The Stained Relationship!

Sriram and Savithri were the perfect parents, the perfect neighbours and almost perfect couple. 15 years of marriage had created no dent in their relationship. Sriram was the no.1 fan of Savithri - for her character, for her personality, for her cooking, for her everything!

But that Sunday evening changed things permanently.

Sriram came home from his usual temple stroll on a pleasant Sunday evening. He had the habit of taking a walk around the nearby temples every Sunday afternoon, paint his forehead with multi-layer multi-colour prasadams, before returning home.....Until that day.

He should not have worn the white shirt that day. He returned home as usual with Savithri opening the door and eagerly awaiting the flowers and kumkum from the devi temple. He did not disappoint and did offer her the flowers. But that day was different. That reddish orange stain on his white shirt caught her eye. She asked what it was and Sriram started stammering. The smell of that strain was also a dead giveaway. For the first time silence filled the room for the couple who were known to be the chatty bunch in their apartment complex.

Savithri was heartbroken. Out of all the shocking things that she could bear, this would top her list. This was her worst nightmare that just came true on a Sunday afternoon. She just crashed in a corner and started sobbing. Sriram knew that he was caught ... Red handed. Deep down he knew that things are going to be messed up and its never going to be the same again. Savithri was never going to eagerly expect him back on Sunday evenings with a snack platter that she usually prepares on the weekend.

"How could you Sriram? I mean after all these years? I thought we were best friends and partners. Am I not good enough for you anymore that you have to go out and satisfy your needs? Is this over between us?"

"Savithri, please stop over-reacting. I know I messed up, but please do hear my side of story"

"Your side, Sriram? You really think you have your side? I mean, look at your shirt. Look at the stain. It speaks for itself. Do I need to say more? For god sakes, I had made the whole snack platter ready, awaiting your arrival. You know how long it took me?..... Forget it. I am done. We are done"

"Look Savithri, I always wanted to tell you this .. but was afraid that this will hamper our relationship. I know how much effort you put in every day to get me, what you think is best. But it just doesn't cut it for me anymore - it never had. I will come out clean. I never went to those temples. All the prasadams I gave you were from the stash I stored in my car. I had to venture out. I needed variety. There - I said it" ...

... said Sriram wiping his sambar stain that he got by spilling one of the sambar idlys from the neighbourhood Murugan Idly Shop.

8K Express - Short Story Published

A Punch and a 'Punch' Card

Was waiting outside the The Dosa Brothers on 2nd & Market on a beautiful day. The wait time was around 15 minutes. Enough time for a ginger chai. All was good. Out of nowhere, a random lady was walking towards the crowd waiting eagerly for their Dosas. She was yelling explitieves and stormed towards a lady talking on her phone and BOOM - Punches her right on her nose and vanishes in a lightening speed.  The rest of the crowd including me was busy on our phones, saving the world, so it took us about 5 seconds to know what happened. The poor lady was shaking and still in shock about what happened. One by one people started to console her and gave her a second to realize what happened. She got dozen hugs from random people all around, all of us apologized for what had happened to her and for the fact that we could not be of any help. A lady even advised her to go talk to her Doctor to make sure this incident does not haunt her in the future. The Dosa lady felt so sorry for her and gave her a free Chai and (ironically) a ‘punch' card coupon for a free Dosa worth $12 and more importantly topped it with a priceless hug and a sorry.

Made me realize that for every single crazy person out there, San Fran balances herself with a dozen kind hearted ones. Good > Crazy.

Vacation Geolocation

"Ganga, lets not get carried away by this.  We are going to India for just 3 weeks.  I have equally split the times between your house and my house.  We stay at my place for 15 days and we stay at yours for 10 days.  It sounds totally fair and lets not make this a big deal considering we have stayed in the US for gazillion years without a vacation." 

"Very funny Gowtham.  I am not staying less than 15 days at my place in Delhi.  There is no room for further negotiation on this.  I am going there after 2 years, so it better be worth it.  I have already made plans with Tina, Meena and Ranchal.  And by the way, why do you want spend more time at your place?  You are just going to sit there and watch TV for eternity.  Which is exactly what you do over here too.  Why do you even bother traveling 7000 miles for it?" 

Img Credit

"You will never get it Ganga.  It is a different feel. You have to experience to love them.  How do I explain to you? Its like having a gol gappa at an restaurant innovatively named as ‘Taj Mahal’ in Chicago vs having it by the streets at Connaught place.  It is like listening to Sunidhi Chouhan vs. Shreya Goshal.  You know what I mean?"

"Great.  I don’t remember you showing so much feeling and emotion towards me in all these years.  Keep your food analogies to yourself, and don’t try too hard referencing something from the north.  Stick to your Idly/Sambaar and Rajnikanth."

"Ok, back to our topic.  I said 15 days at my place because clearly I have a mathematical advantage over it.  8 Athais, 12 Perippas, 5 Chittis, and 3 Mamas.  Each gets a visit for 30 minutes plus we have 9 Temples to cover.  So if you do the math, we actually need 18 days.  I am being gracious in saying we need just 15 days out of 25 days of our trip."

"As if I am the single person on my entire family.  What about all my mami s family who you have successfully skipped in all our previous trips?  We also have to go to our 3rd cousin's 4th sister marriage.  I cannot miss that.  There is also Kullu Manali on my mind as well.  So be a little practical."

Img Credit

"Sorry Ganga, this is not possible.  Either we spend 15 days at ours and 10 days at yours or we are not going at all.  I am serious this time.  Forget the trip."

"I have called your bluff before and will call it again.  The answer is no.  We are staying 15 days at mine and 10 in yours.  Done.  Lets move on."

******

"No Ganga.  I said No.  Lets cancel it.  Lets cancel it.  Lets not go at all."

******

"Gowtam…Gowtam…wake up.  What are you yelling about?  Its 6AM.  Go get the milk from outside.  I have to get Prinyanka ready for school."

Goutam slowly realized that he was dreaming about how things went there back in the US. He was thinking about how things have changed as he reached outside the gate in his Mumbai flat to grab milk.  Everything has changed, except Priyanka’s half-yearly vacations were due in a month - and the same conversation about Geolocating their vacation was due - this time the fight will be three ways!

Death by Thousand Corrects

Rahul was very depressed. He would stand before the mirror every day and cry for 30 minutes.  He had every thing going for him. He was smart, had a caring family, had a well paying job, but still on top of his head, he still felt like his life lacked the color that that he had few years before. 

That day he decided that he cannot take this anymore.  He thought the world was unfair towards him. His door bell rang. There was this Amazon package with brand new set of knifes with shiny black handles along with few other items.  “Oh God, are you with me on my decision?” he cannot help but think.  He turned on his TV, and out of nowhere, there was this Guru giving a speech about how meaningless one's life would be without the colors that nature had to offer.  This was getting way too coincidental for him.  On his head, taking away all the misery and greyness in his life was the best available option he had . 

He stood in front of the mirror and talked to himself crying "Rahul, there is no way out for your depressed life.  Just die.  You cannot survive in this judging world which sees things simply as black and white.  People die everyday, they are not cowards.  They are just being practical and they teach the world a lesson for being mean.  Just die Rahul.  This is it. Just die"

He took the Amazon box he picked up minutes before.  There it was waiting for him to take them on his hands and cut it open.  He opened the brand new box of Godrej Nature Care hair dye that his wife ordered for him along with the knife set. Greyness was about to become a thing of the past on his life.

Did I say die? Stupid Autocorrect!

Seat Reservations!

Today during my train commute, I had a lady come sit beside me and she was immediately uncomfortable. She looked around and switched to another seat in the same car.  I didn't care.

Next a dude came in and sat for 2 seconds and started looking out for other available seats.  He made the walk to next train car to find a spot.

This happened again and same reaction from that lady as well.  I was very upset. I started sniffing my clothes in desperation.  Nothing. I could not get why people will just walk away after sitting beside me for 2 seconds.  It made me upset, sad and to some extent neglected - even though we are talking about total strangers. I almost wanted to stop them and ask what the hell is wrong with this seat or me!

I wanted some answers.  I looked back. There was a homeless man sitting beside me (he must have sat there after I boarded).  He had 8 layers of clothing on him and from the looks of it he would not have showered for a week minimum.

He gave me a look and had a grin on his face, as if telling me that "dude..now you feel what I have to go through every day, on top of not having no money, food or place to shower?".  I could not stand the 2 minutes of neglect from total strangers.  I realized he goes through that as a daily job.

I quietly switched my seat and sat beside him.  I also thanked god for taking away all my smell sensors cause I could not smell a thing, even as the new person who occupied my old seat could retain his seat for just 1 minute!

PS-  I'm hoping the homeless dude is not writing the same post about me. You know, it could still be me. I'm very confused. 

Are you here today?

Wake up early in a Sat morning, get ready, get the kid ready, wait for the wife to get ready, wait some more for the wife to get ready, fill up the tank and drive 40 mins to attend a friends kid birthday. Find you are the first one at the venue.

Call the friend to inform you have arrived, and that's when he says

"Dude...you are here today? The birthday is Tomorrow".

‪#‎Megafacepalm‬. ‪#‎Truestory‬

Quality Family Time!

Kids had some quality family time over the weekend.

2 year old daughter was watching baby rhymes on her shiny 1+1
3 year old niece was streaming Disney on his Samsung S 3
6 year old nephew was busy with angry birds on his iPhone 6
9 year old son was fruit ninja’ing on his Nexus 9

Kids love being with family over the holidays!

P(rarthana) K(aro) !

Conversations caught between the director and his assistants brainstorming through a popular movie.

Scene 1 - 

Assnt: Sir, how about a scene where PK meets a man dressed as lord Shiva in a class room and asks for his remote back?

Dir: Great.  But its less funny.  Make that a Toilet.  

Assnt: Oooh, Shiva in a Toilet is hilarious.  Audience will die laughing, especially the kids.  The next time they  go to a temple, they will remember him through our movie!  I can see the kids go, ‘papa, ye Toilet wala Shiv ji haina, jo hum PK me dekhe the?’  and they will want the DVD to laugh at it again.  Moooar DVD sales. Yeah!

Dir: Awesome, control your excitement.  So back to the screenplay, should we have the man dressed as Shiva run around the city and haplessly? 

Assnt:  Sure.  lets do it.  So he ends up in the evil baba’s meeting.  He hides under the chairs to save himself from PK.

Dir: Lets have close up shots of his bum while he is crawling on his legs through the crowd.

Assnt:  I can see the audience laughing their asses off.  Should we have the crowd chant something during this scene?

Dir: Wait for it…bum bum bole! 

Assnt:  Sir, you are a genious!

                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scene 2 - 

Assnt:  Sir, I am tired of shooting in India.  Lets go outside for a scene and a song.

Dir: But there is no need for the script to travel outside India.  Forget it, Which country do you want to travel to? 

Assnt: Belgium!

Dir: Done.  Lets go. Even I need a vacation.

Assnt: Sir in Belgium, lets have our ‘crazy lips’ fall in love with another Indian guy.

Dir: India guy?  Don’t be so 1990s.  We will make her fall in love with a guy from Pakistan.

Assnt: But why sir?  What point are we trying to make here?

Dir:  We are not trying to make a point here, but trying to make money here and in our neighboring countries too.

Assnt: Brilliant move sir.  We will make him the only good charecter in the film. All others will have shades of idiocy or evilness in them.

Dir: Absolutely.  And I have also thought about a scene where ‘crazy lips’ calls Pakistan embassy and the whole embassy helps out in bringing the two lovers together.

Assnt: Will this work sir?  Because this seems a little far fetched!

Dir: Trust me on this.  This will bring tears to peoples eyes.  And besides, we will make Aamir and the rest of the cast cry in that scene, just to prompt the audience.

Assnt:  I am learning so much on the art of making cinema from you, Sir.  Hats off!

                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scene 3 - 

Dir: Write down this scene - Aamir sticks posters on walls saying ‘Lost’ with pictures of ALL religions, as he is searching for god.

Assnt: Amazing sir.  So which pictures of God should we get the production boys to design sir?

Dir: Ganesh, Lakshimi, Shiva, Karthikeya and Hanuman.

Assnt: You read my mind sir.  This way, we will remain fair and unbiased while we make this masterpiece. 

Dir: Have you proof read the scenes where the hero performs a puja in a church, that one scene about conversion and the  other two scenes about girls education and wine bottles?  

Assnt: Those 4 scenes have been done sir.  The comic quotient is a little less, I feel.  

Dir: Don’t worry, our movie is 2.5 hours.  These will take just 10 minutes.  I have other plans!

Assnt: I knew it sir.  Thats why you are a class act!

Dir: Don’t forget to make copies of scenes about where we have the hero arguing with baba about practices of taking religious trips far far away, pradakshan (anga pradakshan) and the comedy scene about people worshiping a stone near exam hall.  

Assnt: How can I forget those sir.  Those are gem of scenes.  It really opened my mind about my world and religious view.  

 

Dir: I am also planning to increase the laughter in the Baba introduction scene.  I am going to show the parents as idiots who have the pic of baba on everything in their house.  Even in the bathroom where 'crazy lips' is shown taking bath.  This way I can enlighten everyone from every religion about how people are using gods name to make money.  I am naturally talented like this.

Assnt: Sir, what a way you have with audience pulse!  You are my hero sir.  You can single handily change India sir! 

Dir: Take it easy.  Can you check who is at the door?

Assnt: Sir, Guruji has arrived for our scheduled Lakshmi puja praying for this movie to be a block buster.  

Dir: Ok, everyone ‘Prarthana Karo'

Uber Travel at the speed of light

Dark day for Delhi and Uber. In Chennai tho, my folks use Sun Travels owned by one Mr.Aditya. Their driver Surya is a bright and trust worthy chap and knows his way around. A recent trip to Konark on his brand new car felt like traveling on a chariot with 7 horses. Hoping all drivers can be this good and wish women in India see some light at the end of a dark tunnel.  

K(h)aapy Marriage

Stage1 - I demand Kaapi now.  Strong.
Stage2 - Can I get some Kaapi please? Even light is ok.
Stage3 - Oh you are making only Tea? It’s all right, I will take it.
Stage4 - I am making Kaapi for myself.  Oh do you want one? Strong? OK I will make.
Stage5 - You want Tea only? OK, I have made one Kaapi and one Tea.  Come and have.
Eventuality - As you told, here are 3 Kaapis, 4 Teas and 3 Lassis for you and your friends.  

Chapter 13 - Been there, Done that!

Team - Wings of Change

Context - Blogadda is conducting a contest (Game of Blogs) where it choses 10 random bloggers per team to write fiction based on 5 character description it provided. Each blogger has to continue the story from where the previous team member left off.

Read the previous part here

Credit - Shutterstock

Cyrus was updating his blog post on his mobile phone sitting on the hospital bed.  

“How are you feeling now?” asked hid doc slowly entering his room.

“Feeling a lot better Doc.  So tell me, was I in a pretty bad state when I came in?”

“Oh, you were almost dead.  I am still surprised that we are having this conversation right now!” 

“I owe my life to you doctor.  Thanks for taking care of me”

“You have to thank another gentelman who admitted you here.  He was beside you all night and just went this early morning to his home and should be back here soon” 

“How is everyone doing in this room on this bright Thursday morning” greeted Shekar entering the hospital room.  

“oh my god! Why is he here? Did he find out about my past already?  Did Jenni inform them about me trying to meet Roohi?”  these questions made Cyrus’s head ache worse, which was still covered with bandage with big red spots on his forehead.  He tried to get up from his bed not knowing how to react when Shekhar entered his room.

“No..No..Just relax.  I am Shekar, btw.  We were involved in a terrible accident.  I am not going to go into details of it and not talk about who was responsible.  I just want to make sure that you are alright and we can talk on other details later” 

Cyrus breathed a little easier, realizing that Shekhar did not know about the past and broke a smile realizing the irony of the whole situation.  

“Thanks Shekar for admitting me at the hospital and being there with me the whole night.  I don’t know how to thank you for your act towards a stranger”  

“Please.  I am partly responsible for you being here today.  So it becomes my duty to undo what I have done to you.  Anyways, get over the thanking spree.  I called you dad again and made sure that he is updated on the happening.  I am sure he would have called and checked up on you.  He is on his way to Mumbai as we speak”  

“Yea, I spoke to his this morning.  Thanks for doing all that”  

“I thought we were over the thanking thing” giggled Shekar, and continued “oh by the way, I checked with the Doctor and he said you should be out of here in the next 48 hours.  So I am going to invite you and your family to our home for a dinner.  We ourselves are packing our bags to go to Kerala in few days - so we want to host you guys before we leave.  I hope that is fine”  

Cyrus was touched with Shekar’s reciprocation of humility.  He nodded as a sign of acceptance shying away.

“Ok, I need to rush back home.  Have to wrap up some assignments for my project in Kerala. See you at our house.  Feel better” - Shekar rushed away.

Then it hit Cyrus.  What if Roohi sees him at their house and identifies his as the person who met her in her school?  "How can I even start to explain why I was there meeting Roohi?”  Cyrus’s confusion began.

                                                                                ***

“Shekar, taste this panner and tell me if this is cooked properly.  Oh, also turn off the Rajma, I think it is done”  Tara’s was getting ready to host Cyrus and his family.  

Adopted parents of Rohi were getting ready to host the biological father of Roohi.  Life does these crazy things to us sometimes.

“Shekar, its 7:30PM, were they not supposed to be here already?  Can you check on them please?  I have to finish Roohi’s packing for our trip tomorrow”

“I am trying to call him honey.  He is not picking up the phone.  Wait, let me try his dad’s number”  Shekar dials Cyru’s dad’s number - “Ah yea, hello Sir, we are eagerly expecting you.  Are you on your way already?”

“Yea Shekar, I am so sorry for making you wait.  Actually I was about to call you.  I just got a call from Delhi informing me that my mother slipped in our bathroom and has fractured her leg.  Me and Cyrus and actually rushing back to the airport to catch the flight.  Everything happened so suddenly that we did not have time to notify you.  I deeply apologize sir”  

“oh, I am so sorry to hear that.  No problem.  Please travel safe and my wishes for your mother’s speedy recovery.  Take care sir, and say my wishes to your son as well”

Meanwhile sitting in the hospital “Why did you want me to lie to the man who helped you Cyrus?”  enquired his dad

“Papa, that is the man who hit me with his car.  It is because of him I had to suffer all these.  He is trying to make up for what he has done to me.  He is lucky that I am not pressing charges against him”  Cyrus tried to fake an angry face to his dad.  He had done it before.  Lie to his parents.  He has done this before.  Chicken out from facing a difficult situation.  This was not a new scenario for him.  

“Sometimes I don’t understand you beta.  Why did you accept his invitation in the first place then?”  his dad shows his discomfort on how he handled the situation.

“Don’t worry dad.  I will handle this.  I have some more work here in Mumbai, which I will take care of for the next few weeks.  I will see you in Delhi after that.  ok?”  


Meanwhile in Shekar’s house, “Tara, I just spoke to them.  They are apparently rushing to Delhi to attend a medical emergency.  I guess we have the all the food for ourselves now”

“I am not sure if I should be mad for this - but I cooked all this for nothing?  Anyways, Roohi, come one lets have dinner and get to our packing right after it”

“What time are we taking the flight tomorrow Shekar?”

“We catch the Trivandrum flight tomorrow morning at 10AM!” 

Read the next chapter here 

“Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.”

Chapter 10 - The Accidental Meetup

Team - Wings of Change

Logo credit - Megha

Context - Blogadda is conducting a contest (Game of Blogs) where it choses 10 random bloggers per team to write fiction based on 5 character description it provided. Each blogger has to continue the story from where the previous team member left off. 

Read the previous part here ! 

They both looked at each other for a minute.  No words were spoken initially.  Their moist eyes were doing the talking - but not with same emotions.  Cyrus felt shame and humiliation - Jenni felt pain and anger - looking at each other.  There were several questions going through her mind.  How did he know about Roohi?  Was he always been keeping track of her?  Does he know about her current parents?  Was he here to take the child away?  Questions were plenty with answers to none.

“Roohi - are you ok?”  came running Pooja,  Roohi’s classmate.  “Are they your papa and mama?” asked the kid innocently.  

What was moist before - now became a broken levy with tears now flowing freely from Jennifer’s eyes.  

“No.  I don’t know who they are Pooja.  Aunty, please don’t cry.  I am ok.  Please don’t cry” The tender hands of Roohi swept away the tears from Jennifer’s eyes.  Jennifer had waited 9 years for this very moment of holding Roohi by her hands.  

“Uncle, please ask Aunty not to cry.  I have to go back to class for the next period.  My teacher will punish us if they see us hanging around in the ground after the bell.  Ok aunty, Ok uncle.  See you”  Roohi disappeared  in a flash.

“Jenni - I don’t know how to begin.  A simple sorry is not going to cut it, I am aware.  I have made you suffer all along by punishing you with my cowardice.  There is not a single moment in my life that goes by without thinking about you.  Will you ever forgive me?  How can I ever make it up to you for all these years?”  Cyrus was on an apology spree.

Jennifer brushed her tears off, regained her composure and continued “Look, there is nothing to talk between us.  My husband is waiting for me in the hotel.  Please don’t waste time in explaining the past.  I remember nothing.  But remember this - if I ever come to know that you are trying to talk to that child again, I will get the police involved for possible kidnaping charges.  Leave all of us alone and just go away”.  

Jennifer ran away as fast as possible from him, fearing that she might actually forgive him if she prolongs the conversation.  She also made sure that Cyrus knew that she was married and moved on.  

Kumar had stayed back in the hotel near the school providing some space for Jennifer to face her past by herself.  

“Jenny honey, what happened?  are you ok?  did you meet your child?”  a concerned Kumar enquired seeing Jennifer rushing back to the hotel room crying.

“Did you talk to her?  How is she like?  Please don’t cry honey”  Kumar continued.

“Kumar, please take me away from here.  This was a mistake.  I should have never asked you for this.  You have been way too kind towards me for all these years.  I don’t deserve you.  I made a mistake.  Please take me back to our place.  All I care about is you.  You have sacrificed everything for me.  I have not given you the slightest happiness a wife can give her husband.  You sacrificed your fatherhood just because I was not able to move on from my past.  I have tortured you with my sobbing all the time.  Please forgive me.  Please don’t ask me anything.  Lets go home and I will never talk about it again” 

“Calm down Jennifer.  Ok, as you wish.  I will book a flight to Trivandrum for us tonight.  Please don’t cry honey.  I will always be there for you.

*****

Pic courtesy - Satish Acharya

“Shekhar, are you going to go pick Roohi up from school?  I got a text from her school that her bus broke down and they are trying to make alternate arrangements for the kids."

“You tell me this now Tara? it is already 4:30 and our kid will be waiting outside already.  You clearly know tomorrow is Ganesh Chaturthi Visarjan day.  Traffic is going to be a mess in Mumbai with several diversions.  Thanks for making me rush Tara”

I was about to pick her up, but I got stuck in a meeting.  Please.  Bye. Gotto go"  Tara hurried her conversation rushing to her 8th meeting of that day.

Shekar picked up his car keys and started driving as fast as he can.  After all, he did not want his kid to be stranded all alone at school.

Dark clouds surrounded Mumbai around 4:40PM.  They came in from no where.  This was not the monsoon season.  The sky opened up.  Mumbai started to soak.

Shekar had already been asked to take 2 diversions from his original route.  The wet roads made the driving even more difficult.  He overtook two city buses one after another to make sure he takes the right before the signal fell.  He did not see the auto rickshaw coming from the other side of the bus also rushing way over speed limit.  

BANG.

Shekhar slowly woke up from a brief pass out.  He has hit the auto rickshaw and the passenger was bleeding profusely from his head, lying on the wet road.  Shekhar slowly tried to open his jammed front door to step down and try to asses the situation.  

“Can someone call an ambulance”  the auto rickshaw driver shouted at the crowd that had gathered.  He survived just with scratches. 

“Shekhar, bleeding himself, slowly tried to check the passengers pocket for some identification.  The passengers wallet had few 1000 rupees, some visiting cards, something that looked like an air ticket receipt and few other papers.  He flipped over to the front side.  There was a picture on the front - a girl, in her teens smiling with her hands around what looked like a younger version of the passenger”

He opened the other small compartment to notice a slip with emergency contact details.  It read -   

Cyrus Daruwala, BA BL;
Advocate - Dubey & Partners Advocates;
New Delhi.

Blood Group - O+
Emergency Phone - +91 923409454

---End of Round 1---

Read the next chapter here

You can read the earlier parts of the story at the following links :

Chapter 1: The beginning

Chapter 2: Roohi revelation

Chapter 3: Sleepless nights

Chapter 4: Paradoxical Jennifer

Chapter 5:The nightmare

Chapter 6: So near and yet so far

Chapter 7: Meeting after 9 years

Chapter 8: C for Cyrus- coward and commitment phobic

Chapter 9: Fighting guilt

The Beginning - Chapter2 - Roohi Revelation

Team - Wings of Change

Logo Credit - Megha

Context - Blogadda is conducting a contest (Game of Blogs) where it choses 10 random bloggers per team to write fiction based on 5 character description it provided. Each blogger has to continue the story from where the previous team member left off.

Read the previous part of the story HERE ! 

"Cyrus, I know you are a VIP and you get a million texts during my class.  If you think my Constitutional law class is a joke, wait till someone laughs at you once you graduate to spend your life cleaning dust on a file cabinet as an assistant lawyer.  Don’t test my patience.  Just stay out of my class"

Cyrus straightened his specs and walked out scratching his chin beard.  Cyrus was an odd man out in his class.  He was 4 years older than the rest of this classmates.  But he had the ladies on his side with his trifecta looks - Tall Fair & Handsome.  He stood out with his looks as well.  He had to try his hands on Ayurvedic medicinal studies by his dad’s compulsion.  Cyrus’s grandfather was a Ayurved practitioner known all over India, so his dad wanted his son to continue on that tradition.

His first few days at the Academy of Ayurved at Kottayam, Kerala was horrific.  Firstly he never travelled outside Delhi in his life - So Kerala was alien land for him.  Malayalam, Rice, Coconuts, Mohanlal, Greenery, Steamed rice cake for breakfast at this hostel - Everything turned for him for bad in his mind - Till she walked in to his classroom on that cloudy day’s first hour.  
                                                             
“Excuse me sir - can I come in?” 
“Please come in. Students, this is Jennifer your new classmate” introduced professor Madhavan as he was expecting the new admission.

Cyrus had to control his drool.  Till then he had thought that he had seen pretty before.  But Jennifer just proved him wrong in the first second she walked in to the classroom and to his life at the same time!  

Jennifer was a hipster - a free spirit.  Born to a Keralite father and portugese mother, she always wanted to try different things in her life.  She never misses to capture a fun moment through her third eye - a Kodak shutter camera that her granddad had gifted her for her 18th birthday.  She never felt she would fit in the corporate world that most of the students dream about.  She wanted her liesure, her space.  Her aim was to open an Ayurvedic Healing Parlor.

There was instant chemistry between Cyrus and Jennifer.  What started off as a casual friendship on the first year of college, started to become something more in the second.  They both were now seeing each other a lot.  

“Cyrus, my father is going for a 2 day trip to Mumbai.  I have got the house all by myself.  We can have a movie marathon at my place over the weekend.  You can also get a break from your disgusting canteen food.  What do you think?” asked Jennifer with her exciting wide eyes.

If Cyrus responded anything but “Are you kidding.  Lets do it baby!” we all know he would be an idiot.  He was not an idiot, of course.

That friday night, they had the best street food in Kerala, drank a lot.  A LOT.  

“Baby, I am so sorry for what happened.  I did not mean to go this far.  This is the first time I have every done this.  I am sorry.  I am freaking out.  Why are you not speaking to me.  Say something”  Cyrus was in a panic mode the next morning on Jennifer’s bed.                         

“Cyrus…Cyrus…calm down”.  Jenni tried to bring him back to normalcy.  “We both are adults.  We fell in love and we made love.  I was fully aware of what happened yesterday.  It was the best moment in life.  I learned some few tricks yesterday.  I also learned that you cannot take alcohol well! hehe.  I clicked some pics on my camera as well.  Oh, Do you remember this?”  Jenni jumped on to his lap showing a tattoo on her right hand. 

Jennifer’s eerie calmness and normalcy was freaking Cyrus more.  

“What, No.  And how are you so calm about this?  What if?  What if?…”  panic mode for Cyrus continued. 

“Hush honey.  See, I got a “C” tattooed on my right hand.  You know what it stands for?”  Jennifer with her soothing calm voice suggesting C was for Cyrus.

“Jenni, you don’t know my father.  He is going to kill me.  And my ma.  Oh my god, what have I done!  I am a dead man”  Cyrus mind played him different scenes of his parents findings about the affair and beating him to death.  He was terrified to say the least.
                                                                
“Cyrus, lets take one step at a time.  Relax a bit. We can handle this.  We were anyway going to open up to our parents about us - yes?” 



That were the last words Jennifer spoke to Cyrus on that day and till date.  Cyrus had quit college.  100s of texts, phone calls, Emails all went in vain in finding him.  Cyrus had chickened out.  It was too much to handle for him as he was half as mature as Jennifer, mentally.  He knew that his parents would never agree for him to marry a Christian.  He deleted all the online traces and contacts that he left behind in Kerala.  He faked to his parents that he was extremely homesick and did not want to return to Kerala anymore.  His Mother being naive, as the rest of the mothers in the world, believed him and made sure he never went to out of Delhi again.

Meanwhile in Kerala, Jennifer was now glowing.  She quit her college after 4 months as the bump was now quite evident and she did not want to keep explaining everyone about who the father was at her new ladies’ hostel.  She treated life as usual, even after her father had asked her to leave the house fearing public disgrace to his family.  

9 Months in, her friend who was a nurse made arrangements for her to deliver in a nursing home in a remote village in Kerala.  Jenni could not control her tears seeing the beautiful girl child on her hand. What she was about to do to her made her cry even more.  

“Are you sure Jenny?” Asked her friend

“What do you expect me to do here?  I don’t have a job.  I am 18.  How can I support her?  Do you think it is easy for me?  I am doing this for her.  I am going to pray to Jesus that whoever she goes to - she brings joy to that family.  I know she will”  

The next week, Jenni could not control her emotions leaving her precious little being on the door steps on a government adoption agency.


PRESENT DAY -  Bandra, Mumbai -  Saturday Morning 10AM.

"Shekar, wake up.  Its 10AM already.  Did you forget that this is an important day for us”? Tara bumped Shekar on their bed.

“I am aware.  I have been awake since 4AM thinking about how we are going to open up the this to our child”  replied a calm Shekar getting up from his bed.

“This is very tough for me Shekar.  I don’t want anything bad to happen.  Are we being good parents here” 

“We have been through this Tara.  Don’t start from the beginning.  We are doing the right thing.  Roohii can understand now.  This is the right age to make her realize that we are not her biological parents.  We also have to make sure that it is not going to change anything between us three”

“You are right.  We will open up to her about how we adopted her from Kerala when you were working there 7 years before - in a way that she can understand”  agreed Tara.  

“Tara! look, the timing cannot be perfect for us”  exclaimed Shekar looking at this Gmail Inbox.  The adoption agency has helped us trace the information of her mother through a common Nurse friend of the mother.  They got the details through the nursing home where Roohi was born!”  he could not control his excitement.  

“I am still not convinced that she should be allowed to see her biological mother, Shekar.  I am very nervous about it”

“We are being good parents, Tara.  Trust me.  She has the right to know.  Who are we to deny Roohi her right?.  You have to trust me on this honey”  Shekar was confident on what he was going to do.

“Papa…Papa…look.  I have drawn the toy that I wanted from Kerala.  I want in this exact color.  OK Papa?”  Roohi jumped on the bed showing off her crayon skills on a sheet of paper.  

Little did she know what was in her parent's minds and what was in store for her in Kerala.  “Papa, how long do we have to wait before we go to Kerala?”  I cannot wait!” 

“6 more days to go, kid"

Read the next part HERE !

Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.

Mother (Nature’s) Wake Up Call

Featured in Blogadda's WOW for Independence day!

Written as part of WOW!

“Punit beta, you have lost so much weight.  Are you not taking care of yourself well?  Is Nirmala cooking everyday for you?”

“Yes maa.  She is fine.  It’s just that I have been having hectic work hours and I sometime tend to skip meals.  You know I am eying for that promotion for a while now.  Its just the nature of being in a finance department in a huge corporation maa”

“I see.  Take care beta.  By the way, what are these men doing downstairs?  And what is that unpleasant smell?”

“Our apartment has been having issues with our sewer disposal for more than 7 hours.  We have complained to our secretary.  He is calling the workers to fix it now.  They are probably opening our drainage – and hence the smell.”

His Maa continued -

“Beta, you know, when you were young, your father had struggled to feed you and your 2 elder sisters on daily basis.  He did a daily labor in a nearby village to bring back some food and money he earned for that day.  Having to own a toilet was a luxury that day, son.  You were too young to remember those days, but I know how difficult it was for your sisters to go to school and share a common toilet with the boys.  Do you know how many days they have come home crying of embarrassment and shame?  Sometimes they will resist their nature call all through the day just to avoid awkwardness, or had to walk 100 more yards from their school to find a nearby private open space.  They were in their teens, so you can imagine how they would have felt.” 

“By god’s grace, we moved to Bhuhaneshwar once he got a construction job in that city.  We were able to send you all to a corporation school which provided free lunch, and more importantly had separate toilets for girls and boys.   Fortunately things changed for the good for our family and all three of my children are in a good position – socially and economically.  I still keep thanking god for taking our family this far in life.”

“But son, you know the rest of our villager’s were not fortunate enough as we were.  I walked through our area – 25 years after we had left and nothing much changed there.  It pains me immensely to know how Toilets are still a luxury for our people.  I see feces still all over in the open and mothers feeding kids just 100 yards away from that ground.  You have to do something about it son.  I think god has been kind to our family just because he had hopes that we will reciprocate that kindness to our people.  You know I have always been proud of you lad.   Trust me, your actions towards this will give you immense pleasure.  Will you do this for me son?  Will you do this for me?”

“Punit, wake up…wakeup.  It’s Aug 15^th.  We have to get ready for our flag hosting at our apartment building.”  His wife Nirmala waked Punit up.   

Nirmala was worried seeing Punit sweat profusely.  “What happened dear?  You are sweating like a pig.  Is everything ok?  I hope you did not catch a fever because of our drainage problem in our apartment.  Should I call a doctor?”

Punit had part clarity / part confusion.  Confusion thinking about weather did he just wake up from a dream  - and  - clarity about the message that he got from his mother. 

Punit lost his mother 9 years back battling cancer.  She still lives with him in spirit, but never had such a personal and specific dream with her, ever before.

Semi-confused and shaken, he took his morning shower and came out right in time for the live telecast for Flag hosting at Red fort.  He munched on this Aloo parataes while listening to the Prime Minister giving his speech. 

He was shocked to hear what the PM had to say.  It was quite eerie that the Prime Minister would speak about building separate toilets for girls across India.  He also talked about why cleanliness is vital for our nation, and his vision to build separate toilets for girls in every school in India by 2015. 

The Prime Minister also urged the corporations to spend their funds allocated for corporate social responsibility - on building toilets in schools.    

Then it struck him.  He now knew what he had to do.

Puneet just got promoted last month as head of Finance for multi-national IT organization.  One of his additional responsibilities includes managing the fund allocation for their company’s outreach and social responsibility programs.  

He then realized that it was Mother India herself in the form of his Maa in his dream.  He also understood there should be no difference in treating both mothers with the same level of love and respect!

Jai Hind!  

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.



Pic Credit
Aug15th-Full Text for PM's Speach
Aug18th-Some nice updates after the post was published!