Alas!!! The Quest Ends.......
I parked the car in front of her house. The sit out was filled with unknown faces. They all had something in common- a wide smile and a good dress (probably from the same store). I stepped out of my car and helped my uncle who is around 75 to get out. Mom whispered, “It seems all are waiting for us”. Spitting out the remains of betal leaves, without bothering the crowd my uncle replied in a louder voice, “It’s like this only. Anyway, this is less as compared to the crowd we used to have in our time. The whole village used to gather on such occasions… ha ha ha “. Mom gave a sheepish smile, (so embarrassing).
We just had moved two or three steps,I saw a man making his way out of the crowd. He had the biggest smile compared to others. Mom murmured again, “Must be gal’s dad”.)
“Hello !!! (with a much wider smile…testing the limits of his mouth), did you find it difficult to search our house?”
My uncle (louder than ever) “No …Never….(after a small pause) Just kept on asking now n then…We went in the wrong direction at one or two places...Anyway it was a nice drive”. (Who asked him all these details…huh…? )
The man (still with that sluggish smile),”Okay, Come…”.
I looked at the mob….How to get in? But to my surprise, the sit out was clear in no time. They took all the possible exits (over the small bars…getting back into the house… from the edge of the steps…pushing each other...as if making way for some VIP).
We went inside the house. The front room was beautifully decorated. All the show pieces were on display. The table had two or three flower wases containing different colors of plastic flowers. The drawing table was surrounded by sofa sets. A lady came out of the room and asked my mom something in a very low voice. Then I saw Mom going inside with that lady.( Oh!!! Mom please come back ). I was left alone with my uncle in the drawing room. Almost all the sofa sets were occupied. The man with a controlled anger asked a little toddler to get out of the sofa, and turned towards us “Please …”
Uncle sat next to me and the man made his tummy to settle down in a sofa kept in front of us. There was pin drop silence in the room; it looked as if I was sitting in an examination hall. Someone from the crowd, broke the silence,” Did you find it difficult to search the house?”
Oh!! Not again. But this time, I didn’t allow my uncle to answer and I gave a quick reply, “No...It was a nice drive”
“So how was the weather?”
“Pretty ok…it drizzled a bit...”
Then my uncle took over the stage. He came up with different topics, ranging from our mutual relatives to current politics. And the half an hour nonstop chat was nasty. All eyes were on me. And whenever I looked back, either they gave a sheepish smile or they turned their faces in some other direction.( So disgusting..huh!!!!) People were pushing and pulling each other to have a look at me ….At last a wise man (thanks a lot …you are the best person) said, “Ok lets have some tea and snacks…. Let’s call the gal”.
The gals’ father got up and went inside. I kept my eyes on the door. And now…Here she is…a beautiful looking gal…. with a smile on her face… so charming...so innocent…and the frock really suits her…
what??? Frock!!!!... ..
Very cute little kid… she came near and whispered , “Uncle…Didi will be here in any moment…” .
I smiled back…”OK..let’s wait for the tsunami…he he he ”
“Hello !!! (with a much wider smile…testing the limits of his mouth), did you find it difficult to search our house?”
My uncle (louder than ever) “No …Never….(after a small pause) Just kept on asking now n then…We went in the wrong direction at one or two places...Anyway it was a nice drive”. (Who asked him all these details…huh…? )
The man (still with that sluggish smile),”Okay, Come…”.
I looked at the mob….How to get in? But to my surprise, the sit out was clear in no time. They took all the possible exits (over the small bars…getting back into the house… from the edge of the steps…pushing each other...as if making way for some VIP).
We went inside the house. The front room was beautifully decorated. All the show pieces were on display. The table had two or three flower wases containing different colors of plastic flowers. The drawing table was surrounded by sofa sets. A lady came out of the room and asked my mom something in a very low voice. Then I saw Mom going inside with that lady.( Oh!!! Mom please come back ). I was left alone with my uncle in the drawing room. Almost all the sofa sets were occupied. The man with a controlled anger asked a little toddler to get out of the sofa, and turned towards us “Please …”
Uncle sat next to me and the man made his tummy to settle down in a sofa kept in front of us. There was pin drop silence in the room; it looked as if I was sitting in an examination hall. Someone from the crowd, broke the silence,” Did you find it difficult to search the house?”
Oh!! Not again. But this time, I didn’t allow my uncle to answer and I gave a quick reply, “No...It was a nice drive”
“So how was the weather?”
“Pretty ok…it drizzled a bit...”
Then my uncle took over the stage. He came up with different topics, ranging from our mutual relatives to current politics. And the half an hour nonstop chat was nasty. All eyes were on me. And whenever I looked back, either they gave a sheepish smile or they turned their faces in some other direction.( So disgusting..huh!!!!) People were pushing and pulling each other to have a look at me ….At last a wise man (thanks a lot …you are the best person) said, “Ok lets have some tea and snacks…. Let’s call the gal”.
The gals’ father got up and went inside. I kept my eyes on the door. And now…Here she is…a beautiful looking gal…. with a smile on her face… so charming...so innocent…and the frock really suits her…
what??? Frock!!!!... ..
Very cute little kid… she came near and whispered , “Uncle…Didi will be here in any moment…” .
I smiled back…”OK..let’s wait for the tsunami…he he he ”
She giggled and even I couldn’t stop laughing. No one else noticed it, they were busy with their own discussions.I was having a great time with the kid, who was sitting on my lap with lots of authority.
“Where is your didi?”
“She is doing some final touching. In the morning she was cursing mom for not getting her favorite Fusha Pink nailpolish.”
I couldn’t control my laughter and the whole room went silent. They were all staring at me.“Sorry!!!”
But soon they started looking towards the door. There she is!! Yah..that’s her !!! She looked like a princess in her red Kanchipuram(whatever) Saree. She barely had any ornaments. Her beauty lied in her simplicity. For a second, I thought there was no one else in the room.
Suddenly I felt as if someone was pinching me,”Bhaiya, stop staring at her….Shut your wide open mouth”
“Oopps!! Thank you dear “
She placed the tray on the table and took a step or two back. She stood there silently. She was not even looking at me. It looked as if her eyes were searching for some images on the floor. Again the silence broke with my Uncles’ sound,”So what are you doing nowadays Sapna?”
Her dad intrupted,”mmm.. Sneha..not Sapna”.
“Oh!! I am really sorry, she looks exactly like my daughter Sapna, that’s’ why I got confused”
(Huh!!! His daughter Sapna, looks more like Ashok Leyland!!! How can he compare this gal with her?)
“I am working with a technopark based software company”, Sneha replied.
“Nice to hear that, today gals are as smart as boys, gone those days when they were considered as house maids..ha ha ha ha”… (huh!! One more addition to his list of PJs )
That was just a start, after that she was bombarded with lot many questions. My uncle didn’t even bother to shut his mouth once. Even mom was looking awkwardly towards uncle. Poor gal…my sympathies are with you. Does she know that I am the fellow for whom she is taking so much pain. I don’t think she knows me. After half an hour of cross questioning, her dad interrupted my uncle and looked at me, “If you want to talk to her, you can very well have a chat with her”.
I was about to say something, when my uncle cut across,”hmm.. that’s nice, I think they should be left alone”
(Thank God!!! For the first time he said something sane. I will buy you a pair of betal leaves on our way back. )
“Ok, then Sneha!! Show your room to Karthik”.
She looked at me for the first time and smiled. Oh God!!! That’s a million dollar smile. She turned and went inside the room. I followed her and the little toddler kept swinging on my right arm. Man!! She really weighs a lot… God knows…What her mom feeds her?
I entered her room, very nicely maintained place. Lots n lots of books, placed neatly on shelves. A nice sheet adored her bed. Walls were beautifully decorated with paintings, with a sign of “S” on each painting. A computer was kept at the corner. I sat on a chair next to it. The little gal rushed towards the dressing table. She started trying all sort of makeup on her little face. She was making maximum use of this freedom; she knew that her sister won’t scold her in front of me.
Somehow I wanted to break the silence,”hmm..Sneha!!”
“Yes..”
My mind went blank… nothing to ask…Oh God !!!
“No nailpolishes..why?”
(What the hell?.. from where I got this question…Kid…I am gonna kill you… )
She stared at me and then looked at the toddler,” I am gonna kill her. She is such a big mouth”.
Then she realized , what she was saying. She looked at me again, “I am sorry.”
I started laughing at my foolishness and even she felt the humor. Soon we were talking like friends. After half an hour, I realized the time, “I think I must go now. It was really nice talking to you”
“Same here Karthik”
She smiled and I kept looking at her.
By then her little sister was making hell lot of noise..“Bhaiya..let’s go!!!”
“Sneha, do you like me”
“Bhaiya lets go…”.. grrrrrrr……
After a pause, with a touch of shyness, she said, “Yes”
“Bhaiya lets go! Let’s Go!!!! Lets Goooooooooo!!!!”
The kid was so disturbing, she was spoiling the whole charm.
I looked at the toddler and roared, “Shut up..Shut up will you??...huh………don’ t call me bhaiya anymore…. … …I am your jiju”
And the room filled with our laughs and cheers.
“Where is your didi?”
“She is doing some final touching. In the morning she was cursing mom for not getting her favorite Fusha Pink nailpolish.”
I couldn’t control my laughter and the whole room went silent. They were all staring at me.“Sorry!!!”
But soon they started looking towards the door. There she is!! Yah..that’s her !!! She looked like a princess in her red Kanchipuram(whatever) Saree. She barely had any ornaments. Her beauty lied in her simplicity. For a second, I thought there was no one else in the room.
Suddenly I felt as if someone was pinching me,”Bhaiya, stop staring at her….Shut your wide open mouth”
“Oopps!! Thank you dear “
She placed the tray on the table and took a step or two back. She stood there silently. She was not even looking at me. It looked as if her eyes were searching for some images on the floor. Again the silence broke with my Uncles’ sound,”So what are you doing nowadays Sapna?”
Her dad intrupted,”mmm.. Sneha..not Sapna”.
“Oh!! I am really sorry, she looks exactly like my daughter Sapna, that’s’ why I got confused”
(Huh!!! His daughter Sapna, looks more like Ashok Leyland!!! How can he compare this gal with her?)
“I am working with a technopark based software company”, Sneha replied.
“Nice to hear that, today gals are as smart as boys, gone those days when they were considered as house maids..ha ha ha ha”… (huh!! One more addition to his list of PJs )
That was just a start, after that she was bombarded with lot many questions. My uncle didn’t even bother to shut his mouth once. Even mom was looking awkwardly towards uncle. Poor gal…my sympathies are with you. Does she know that I am the fellow for whom she is taking so much pain. I don’t think she knows me. After half an hour of cross questioning, her dad interrupted my uncle and looked at me, “If you want to talk to her, you can very well have a chat with her”.
I was about to say something, when my uncle cut across,”hmm.. that’s nice, I think they should be left alone”
(Thank God!!! For the first time he said something sane. I will buy you a pair of betal leaves on our way back. )
“Ok, then Sneha!! Show your room to Karthik”.
She looked at me for the first time and smiled. Oh God!!! That’s a million dollar smile. She turned and went inside the room. I followed her and the little toddler kept swinging on my right arm. Man!! She really weighs a lot… God knows…What her mom feeds her?
I entered her room, very nicely maintained place. Lots n lots of books, placed neatly on shelves. A nice sheet adored her bed. Walls were beautifully decorated with paintings, with a sign of “S” on each painting. A computer was kept at the corner. I sat on a chair next to it. The little gal rushed towards the dressing table. She started trying all sort of makeup on her little face. She was making maximum use of this freedom; she knew that her sister won’t scold her in front of me.
Somehow I wanted to break the silence,”hmm..Sneha!!”
“Yes..”
My mind went blank… nothing to ask…Oh God !!!
“No nailpolishes..why?”
(What the hell?.. from where I got this question…Kid…I am gonna kill you… )
She stared at me and then looked at the toddler,” I am gonna kill her. She is such a big mouth”.
Then she realized , what she was saying. She looked at me again, “I am sorry.”
I started laughing at my foolishness and even she felt the humor. Soon we were talking like friends. After half an hour, I realized the time, “I think I must go now. It was really nice talking to you”
“Same here Karthik”
She smiled and I kept looking at her.
By then her little sister was making hell lot of noise..“Bhaiya..let’s go!!!”
“Sneha, do you like me”
“Bhaiya lets go…”.. grrrrrrr……
After a pause, with a touch of shyness, she said, “Yes”
“Bhaiya lets go! Let’s Go!!!! Lets Goooooooooo!!!!”
The kid was so disturbing, she was spoiling the whole charm.
I looked at the toddler and roared, “Shut up..Shut up will you??...huh………don’ t call me bhaiya anymore…. … …I am your jiju”
And the room filled with our laughs and cheers.
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this post was well received by the IT community. ppl felt the story is abt them!!
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