? Soo side? Comet? Huh?

Hmmm, I’ll just be a minute, outside with your father.

I had no idea what was going on, these questions seemed harder than the ones before, not as easy as what was your name and all, but soo side? Who is soo? And which side was he talking about? Man oh man, that was irritating my head a little, but the two men, one of them this psycho doc door and the other my apparent father were conversating outside, where my father kept nodding his head up and down like a robot machine I saw earlier as the psycho doc door talked to him, out of my ear range for me to get or hear anything at all. A little while later my father comes in and says we were going home. They put me in a wheel chair, and took me to some small facility as they gave me some socks and shoes, as I caught on that everyone was wearing them on the bottom of their bottoms. I put them on, as my dad puts his black coat thing around me. They have discharged me from the hospital. What was discharged? Discharged to what and where though? To this new place called home? What was home? Where was home? What is a home? Does this home have a name like I do?

More questions came as my father put me in a similar looking thing as was the one that brought me to the hospital. It was a car. I read the sign where it said, CARS ONLY. We sat in a car as my dad used some small jingling thing that brought the car to life. The car was alive, all the lights and buttons and sounds and stuff started flashing and ringing and beeping and this thing was strapped around me as my father put me right next to him, calling it the passenger side. This wasn’t home I guessed, it was the car.

I was utterly curious. What are these things passing us by? These big and different shapes and sizes and shades of color box things. The ones with wheels I already knew about, they were called cars, they could move around like me and my dad were right now. I didn’t know how to ask this dad of mine questions, I was afraid they or my questions might come out wrong, but that didn’t stop my questions from bugging me inside my already throbbing but not so much head. We stopped the car in this black paved spot where this big and wide box thing stood standing still in front of us. Why were we here? What was this?

Dipal…this is our home beta. –Dad

Home? This is home? This is my…home?

Dad stepped out rather quickly and came to my side of the door to open it for me and I stepped out using the handle or top of the door for support and balance. I was looking at this home as if I had never been here before, it was true, I hadn’t been here for a while…or so I felt and thought. Some little lady opened the entrance door and was waiting. This didn’t look like the other short lady with the boy cut and glass thingers on just like my dad.

That’s not mom is it?

No, she’s at work, she’ll be home soon too, that is your sister…Ekta.

Sister? Ektha? Oh, k.

Come on; let’s get in before it gets too cold.

Oh, k.

Remember me? –Ekta

No, no…I’m sorry.

Ekta, he doesn’t know, dhere owse, ja pani leiy yaw, bring some water. – Dad

I thought to myself as I entered the home, why are they still talking funny. Was this the new hip language that everyone knew about but myself? Ekta had brought me a glass with some water which was also given to me at the hospital so I drank it, it felt cold going down but very good indeed.

Ahh, thanks. – I said

Ekta, show him around the house. –Dad

Oh yeah, duh. –Ekta

They both said we were already in the living room and here was the bathroom and two bedrooms on either side of it, but my room and their rooms were upstairs so they took me there first. They walked up these steps, and kept calling them stairs as I did the same to follow closely behind. They took a right as they said this was or used to be rather my bed room until I left for college and Ekta took over, and then opposite of that room was the master bed room. Why did they call it master again? But anyways, it was a bigger room and had more space and had two beds in the room, and she said the smaller one was mine.

Dipal, I think you should rest, that’s what they told me back at the hospital. –Dad

Oh yes, sure…rest?

Just lie down son, oongija beta. Just try and fall asleep, help your body relax. Ekta let him get some sleep ok?

Sleep? Ok, right.

I went on the bigger bed without hesitation and laid my head down like I did on the bed they had for me on at the hospital.

Oh Dipal, that’s not your be…d… - Ekta said and stopped midway as my dad cut her off.

Ekta, he doesn’t know it’s ok, let him just sleep, come on lets go. –Dad

They both had left me alone to rest. And rest is the exact thing I would try, they told me to do, and so did those doc doors at the hospital. I wonder why doc doors wear white pajamas? Was that the doc doory way? Hmm I don’t know, maybe it’s the hospital fashion…they got me wearing some pajama gown thingy. Maybe it’s because they don’t sleep and like wearing these pajamas to help them to get some sleep, yes yes, that has to be it. Boy was I off. Sleep didn’t come to me so easily; I was lying down in bed with my eyes wide open staring at the empty light blue color above me. It was called the ceiling. There was this little box thing on my right hand side on this small table looking thing and it showed numbers in red, 1:03 PM. Then it turned into 1:04 PM. I forced myself to sleep, closing my eyes to help me in the process. I opened my eyes and looked at the box and now it read, 1:07 PM. Hmmm this was going to be harder then I had thought. Was there a certain way to sleep, maybe I was doing it wrong. Maybe you had to face the other side, no no that didn’t make any sense. Maybe I had to use these sheet things, and in like the hospital put them over me and use them as covers, so I tried that. Still no sleep luck. So I just laid down, and my mind was going on blank, throbbing just a bit but going on empty. My eyes just stared up at the ceiling until they eventually closed on their own.

Five hours later, I heard voices both new and familiar coming from downstairs as they were getting louder until they eventually came through the door. I was already awake, just reopened my eyes. It was my mom again; I guessed she was back from this thing called work. She entered with my dad behind her.

Hello Dipal beta, how are you? –Mom

I’m all right I guess.

Do you want anything, kasu kavu che?

Huh? What ?

Are you hungry beta?

Oh…

Dhinoj ne mein amra phone karyu che (I called Dhinoj on the phone) …uhm ehne kidu ke aja raatein Dipal ne Chilton hospital ma admit karikarje. (He said to bring Dipal in at Chilton Hospital). – Dad

Amra tho ghare ayo, kale mukli su. (He just got home, we’ll send him first thing tomorrow morning.) – Mom

What is going on, why do they talk so funny like that? Do they not know I do not understand whatever it is they were saying to each other. This was not fair, are they talking secretly about something, I really wanted to know what it was.

Uhm Mom? What are ..are…are you guys saying?

Oh taro uncle je chane… -Mom

NO, no, I don’t understand that, in English please.

Oh Bhagwan, (Oh God) we are speaking our native language, Gujurati beta.

Huh? Garbage tea?

No, it’s an Indian language, because we are Indian and so are you, and it is one of the many languages from India, from the state of Gujurat, and it’s called Gujarati.

Oh, k… do I know how to speak it?

Ofcourse you do, you just don’t remember it right now, just like you don’t remember me, in time you will beta.

Oh I hope so, it sounds funny to me.

Hahaha, ok well you have a big day tomorrow, we’re taking you back to the hospital where dad’s brother is in charge and is president of the board on the clinic, he wants his people to take a look at you, so get some rest.

Yeah uhuh, sure thing.

Rest again, the red thing said 6:10 PM now. What does this PM stand for? The numbers I know move forward, like increase, but this PM still stays the same, hmmm. I’ll ask mom or dad when they come back up stairs, I need to get some rest, apparently tomorrow was going to be a big day.

CHAPTER THREE    Visitors

Not again. Didn’t we all just come back from a hospital, why go to another one? Do I have to wear another gown pajama thing again? It was around early afternoon when everyone else was ready and they gave me some fresh new clothes to put on. They said they were mine, and I guess I had no choice but to believe them. Dad took me down stairs and buckled me in to the car thing again. Mom came a few minutes after and we were now on our way to some other hospital, Chilton Memorial Hospital in Wayne, NJ.

We arrived after a half hour of car thinging there or so. Parents admitted me into their ER place, and gave a doc door’s name, the same name I heard last night, sounded like Dheen Knows. They took their time and took me into a room on the left side of a small hallway. I had to change into the gown thing again. That was the drill apparently, so I knew exactly what to do, and didn’t hesitate, as these colors were much brighter than the other hospitals colors. Parents were inside with me sitting around on opposite sides, as I was on the bed thing in the center of the room. The lights were so bright here, and there were so many robot things and seemed like half the bathroom facility with the sink and all was embedded into this small bed room place. A doc door came in and had brownish type hair all shoulder length and wavy and no glass thingers on as she introduced herself as Doc Door Massallino. She said she heard about the situation and wanted to check up on me herself. She told me to sit straight and follow her finger. She went up and down and left and right and did it a few more times. This was easy; all I had to do was follow her finger. Then she did what all the other doc doors did before, with the pulse rate and stuff I don’t know the terms of. She said she would be back and left the room ensuring my mom and dad she will be back. I lay back down as she told me to do so before she left.

I did just that and when I did, not that much time had passed and two people who had the same color skin as my mom and dad walked in. My mom and dad greeted them enthusiastically as they entered. They were two more doc doors I imagined and the Dheen Knows doc door told me to...

Stretch your memory Dipal. – Dheen Knows

Huh, yeah I’m trying, I think.

You have to stretch your memory son. Just stretch it.

Stretch it, stretch it, stretch it, okay.

Dipal, do you remember me? We had a talk before your accident, you called me? – Mina

No, I’m sorry, I don’t…

Oh don’t be sorry, nothing to be sorry for, but stretch your memory, we talked about a lot of things with me if you can remember…

Hmmm, I don’t know

Meanwhile Doc door Massallino came in and took the other doc doors out and started conversing with them as she came back in to see me, and ran a few more quick tests and left. Dheen Knows came in and told my mom that they were going to keep me the whole day and possibly the night to run scans, and tests, starting with the brain for an MRI. Whatever that meant. Doc Door Mina came by my head side where I was laying down and started to feel my head, which surprisingly didn’t throb anymore. She was touching it all over as if she was looking for something. To her disappointment she just frowned and questioned my mom back and forth.

Kasu chout tho chej nai, kabar nai kevi the tayu, kadaj Dhinoj, andar ase? God Knows. –Mina (Nothing seems to be bruised or swelled; I don’t know what to make of it, Dhinoj it’s probably internal right?)

Mina, I don’t know, we’ll find more answers after the tests, so let’s give it some time. –Dheen Knows

Was there something wrong with me? I didn’t know because nothing was bruised or swollen apparently so how could anything be wrong with me? Don’t people have to be hurt or bruised for something to be wrong with them? I didn’t even have a scratch on my body as far as I knew about what scratches and hurt was. I only had this throbbing in my head and even that was now gone. They wheeled me out on the stretcher to several places in the building. I was accompanied by only my father at the time but even he wasn’t allowed to come in the scan room as it said on top.

PATIENTS ONLY

Guess I was a patient, made sense, it wasn’t my dad, but