Debi's Day out

The day started at 5.45 PM the day before. I was dragged from my 1 room palace with a tennis racket (which proved useless, bcos pcube forgot that we need 2 rackets to play tennis) in my hand. I was thrown into the back seat of a Santro with Pcube besides me. I was scared, as would all people be, if they know the power of Pcube. On the front seat I could see a person (MA) at the wheel. He was behaving like a monkey (much the way Symonds behaves on field) during certain parts of the journey. I could visualize myself crashing to death as had happened to Aamir in ISHQ, when another monkey was driving the Car. On the other front seat, a lady (PBA) was trying to calm the animal man, but was not succeeding at all. Anyways, we reached our destination without much injury to my health or mind. Once we reached, I was greeted with a welcome drink, i.e. khatta pani with Panipuri as side dishJ. I think there was also some plan to prepare some sweet dish, which due to lethargic nature of all did not materialize at all.

No human being can stand this much of torture, but there was still more to come. The dumbest movie of Nagesh Kukkunoor was waiting for us in Prasads. Statutory warning to all people – Don’t watch Bombay to Bangkok, if you are not BIVAS. After this, the weekly torture (only to the eyes though) point, Ohris was the next destination. My luck was so good that day that I was fortunate enough to get some free zalebis due to the kindness of our very own Oriya waiter bhai. Whenever I get something free, be it Zalebi or Johnnie Walker, I feel sleepy. So I went to sleep right at 4 AM. Some great person had once said ‘early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. With hardly any wealth or health on my side, I had to sleep early.

The plan for Sunday was that we will utilize the services of my company like the Pool, BB court, etc, for which I pay loads of dollars each month. But what we ultimately learnt was that ‘you should read each and every policy of your company’. While using the pool with friends, the guard came and very politely asked us to leave the pool as it is supposed to be used only by the employees (he said in a manner which suggested that his father had built the pool and he is the rightful owner of it). Anyways, we had to abandon the idea of utilizing any more services provided by the esteemed company after this.

The next stop was Prasads again, but not to watch a movie, rather to sell the tickets of the Golden compass, so as to save ourselves from another torture. As experienced by myself, I have now become an expert at identifying prospective movie ticket buyers. May be I will soon start the ticket black dhanda as a side business, since the salary that I get, somehow dissolves into thin air by the time 20th of a month arrives. After this successful mission, PBA insisted that we should try our hand at cart racing, specially keeping in mind the 2010 Delhi F1 race. We had to agree to her idea and landed at runway 9. This runway is not straight as most runways are, rather it’s a 14 Bend full-fledged racing track with other dangerous sports arena besides it. One of these games is Skating. Again a statutory warning from my side – Don’t ride a skate, if you are above 15 years old, no matter what your weight is. Pcube who is weighing at 110 pounds, fell down thrice during skating, PBA once and your’s truly twice (that too backwards, could not sleep properly that night L and no need to mention about my weight). Only MA did not have any damage, may be because of his monkey like acrobatics. During carting, I had my first major accident on a Cart where I ran into the barriers and 6 tires decided that its time they ride me, rather than the other way round. I came out of it with miner bruises and I am confident that if given a chance in the 2010 Delhi f1 race, I can challenge Alonso and Raikonen. With a quiet dinner at BB, the day ended.

It was indeed an eventful day (and a half) and what was sone pe suhaga or icing on the cake was that this happened after a long time. Friends are back in Hyderabad after a long time and happy days are back again.

Not My Story :)

It was late in the evening when I entered Howrah Station .It was teeming with office workers returning home after a typically tiring day at work. I didn't look forward to the prospect of returning home to my husband. The love between us had died years ago. Our marriage had been transformed into a dead corpse buried deep beneath a pile of painful memories. The bits and pieces of pleasure I derived from my daily existence were my only source of sustenance. My husband had accused me of being mentally deranged. But only I know better. He should have thought of a better reason than that to get rid of me.

I hauled my self into a train standing nearby. Finding a seat lying vacant I gleefully slid into it. After having exhausted myself at work securing a place to ease my legs was a welcome relief. The scene inside the train was disquieting. The train being the last one on that particular route, it wasn't long before the compartment was bursting to the full with people. They jostled and fought with each other in a desperate attempt to keep from falling off.

June is the hottest month in Kolkata; it's when the summers are at the peak of their torment. The sweltering heat conspired with the intolerable humidity to beat the lives out of the commuters. The stench from the garbage rotting on the rail tracks combined with the nauseating smell of human sweat to pervade the whole atmosphere. I felt like vomiting. I subconsciously swallowed the spittle that formed in my throat. In despair, I stared up at the ceiling for comfort. A solitary fan hung up there in a state of eternal rest, hideously shrouded in spider webs. I closed my eyes in a bid to rest my mind. Slowly I allowed myself to fall into a labored slumber.

When I awoke the train had traveled far into the countryside. The seat next to mine was occupied by a pretty nymphet. She had a concerned look on her face. The object of her anxiety was seated right opposite to us. He was the most loathsome, horrid specimen of mankind I had ever seen. He evidently appeared to be a village goon of some reputation. His bloodshot eyes were planted firmly on the girl. She squirmed uncomfortably in her seat under his leering looks. The redness of his eyes was indicative of the fact that he had soaked himself in liquor far exceeding socially acceptable limits.

The girl's nervousness was infectious. I looked around the compartment. It was completely vacant except for the three of us. I began to grow uneasy. The girl pressed my hand and held up a piece of newspaper for my inspection. She pointed towards a front-page news report. It was on a sensational serial killer who had been haunting Kolkatans for the past couple of weeks. Six young girls had been murdered in different parts of the city. They were discovered with their throats brutally slit open. The killings had been executed with such meticulous efficiency that the murder scenes were totally devoid of any clues. The police were baffled. The report went on to draw parallels with the legendary 'Stoneman' who had terrorized Calcutta in the early 90's and whose identity was yet to be ascertained. The report was undeniably scary and chilling to the bone.

The girl had visibly paled. She motioned with her eyes indicating to me that she considered the man sitting opposite to be a prime suspect. The girl was badly scared and I must admit I was pretty worried myself. Suddenly the train slowed as it approached an oncoming station. I was contemplating the feasibility of getting off the train, well before my intended destination, when the man himself stood up. To my utter surprise and immense joy he hopped off the train as it came to a screeching halt. The girl looked at me and both of us let out a huge sigh of relief. The tension having been released, she began to giggle. I caught up with her silly laughter and soon both of us were laughing away in abandon.

With a rude jerk the train started moving. Soon it was speeding across vast open countryside at a furious pace. Her jangled nerves having been calmed, the girl had begun to doze in her seat. As I looked at her I wondered just how naïve and unsuspecting young girls can be. I slipped my hand inside my handbag and firmly gripped the kitchen knife I always carried. I felt a strange numbness in my fingers but it had to be done. Besides she had an exceedingly beautiful neck. Such a pity!