some from their android phone
Some recite from their memory
while some from their written notes,
but the stories that they share are
their original work
written with great care
When the read meets are on Saturday and the venue is closer to my house, there is no reason to give it a miss. This was #22 readmeet and the theme was interesting too. Writer friends brought their naughty work because that was the theme…’Inverse Bowdlerisation’…inserting naughty bits to the respectable ones without altering the real script. They said ‘it was not easy’ but they did it well. Their work was so good that it was difficult to differentiate the original from parody.
I did not write on the theme, because I was not sure what I was expected to write. I took my story that I had written during #CelebrateBlogging organized by Blogadda. We had to create a story with our team members. There were 30 teams who had participated in this event and our team had reached 12th position. I read the part that I had written during the event.
Here is what I read:
Immaculately
dressed, Cyrus made an impressive presence, as he moved with authority in the
crowd, his smile plastered perpetually on his face, and a drink goblet held
loosely in his hand. He had lots to celebrate, as ‘Play Deo’ his ad company, was
the new talk of the town. It took over the turntables and was enjoying the
success.
The
celebrations kicked off in full swing when the bare chested Bollywood star
Akhay Khan made his appearance on the stage gyrating his pelvic on the hottest
electronic music tracks. Rhythm of oohs and aahs blared from loud
speakers. Akhay Khan was spinning, his wet skin shining under blinking colored
lights. The Olive bar’s stunning cocktail beauties showed up next to Cyrus and
presented him with two glorious gold plaques for his achievements.
Flashing
his gold tooth smile, Cyrus held his plaque up high for his guests to see while
everybody raised a toast and gold confetti shot up in the air.
Cyrus
kept the party going all night, spinning all the way until the early
morning. Throughout the evening, heels clacked against hardtop dance
floor as dancers gradually overcame their shyness.
Tara
was exhausted. She had not wanted to participate in Cyrus’s achievement. But
the world was watching and her absence would be felt in the Ad world. Although
they worked together and created terrific ideas for their clients, she hated
his insensitive personal comments.
Lately she had been deeply offended when Cyrus had asked her if she
suffered from the disease called Munchausen syndrome by proxy or MSBP. She
didn’t know what he meant but she had felt hurt that he had mentioned it. Somebody
has been gossiping for sure, but who??
MSBP
was the behavior pattern that she had grown up seeing her mother suffer from
it. Her mother would systematically fabricate or exaggerate the symptoms, and
even once induced her with wrong medications when she was unwell. Her dad had
explained, telling her that people who suffered from MSBP were willing to
fulfill their need for positive attention by hurting even their own child and
then appearing to care and save their so-called sick child.
Münchausen syndrome by proxy
The
words played in loops in her mind. A hundred times. Revolving round and round
till her head began to spin. No, it cannot be true, she held the most
responsible post in an ad company, she could handle the most difficult
situations. How could she bring harm to anybody? Bring harm to her own child.
Never.
“Maybe
I should pick up Roohi from school today” she said under her breath as she
removed the mobile from her purse and started to dial.
“Hello
Shekhar” she whispered into the phone, her fingers pressing hard against her
left temple, “I will pick up Roohi from school today.”
“Are
you okay?” said Shekhar, shifting uncomfortably in his wheel chair. “Come home
directly, she will come by school bus, like she always does.” There was a ring
of concern over his voice.
“No,
I am fine.” She said. Her mind drifted towards her 9 years old daughter. A
flash of pleasure swept over her.
Spending
time with Roohi always changed her moods. In worst of situations, a happy
chatter and her bright smile lifted her spirit; she needed that at this moment
the most. She could come later to work and maybe work late nights, but right
now she needed to go someplace with her daughter.
She
flung her handbag over her shoulders, plucked the keys from the key stand and
emerged from her cabin.
“I
will be back soon.” She said to no one in particular as she strode at an easy
pace towards the parking lot.
She
revved up the engine; it rumbled, gave a soft jerk and then began to move.
She
had had the presence of mind to call the mechanic and get her car repaired. It
was just a spark plug issue and it was resolved in no time.
Roohi
had just emerged from her school gates, when she recognized her mother’s car
parked behind her school bus, hazard lights blinking, and car position a bit
skewed. She looked closely. A wave of happiness enveloped her when she saw her
mother standing next to the car. She blinked, turned swiftly, her gaze not
leaving her mother, her shoes grinding against the sandy ground, with her both
arms swinging in air, her school bag thumping against her back, she walked
swiftly, reached Tara and circled her arms around her mother’s waist.
“Mamma!
So nice to see you. Ooh! I cannot believe it. What a pleasant surprise!”
“Yes,
my pretty Rooh. Today, I decided to spend some time with my baby” Tara bend
down to kiss her daughters forehead.
“Really?
Are we going someplace?” Roohi walked towards the other side, threw her school
bag at the back seat of the car, opened the front door and plopped herself in
the front seat.
“We
are going home, baby!” said Tara, as she put the car in gear and pulled
out of the parking lot.
“No,
no, Mamma please, I don’t want to go home, can we stop for an ice-cream,
please?” said Roohi, her voice lingering on the word ‘please’ and her eyes
rolling in excitement.
“Hmmn,
only ice cream then, okay?” said Tara, her eyes focused on the busy road ahead.
Tara
parked her car outside an ice-cream parlor, hand-in-hand, Roohi and Tara walked
inside.
With
an interior design that looks more like a clothes shop than an exclusive ice
cream parlor, this place had more than fifty flavors of ice cream, some of them
truly amazing. In winter they also served chocolate delicacies and pastries.
Roohi
chose the combination of vanilla and strawberry ice cream, topped with small
chunks of chopped strawberries, two tiny kiwi rings, black grapes and broken
pieces of walnuts and pine nuts.
While
wolfing down her ice cream Roohi looked up and asked:
“You
and daddy don’t go out nowadays, do you feel sad?
“Yes,
sometimes, but he will be fine.”
“Will
he ever walk again?”
“Yes,
baby, he will.”
“You
know, mamma, daddy is always on skype.”
“He
is working no?”
“But
he spend so much time talking to uncle Sunil on Skype.”
“Oh,
they talk business.” Said Tara, wondering if Sunil was a new friend that
Shekhar had found on the net. She would ask him later she decided.
“But
I don’t like him.”
“You
don’t have to talk to him.”
“I
don’t want to talk but daddy asked me to.”
“Just
say ‘hello’ and go back to your room.”
“He
said he might come to Mumbai and stay in our house.”
“Don’t
worry, he must have just said so, daddy friends always stay in hotel. No?”
“Mamma,
he said he might come home.”
“Okay
finish your ice-cream, I will drop you home then go back to work.”
“You
will go back to work?”
“Yes,
baby, Mamma has work to do.”
“Please,
stay at home today, please, please.”
“Okay,
lets go home first then we will decide.”
They
drove home with Roohi chatting all the way, telling her stories about her
school, friends, teachers, food, games…
Tara
was already in good spirit when they entered their building compound. She
inserted her house key into her main door and walked in.
She
could hear soft murmurs coming from her room.
“Go
to your room and change your school uniform Rooh, I will just be back” she
said, nudging Roohi's shoulders to steer her towards the other room.
She
decided to surprise Shekhar
She
walked into her room. Shekhar was in the front of the screen, his back towards
the door, deep in conversation. A shock wave travelled from her foot to her
heart, as she focused her eyes to look at the face in the screen. She shivered,
her nerves pulsating against her temples.
“What-the-hell!”
she screamed as she clutched the mouse to switch off the Skype call.
Shekhar
turned and looked at Tara in surprise.
“You
know him?” Asked Shekhar
“Yes,
he is Cyrus’s brother.”
Read meets are always interesting, and every meeting I attend, I always learn something new. An evening well spent
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