Friday, October 20, 2006
Starting of a journey part 2
‘Can I come in?’
I have just returned from the Bathroom. Our old fashioned house has only one bathroom at the far corner of the house, hid behind a few betel nut trees. Fortunately by the time I get up, which is never before 9 a.m., most the inmates have either left the house or completed their morning activities. Hence I was a little surprised with the female voice.
This is my sister-in-law. What is she doing here? I looked up the wall clock. It is 9-35. By now she was supposed to be in an avatar pose trying to keep herself on her feet in a madly crowded local train. Anybody has any doubt what is an avatar pose. Well let me explain, if you are a male you are in a ‘Kartika Avatar’ (Murugan for Tamilians) neatly dressed smelling the ponds dreamflower before you try to enter a crowded local train. Once inside, you are ‘Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’ with both your hands stretched up as if singing Hare Rama Hare Krishna. And by the time you come out you are either ‘Trailanga Maharaj’ or ‘Tandava Shiva’, bereft of your clothes, don’t believe? Well at least disheveled, smelling all of sweat, bullying each and everyone around you. About female commuters I think we can figure out some other deities.
‘Dipu, can I come in?’ – the voice is bit shrill now.
I got back to my senses. Looked around a bit of the room. O.k. almost presentable for a bachelor.
‘The door is wide open’ I remarked.
Here she enters. ‘What a lazy guy you are! Sleeping till noon! Do you recollect me? Tomar Boudi (your sister-in-law)’ without any hesitation she occupied the only chair of the room. ‘Boso, Boso’ – sit down, she commanded, her eyes roaming around the room. I did not have any other choice except sitting down on the corner of the bed facing her.
‘How come you are at home?’ I asked.
‘What to do? When you have the laziest person as your brother-in-law you do not have much choice. Do you know when we met last? By the time I leave for college, you are sleeping. And God knows when you come back. It is really difficult to meet you.’
I had nothing to answer. She is absolutely right. I do get up late and by the time I come back home, all the other occupants are in deep sleep. But the question is why she needs to meet me? Our lives are wide apart. My parents and siblings have already counted me negative in the balance sheet. No one really bothers. Only sign of my existence for them is the food left for me in my room at night, which I dutifully finish off, whatever time I may come home. In my father’s word; I have made this a place Serai Khana, just a place to eat and sleep.
‘Do say something. Why are keeping mum? It’s so creepy!’
I smiled.
‘That’s better. Glad to know that you can smile also.’
‘Well you have not lost your class for my smile. What’s the matter?’ I asked.
‘I need your help.’
Obviously, otherwise why one should bother! I thought. But openly only asked, ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Well, do you remember? We got married one month back.’
Things are becoming more confusing. Why her completing one month of marital bliss should be my concern? Suspicion really creeping in my mind.
“Don’t look like that. I have not come to ask you for a gift. I only wanted to give a treat.’
What the hell is happening? Am I awake? Or dreaming.
‘No you are not dreaming’. She pinched me. ‘You see’.
‘Ooh, Do you really want me to believe that you want to give me a treat to celebrate your completion of one month’s of marital bliss?’
‘No, exactly not so. Actually I also owe you a treat. You remember how you saved me last time by meeting Geeta on my behalf? You were so wonderful and helpful.’
‘And again you want me to believe that you have bunked college only to invite me?’
‘You nut. Don’t be so suspicious. You are only proving that you never bother to go to university, otherwise you would have known today is college bandh. Oh no. I have miscalculated, you are very much aware today is college Bandh. It is your party who has called the Bandh.’ She looked at me accusingly.
I nodded. Yes I know. But actually I did not remember. How does one remember? So many bandhs are happening now a day. Rather it will be much easier to keep track of the no. of days the colleges are open.
‘Don’t bother. It was a small help. And anyway Geeta is a nice girl. I enjoyed her company.’ Did my face show any blush? I was suddenly feeling the piercing eyes of the young lady all over me, as if probing me.
‘As a matter of fact she also considers you a nice boy. Only if...’ she trailed off.
“Only if?’ My eyebrows formed an arch.
‘Well only if you remove your hippy cut hair, bother to shave, wear decent clothes, powder a bit..’
She trailed off sensing the growing rigid ness of my jaws.
How silly. What does she think? All bourgeois thinking! A man should be known by his actions not by his attire. What does she know about the state of the country? How the poor are becoming poorer? How the political classes are exploiting the common men? How the unemployment is crippling the society. I started preparing for a long lecture.
‘Well, are you offended? You see, I understand. You do not believe in luxury of life. You want to follow your own ideals.’ She tried to assuage my bruised ego. ‘But you see, as you have your own views, so do we, however foolish they may look to you. And you know we girls are different.’
Well this is another matter. I have studied in all boys’ school; hence do not have much idea about girls. And it is quite natural that revolutionaries like us would be
misunderstood by many. We don’t live for ourselves. We are here to change the world.
‘Nothing doing. I have decided. Tomorrow 1 p.m. at coffee house. You are having Lunch with us. It’s an order’. By now she must have realized my weakness; not able to rude to her.
Lunch at coffee house would have been irresistible a couple of years back, when we used to spend whole day sitting there. But situation is different now. It seems tikitikis (plain cloth police) are always roaming there looking for us.
She has an uncanny sense of understanding or am I too transparent? As if she is reading my thought.
‘Don’t worry. Nobody will look at you if you are sitting with two pretty girls. No self-respected student leader will spend his valuable time gossiping with girls. On the contrary you will be able to find out if any of your cadres wasting their valuable time on the sly.’
Another thought struck me, ‘Who are the ‘us’?’
‘No, no, only you, me and Geeta.’
‘Why Geeta?’
‘That is my privilege whom I call or not. Anyway as I already explained to you, this treat is for the help you have provided by meeting Geeta and it is quite natural I shall invite her also.’
Well, Some how I did find the reasoning agreeable. I did not like to admit to myself, but I was thinking a lot about the afternoon we spent together. Sometime it seems like unbecoming of me, but I could not resist thinking about her lately. Once or twice I did think of asking Boudi (sister-in law) about her, but as described earlier, our timing never gave me the opportunity. And it would become too obvious if I would have changed my long habit just for the sake of enquiring about Geeta.
‘So be it.’
‘I knew I could count on you. Actually you are a nice guy. Only if...’ she trailed of.
I have just returned from the Bathroom. Our old fashioned house has only one bathroom at the far corner of the house, hid behind a few betel nut trees. Fortunately by the time I get up, which is never before 9 a.m., most the inmates have either left the house or completed their morning activities. Hence I was a little surprised with the female voice.
This is my sister-in-law. What is she doing here? I looked up the wall clock. It is 9-35. By now she was supposed to be in an avatar pose trying to keep herself on her feet in a madly crowded local train. Anybody has any doubt what is an avatar pose. Well let me explain, if you are a male you are in a ‘Kartika Avatar’ (Murugan for Tamilians) neatly dressed smelling the ponds dreamflower before you try to enter a crowded local train. Once inside, you are ‘Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’ with both your hands stretched up as if singing Hare Rama Hare Krishna. And by the time you come out you are either ‘Trailanga Maharaj’ or ‘Tandava Shiva’, bereft of your clothes, don’t believe? Well at least disheveled, smelling all of sweat, bullying each and everyone around you. About female commuters I think we can figure out some other deities.
‘Dipu, can I come in?’ – the voice is bit shrill now.
I got back to my senses. Looked around a bit of the room. O.k. almost presentable for a bachelor.
‘The door is wide open’ I remarked.
Here she enters. ‘What a lazy guy you are! Sleeping till noon! Do you recollect me? Tomar Boudi (your sister-in-law)’ without any hesitation she occupied the only chair of the room. ‘Boso, Boso’ – sit down, she commanded, her eyes roaming around the room. I did not have any other choice except sitting down on the corner of the bed facing her.
‘How come you are at home?’ I asked.
‘What to do? When you have the laziest person as your brother-in-law you do not have much choice. Do you know when we met last? By the time I leave for college, you are sleeping. And God knows when you come back. It is really difficult to meet you.’
I had nothing to answer. She is absolutely right. I do get up late and by the time I come back home, all the other occupants are in deep sleep. But the question is why she needs to meet me? Our lives are wide apart. My parents and siblings have already counted me negative in the balance sheet. No one really bothers. Only sign of my existence for them is the food left for me in my room at night, which I dutifully finish off, whatever time I may come home. In my father’s word; I have made this a place Serai Khana, just a place to eat and sleep.
‘Do say something. Why are keeping mum? It’s so creepy!’
I smiled.
‘That’s better. Glad to know that you can smile also.’
‘Well you have not lost your class for my smile. What’s the matter?’ I asked.
‘I need your help.’
Obviously, otherwise why one should bother! I thought. But openly only asked, ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Well, do you remember? We got married one month back.’
Things are becoming more confusing. Why her completing one month of marital bliss should be my concern? Suspicion really creeping in my mind.
“Don’t look like that. I have not come to ask you for a gift. I only wanted to give a treat.’
What the hell is happening? Am I awake? Or dreaming.
‘No you are not dreaming’. She pinched me. ‘You see’.
‘Ooh, Do you really want me to believe that you want to give me a treat to celebrate your completion of one month’s of marital bliss?’
‘No, exactly not so. Actually I also owe you a treat. You remember how you saved me last time by meeting Geeta on my behalf? You were so wonderful and helpful.’
‘And again you want me to believe that you have bunked college only to invite me?’
‘You nut. Don’t be so suspicious. You are only proving that you never bother to go to university, otherwise you would have known today is college bandh. Oh no. I have miscalculated, you are very much aware today is college Bandh. It is your party who has called the Bandh.’ She looked at me accusingly.
I nodded. Yes I know. But actually I did not remember. How does one remember? So many bandhs are happening now a day. Rather it will be much easier to keep track of the no. of days the colleges are open.
‘Don’t bother. It was a small help. And anyway Geeta is a nice girl. I enjoyed her company.’ Did my face show any blush? I was suddenly feeling the piercing eyes of the young lady all over me, as if probing me.
‘As a matter of fact she also considers you a nice boy. Only if...’ she trailed off.
“Only if?’ My eyebrows formed an arch.
‘Well only if you remove your hippy cut hair, bother to shave, wear decent clothes, powder a bit..’
She trailed off sensing the growing rigid ness of my jaws.
How silly. What does she think? All bourgeois thinking! A man should be known by his actions not by his attire. What does she know about the state of the country? How the poor are becoming poorer? How the political classes are exploiting the common men? How the unemployment is crippling the society. I started preparing for a long lecture.
‘Well, are you offended? You see, I understand. You do not believe in luxury of life. You want to follow your own ideals.’ She tried to assuage my bruised ego. ‘But you see, as you have your own views, so do we, however foolish they may look to you. And you know we girls are different.’
Well this is another matter. I have studied in all boys’ school; hence do not have much idea about girls. And it is quite natural that revolutionaries like us would be
misunderstood by many. We don’t live for ourselves. We are here to change the world.
‘Nothing doing. I have decided. Tomorrow 1 p.m. at coffee house. You are having Lunch with us. It’s an order’. By now she must have realized my weakness; not able to rude to her.
Lunch at coffee house would have been irresistible a couple of years back, when we used to spend whole day sitting there. But situation is different now. It seems tikitikis (plain cloth police) are always roaming there looking for us.
She has an uncanny sense of understanding or am I too transparent? As if she is reading my thought.
‘Don’t worry. Nobody will look at you if you are sitting with two pretty girls. No self-respected student leader will spend his valuable time gossiping with girls. On the contrary you will be able to find out if any of your cadres wasting their valuable time on the sly.’
Another thought struck me, ‘Who are the ‘us’?’
‘No, no, only you, me and Geeta.’
‘Why Geeta?’
‘That is my privilege whom I call or not. Anyway as I already explained to you, this treat is for the help you have provided by meeting Geeta and it is quite natural I shall invite her also.’
Well, Some how I did find the reasoning agreeable. I did not like to admit to myself, but I was thinking a lot about the afternoon we spent together. Sometime it seems like unbecoming of me, but I could not resist thinking about her lately. Once or twice I did think of asking Boudi (sister-in law) about her, but as described earlier, our timing never gave me the opportunity. And it would become too obvious if I would have changed my long habit just for the sake of enquiring about Geeta.
‘So be it.’
‘I knew I could count on you. Actually you are a nice guy. Only if...’ she trailed of.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]