Time - (2nd part)
The story so far
She shook herself out of reverie. The sunlight had reached half way across the room. It was time to start preparing for the evening tea. Shanti maashima, her next-door neighbour, would be coming over soon. She always dropped in on thursdays, to share the evening tea. It had been so even before Gautami had come as a bride. She loved her tea with hot pakodas and tangy tamarind chutney. Even after Ma had passed away, she had continued her weekly visit. The teatime was spiced with latest gossip of the neighbourhood, the TV-serials, her family, the film stars. In fact it didn’t matter whether there was anything new to talk about or not. She could pepper any conversation and did so without any malice. It helped that Gautami was a good listener. She nodded at correct intervals, made suitable sounds “really?”, “you think so?”. “fancy that !”, “You don’t say so?”, “I am sure it’s not true!” and more of the kind.
Calling out to the maid, she checked herself in the mirror. Absently brushing down the few straying strands of hair, she ran her eyes over the room. Things were in place and the maid also confirmed that everything was under control in kitchen, for the evening’s visitor.
Sharp at four forty five, Shanti maashima breezed in like a puff of wind. She was short and frail looking but was known for her sharp intelligence. Her rapier sharp tongue and propensity to speak her mind made people wary of her to an extent. Gautami, on the other hand, enjoyed her insights.
“You look a little distracted. Are you ok?”
“Yes maashima. It’s been a lazy day. Now that Bhiku has gone to the hostel, I am free most of the time.”
“You should come with me to the satsangs. You also have a melodious voice. They would love the beautiful bhajans I have often heard you singing. I have never heard any of them before. Where did you learn them?”
“Maashima, don’t joke. They are just random words that I sing.”
“You mean, you have written them? And the music; who set the music?”
“Maaaaaaaashima. The pakodas are getting cold. Which ones did you like today? I’ll ask them to make more of the same. Is the tea ok? Do you want more sugar? I added something extra to the chutney. Does it taste any different?”
“Don’t avoid the issue. I want to know about the bhajans.”
The phone rang.
“Saved by the bell”, thought Gautami. She got up to pick up the phone.
“Hello?”
will continue...
She shook herself out of reverie. The sunlight had reached half way across the room. It was time to start preparing for the evening tea. Shanti maashima, her next-door neighbour, would be coming over soon. She always dropped in on thursdays, to share the evening tea. It had been so even before Gautami had come as a bride. She loved her tea with hot pakodas and tangy tamarind chutney. Even after Ma had passed away, she had continued her weekly visit. The teatime was spiced with latest gossip of the neighbourhood, the TV-serials, her family, the film stars. In fact it didn’t matter whether there was anything new to talk about or not. She could pepper any conversation and did so without any malice. It helped that Gautami was a good listener. She nodded at correct intervals, made suitable sounds “really?”, “you think so?”. “fancy that !”, “You don’t say so?”, “I am sure it’s not true!” and more of the kind.
Calling out to the maid, she checked herself in the mirror. Absently brushing down the few straying strands of hair, she ran her eyes over the room. Things were in place and the maid also confirmed that everything was under control in kitchen, for the evening’s visitor.
Sharp at four forty five, Shanti maashima breezed in like a puff of wind. She was short and frail looking but was known for her sharp intelligence. Her rapier sharp tongue and propensity to speak her mind made people wary of her to an extent. Gautami, on the other hand, enjoyed her insights.
“You look a little distracted. Are you ok?”
“Yes maashima. It’s been a lazy day. Now that Bhiku has gone to the hostel, I am free most of the time.”
“You should come with me to the satsangs. You also have a melodious voice. They would love the beautiful bhajans I have often heard you singing. I have never heard any of them before. Where did you learn them?”
“Maashima, don’t joke. They are just random words that I sing.”
“You mean, you have written them? And the music; who set the music?”
“Maaaaaaaashima. The pakodas are getting cold. Which ones did you like today? I’ll ask them to make more of the same. Is the tea ok? Do you want more sugar? I added something extra to the chutney. Does it taste any different?”
“Don’t avoid the issue. I want to know about the bhajans.”
The phone rang.
“Saved by the bell”, thought Gautami. She got up to pick up the phone.
“Hello?”
will continue...
blogged by Asmita at 11:36 pm
1 Comments:
Liked the gentle pace, and the slow progression into verbalizing her emotions through conversation.
Nasty comments, as requested:
1. An intro to Bhiku would have been good. A new character who seems important enough to have helped Gautami spend her time effectively seems to merit at least an intro.
2. Gust of wind would do more justice to Maashima. :-)
3. Music b/g to the bhajans seems unlikely; did you mean the tune or the melody? That would make it more interesting.
4. PakoRas would seem more likely to be a Bengali pronunciation.
So there...
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