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A SLICE OF LIFE AND TIME(PART-1)

It was the best time of her life. She had a lucrative job offer, a holiday and above all, a loving family. What more can a 21 year old ask for? Her dad was transferred to the same place where she had started her schooling. It was Jeypore, the small, hilly town where she had spent three delightful years of her childhood. At heart, she was still a child, only she had left her playful antiques. She went to her alma-mater yesterday and surprisingly, almost every teacher remembered her face. She still had the look of the seven year old, her mom said so. What a beautiful place! The small market seemed so friendly and inviting, unlike the malls which transformed into a fish-market during festive season. Malls meant pure commerce,at least she thought so. It was so convenient here to order a dosa in her favourite ‘Lokesh Hotel’ and drink steaming hot coffee while waiting. The dinner at “Prince” was an experience in itself.The gentle midnight breeze was a delight in itself. No nightclub or holiday resort was equal to it. She wished if this time could stop forever.
But little did she know what lay ahead. The phone rang at 2:38 am that night. It was a call from her cousin. Her dad said with a beaming smile, ”There’s good news..Nethra just had a baby girl. We must go next morning.” She jumped at the idea, ”Yes,Dad. I’ll start packing right now.” Her mom said,”No,darling!
You aren’t going. You have your online tests in 2 days ,remember ?” ”Oh! I almost forgot . Once I clear them, I’ll rush to my niece. But Mom, you can stay back, can’t you? “Before she could say anything, Dad said , ” Sweety, its high time you must take care of yourself. Mom will go this time. Don’t worry about cooking. I’ll tell ‘Prince’ to deliver your meals at home itself. Happy? ” Happy!She was on cloud nine. The nightly meeting came to an end and the next morning, her parents were off to Bhubaneswar,450 miles away. She savoured her breakfast and went back to books to prepare for her tests. It was a door-bell ring that took her out of her quest of knowledge. It was her lunch parcel from ‘Prince’. Taking her own time,she enjoyed every bit of it. Reading the day’s newspaper, she listened to soothing ghazals and off went the afternoon. The domestic help came in the evening but she told her there was nothing to do. Cooking was her biggest problem and Dad had solved it. So she was relaxed.
She lit the lamp in the courtyard in front of the ‘tulsi’ plant and prayed for her success for the next day.
That evening she marveled at her home. How high were the roofs, plenty of fresh air in. No need of air-conditioner. The large courtyard was a boon to her. Here she could experience the old-world charm she had long forgotten.The high walls were impregnable-with bits of broken glass embedded in them. The feeling of security was very much there. Soon, she went back to her last minute exam brush-up and dinner too arrived in time. She got a call from her mom that they had just reached Bhubaneswar. She slept soon after that, after a short online chat with her friend. She had her exam at seven next morning. Though it was just a mock test, she wanted to give her best. She had promised herself to excel in whatever she did, be it professional or personal.
The day began and she completed her test in due time. She was in the top 1 percentile and that made her elated. She called her parents and told them that. They were too glad to hear it. Her dad said he had booked train tickets for her for 6 pm train that day. An old family friend will escort her to station.She was glad to hear it. Though the breakfast was delicious as usual, she didn’t quite enjoy it. She was too excited to meet her infant niece !She started her packing and by noon, all was ready. Then all of a sudden came a bolt from the blue.As she switched on the television, the headlines left her dumbfounded-RIOTS IN JEYPORE…Initially, she couldn’t believe her eyes. But seconds later,a phone call settled it all. Her dad said at the other end,”Baby,its true.” He said some other things which she couldn’t listen to. He was desperate.A father’s anxiety when his daughter is in a town of butchers is beyond description. Somehow the call ended. And she tried to absorb the stark reality.

Comments

Anwesa said…
here i'v tried my hand at fiction,hope u'll like it..
Lucifer said…
wow ppl arnd me r so talented...nice descrition...like d finer details u have gone into...but wat happened next??? hope its not a sad endin...i think all bloggers have a japanese mindset of tragedy n stuff...
plz mk it nice n swt :)

n again...niceeee!!!!
Sameera Ansari said…
That was very well written!I second Mayz,what's next? :)
Prashant Sree said…
If this s ur first time at writing prose u hav done a beautiful job.. I liked t part abt t gal deciding to excel in both professional and personal life.. Asking out of curiosity, does t story has ur personal life's experiences ? :)
Anwesa said…
@mayz,
thanx 4 appreciating..it will have the shades of real life..just wait to see the story unfold..
Anwesa said…
@sameera,
thanx 4 reading..have some patience dear..
Anwesa said…
@prashant sree,
tho its not my maiden attempt to prose,i'vnt ever written so long a story..n i'm too nervous if i can do justice to the story..well,its not a personal experience,but certainly d gal is similar 2 me in many ways,after all,she's my brain-child..i fervently hope that u'll like the next part.
Priya said…
Very well written. Thank you for visiting my page.
Anonymous said…
Hey!!
For a first attempt it was brilliant!!

more parts to follow...waiting :)

hello to you!
preetha :)
Anwesa said…
@preetha,
thanx..ya,keep visiting n hello 2 u!!
Abhishek Behera said…
deeply engrossing!! can't wait for part-2 !!

"Malls meant pure commerce,at least she thought so" - minute details like these were simply awesome!

(hey, me wonders - didi is taking inspiration from her previous posts :) ... like she has a post on riots, also on feminism and here Nethra has a girl child")

And yes, best wishes to Nethra's little bundle of joy !!!

... the ominous atmosphere toward the end scares me. Whats gonna happen?
Abhishek Behera said…
something i forgot to notice at first - the title ( ya me knows - I m dodo to miss that...)

"A slice of life and time" ??!!!

More mystery - can i guess part -2 from title? ... ( me thinking seriously...)
Anwesa said…
@abhishek sim,
thanx 4 reading..now i luvd ur feedback,i'm beginning 2 feel confident to rite the next part.yes,i'm bit of a feminist n so...he he..clever ur..well,thanx 4 the baby's wishes..i hope u'll b happy to read the next part.Since it is a slice of life and present times,it won't be melodramatic.
Si_Lee said…
THAT was ... well ... simple and picturesque ... and yeah the message you conveyed here ... how man wrecks even the most beautiful of places on this planet ... ushers in chaos in a place deserving harmony ... and the way you did it .. hats off
rainboy said…
terrific work again..
post the next one tomorrow...i don't like waiting for brilliant posts .
make it fast dear

:D
Mysterious Mia said…
awesome piece....not even for a min i thought it was fiction i thought this was real i was so engrossed reading every bit.....wowo first time here n am impressed....

btw thanks for stopping by at mine ...will see ya around :)
RiverSoul said…
Whoa. . . .
Thats one hell of a awesome write
:)
Whats in part 2?
A spoiler Plz
:)
Hemanth Potluri said…
hmmm...i dint knew anwesa could rite fiction :P..heheh..so here comes the riter into the blogs...very well done indeed dear...nice job...i have no tension for the other part ...take ur time and put some more suspense lol...and give me also a part in the fiction..:P..just kiddin..good job done here ..:)..

urs..hemu..
Anwesa said…
@descrying the shadows,
thanx..i hope u'll read the next part too..
Anwesa said…
@vicky,
thanx 4 d appreciation..but let me just sink into the story,a mother needs 2 space her children,rite?so have patience..
Anwesa said…
@princess mia,
welcome to the blog!thanx 4 reading..i hope u wont b disappointed..
Anwesa said…
@riversoul,
thanx 4 reading..i hope pt-2 is as gud as this..spoiler-its not melodramatic..
Anwesa said…
@hemanth,
this was my 1st reader who wasn't eager 4 a quick pt-2..its nice 2 kno u lyked it..abt ur part,keep ur fingers crossed..
Pooja said…
really well written..vivid descriptions and a realistic plot..so far so good..curious abt the next part...
Anwesa said…
@pooja,
thanx 4 reading..i hope ur curiosity be answered in d best way..
Anonymous said…
simply superb anwesa...cant wait for part 2...!! just let the story unfold...!! :)

wow, i knew there were better writers than me in the world(duh...that was obvious) and now am finding another great writer...!!
Anwesa said…
@vinay,
thanx bro!i'm glad u liked it.i hope the subsequent parts will not disappoint u.
Vinz said…
nice one...but what next..?
was she really secured..?
or tragedies were waiting her..?
the plot was good and the detailed description triggered some nostalgic memories in me about my childhood town..

(meanwhile try getting the article in few paragraph's...that will be more presentable and the reader will feel the utmost pleasure reading it..!! just a suggestion..!!)
Anwesa said…
@vinz aka vinu,
thanx 4 reading,u'll hav 4 part-2 2 kno wat happened next.i'll try to b mor reader-friendly.
Priya Joyce said…
a lovely piece dear can't say it in words i luved it so much and so u hav this talent too wow gr8!!
Anwesa said…
@priya joyce,
thanx a lot!!
prajyot said…
very well writte..liked it a lot..!!!
Anwesa said…
@how do we know,
thanx...
Anonymous said…
Wow Anwesa! Great work! Loved reading it :) The way you describe details is just amazing, plus the story is left in such an ending that it deserves a sequel. Great work! Keep it going girl!
Aneesh said…
wow! superb, I thought it was real. Anyways, who knows? there might be some girl like that in your story who had experienced worse.
beautifully written, expecting more..
:)
lukkydivz said…
ur a talented girl, no doubts ;) waiting for more :)
Rià said…
Very Well written friend! I dint know there r so many talented ppl in the blogville. :) cheers.
Anwesa said…
@tara,
thanx a lot 4 d encouragement..
Anwesa said…
@aneesh,
thanx dude!it was a gud feeling after reading ur comment..i hope ur xpectations r realized in the best possible way.
Anwesa said…
@joiedevivre,
thanx..
Anwesa said…
@lukkydivz,
thanx..
Anwesa said…
@ria,
thanx gal!!
Me said…
Oh! Anwesa,

Please take care gal...

I wish it was safer so you cud have met ur niece :)

I am sure things will settle down soon.

Love
Harshita
Anwesa said…
@serene,
thanx 4 reading but 'she' isn't me..its a story..
Chaggoholic.... said…
Went nice so far.Lets see wat u conjure up in the next part....
Anwesa said…
@chaggoholic,
well thanx..i hope d nxt part will b as gud..
Cяystal said…
Oi..re-check my blog..there was an error in the publishing of the post earlier! =)
Keshi said…
Interesting story...is there a 2nd part to this?

Keshi.
Anwesa said…
@keshi,
yes of course!!!
Kartz said…
Good 'un... As one of your readers has already pointed out, picturesque indeed.

Waiting for Part- 2...

Peace.
Me said…
I was so engorssed in it...that I hardly read in the comments if itz fiction or not. ;)
Anwesa said…
@serene,
thanx a lot..it was d best compliment i cud ask 4..
luv..
anwesa

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