The Unfolding Story:
[This was my second assay at writing a story for "the Write India" on the prompt selected by the Author of the month, Mr. Manu Joseph. I could not really make the theme very clear, most probably. Besides there may be scores of mistakes. I just wanted to write about someone who was thought to be a gay by the society but who was as normal as any of us. I'll correct the mistakes when I can make the time. ]
The Unfolding Story:
Neil'd to keep the story to himself - how what set off as a scuffle, how Jeet took off all on a sudden and whether Piu got murdered or not, and how Neil came to be known as a gay, all this is a story that might remain a mystery unless he gets to meet Sri, Piu's sister, who, most probably, didn't even know that there is
a man, and exceedingly handsome man, in his late twenties desperately trying to put all the missing threads together. Neil looked at his reflection in the rectangular mirror fixated on the wall of his spacious bedroom again.
At 5 feet 11 inches, with the brown pair of eyes in the thick-set face he was the quitessential handsome young man. His curly hair and attractive physique backed up with an equally impressive persona, were what made women take a second look at him even in a crowd. Like the way Piu did. Piu, the elder of the two daughters of retired Major Ritrendra Singh, fell flat the first time she met and set her eyes on Krish.
Convent educated with a checkered portfolio, Piu had no hesitation in approaching Neil straight away in the middle of the party, an approach Neil appreciated in a world where pretention is the name of the game, especially for women. Piu and Neil became fast friends. Every Saturday Piu would come and spend some nice time with him.Namrata, a distant sis-in-law, who taught him how to grow into manhood from the innocent, immature youth that he was within a matter of hours. It was towards the fag end of their love making that he found Namrata looking out the window with a wistful look on her face.
Neil'd to keep the story to himself - how what set off as a scuffle, how Jeet took off all on a sudden and whether Piu got murdered or not, and how Neil came to be known as a gay, all this is a story that might remain a mystery unless he gets to meet Sri, Piu's sister, who, most probably, didn't even know that there is
a man, and exceedingly handsome man, in his late twenties desperately trying to put all the missing threads together. Neil looked at his reflection in the rectangular mirror fixated on the wall of his spacious bedroom again.
At 5 feet 11 inches, with the brown pair of eyes in the thick-set face he was the quitessential handsome young man. His curly hair and attractive physique backed up with an equally impressive persona, were what made women take a second look at him even in a crowd. Like the way Piu did. Piu, the elder of the two daughters of retired Major Ritrendra Singh, fell flat the first time she met and set her eyes on Krish.
Convent educated with a checkered portfolio, Piu had no hesitation in approaching Neil straight away in the middle of the party, an approach Neil appreciated in a world where pretention is the name of the game, especially for women. Piu and Neil became fast friends. Every Saturday Piu would come and spend some nice time with him.Namrata, a distant sis-in-law, who taught him how to grow into manhood from the innocent, immature youth that he was within a matter of hours. It was towards the fag end of their love making that he found Namrata looking out the window with a wistful look on her face.
"You'll grow out of tonight's tale in the years to come and look upon this experience as .. something forgettable. I don't know how, but I want you to know Neil that to me, you will always remain one of the best of friends, the last word on both beauty, no, not so much of beauty as of brain. I even shared with my mom once how clever and smart you were even as a kid..."
Not destined to love. Something died in me in the early hours as I found her wrapping her sari around her. Something in me was pleading out to her to stay back. Though it was insane on my part to do so. But I knew then that I'd never be able to love anyone like the passionate way I had been taught to make love the night that turned into the most painful morning of my life, leaving me bruished, battered with a bitter story to boot."
Until that fatal night when, without any information, Jeet landed in his posh Park Stree flat. Sorry, I forgot to introduce Jeet to you. Jeet had the look of a professional boxer. His friendship with Neil dated back from their school days and did not border exactly on the platonic. Jeet considered Neil as his best friend. On that Saturday night, on entering Neil's living room, Jeet was surprised to see the buxom beauty there. Piu was least bothered about Jeet's presence in the room and provocatively tried to be intimate with Neil. Jeet ohhhed and uhhued before going out of the room. Neil immediately withdrew from Piu and rushed out to the attached dining room.
As Neil followed by Piu, came in the dining room, Jeet surprised even himself by putting his arms around his best friend. There's something in the grotesque gesture that Piu found too much to digest. Without uttering a single, unpleasant word, she left his apartment quietly. As Neil pushed Jeet away, there was a look of hurt and anger in Jeet's eyes. Before Neil could say anything, Jeet sauntered out. Neil came to know about the crashing car in the Park Circus bypass and the unidentified body of the young woman. He came to know about the woman, now identified, from the 7.30 news bulletin next morning.
Now five years since that fatal night, Neil found himself heading to Hotel Taj in Alipore Road. Neil took a taxi to the most prestigious hotel in the city rather than going there in his own van. Getting inside was no problem as he had obtained the pass from the Managing Director of his company. He just rehearsed his purpose of coming to Taj Hotel quietly to himself as he started climbing up the mosaic steps to the golden banquet hall. Something in his psyche prepared him with the prompt:
'He is looking for a girl, who doesn't know he exists, or the story that he has brought with here. He has no reason to be discreet but still he has to be careful He is standing near the doorway and surveying the golden banquet hall, which is filled with refined bodies in saris and jackets, and beautiful young women with straight hair who never make facial expressions. But they will, soon. Any moment now.
The only thing to keep in my mind is...how far she knows the truth of the story, he reminded himself for the final time. As he paused for a tiny second outside, he took out his cell phone and made sure that he was looking at his brilliant best. It was only then that he stepped inside. The lady in a black chiffon sari who was standing some steps away was the first one to notice him.
"Gad!" she cried out. "Look who is here. It's Neil Kapoor, isn't it, friends?"
The next moment nearly half the women present in the room, were all over him. But for the guards, Neil could have been out swarmed and in serious trouble. Being a celebrity in any part of India, has its own price. Somehow, he was cordoned off to the table just on the right of the ramp. Hardly he had taken his seat when he spotted Sri looking at him askance. The dubious look on her face said it all. Celebrity or not, she had never even heard of this media magnet of StarWorld.
What had to happen, happened. Towards the end of a gala evening, someone introduced Neil to Sri. It was just a matter of time before they were sitting face to face. And a half hour later, Neil found himself arming Sri out of the hotel into a taxi. Sri had opened up to him the moment he mentioned her sister. Things started unwinding as if everything was predestined and taking place as the script. Now sitting beside him, he started wondering how far Sri knew the story or if she knew it at all. The taxi ride from Alipur Rad to his flat at Park Street was like a dream. The night was slowly awakening to the unfolding of another story. As he turned the key in the keyhole of the door, he looked at the gorgeous lady beside him for one more time. Why did the thought of Piu crop up in his mind? After a long while the sleeping giant started stirring within him. He wanted this maddening beauty by his side all his life. He wanted to marry, have kids and spend the rest of his life loving and being loved in return by this ravishing beauty.
They didn't have time for small talks after Sri was persuaded to spend the night in his bedroom while Neil would take the guest room. She even consented to having a sip of Champagne before retiring to bed. She had to catch the first flight to Delhi to be able to report to office for the next shift.
"It's strange that sis Piu never mentioned you to me. But I once heard her talking to mom about one someone and how infatuated she was with his personality. It was only after I was introduced to you tonight that I realized what she meant to say at that time or who she's talking abou. Did you two ever come very close...what I mean is, did you, Neil, spend some quality time with my sister? She's too young to die, you know."
Sri was sitting very close now. The fragrance from her hair, those large black eyes that have had a hold on him for a long time, were just a foot away, probing into his eyes for some confirmation. In the dim light of the living room, Neil breathlessly sighed to himself. He didn't know if it was a relief or regret to know that Piu kept their secret, their story of a boy being taught about manhood, to herself.
"No. Though you can call us friends, " Neil heard himself starting another relationship with a blatant lie, "we could never get as close as I'd have liked. When I heard the news of her car crash, I felt devastated. She was in the city the night before." It was only then he realized that the eyes that had kept him captive all along knew more than he would like to convey. Neil stopped then and was caught up in a whirlpool of loss and remorse. The blank expression in his own eyes told Sri what had been the untold story thus far.
The next moment Sri was behind him, trying to console him with her hand moving slithly over his head. Her glamorous face just inches away from his, searching for the truth and solacing him at the same time.
"Now I could guess why she was so crazy about you, Neil. I don't know, I ain't sure, if you have started getting ideas into your head about me. But let me tell you this that I ain't cheap. As her sister, I can very well feel what transpired between you two. Don't you worry. I won't make the same mistake. Please wake me up in the morning if you get up early. Good night..."
As she started retracing her steps to the bedroom, Neil realized for the first time that he'd been wrong about Piu all along. Theirs was not just a one-night-stand kind of thing. She came all the way from Delhi, inspite of being a married lady, not just to have some fun but because she really loved him.
At around 6, Neil knocked lightly on the bedroom. While Sri was dressing up, he used the kettle to make some black coffee. The time at the table was spent in some silence which was more vocal than anything he'd ever experienced. As they got out of his car and into the airport lounge, Neil tried to keep a distance. Sri, in the meantime, had gone to Checking for her luggage. There was an announcement being made about Sri's flight leaving within the next half hour. As she came back to him for a final goodbye, all his restraint was blown to the winds. He did then what had been there in his subconscious all these years, since he'd chanced upon Sri's photograph on the shelf. He put his arms around her like he would never late her go. And she came into them willingly as if this was why she came to Calcutta. And again for a flicker of a second, Neil had the image of Piu in front of his closed eyes.
The whirlwind wedding of Neil Kapoor, the so called gay media tycoon and Sri Shirodkar, the TV newscaster, was the talk of the town for the next week or so.
The End. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
As Neil followed by Piu, came in the dining room, Jeet surprised even himself by putting his arms around his best friend. There's something in the grotesque gesture that Piu found too much to digest. Without uttering a single, unpleasant word, she left his apartment quietly. As Neil pushed Jeet away, there was a look of hurt and anger in Jeet's eyes. Before Neil could say anything, Jeet sauntered out. Neil came to know about the crashing car in the Park Circus bypass and the unidentified body of the young woman. He came to know about the woman, now identified, from the 7.30 news bulletin next morning.
Now five years since that fatal night, Neil found himself heading to Hotel Taj in Alipore Road. Neil took a taxi to the most prestigious hotel in the city rather than going there in his own van. Getting inside was no problem as he had obtained the pass from the Managing Director of his company. He just rehearsed his purpose of coming to Taj Hotel quietly to himself as he started climbing up the mosaic steps to the golden banquet hall. Something in his psyche prepared him with the prompt:
'He is looking for a girl, who doesn't know he exists, or the story that he has brought with here. He has no reason to be discreet but still he has to be careful He is standing near the doorway and surveying the golden banquet hall, which is filled with refined bodies in saris and jackets, and beautiful young women with straight hair who never make facial expressions. But they will, soon. Any moment now.
The only thing to keep in my mind is...how far she knows the truth of the story, he reminded himself for the final time. As he paused for a tiny second outside, he took out his cell phone and made sure that he was looking at his brilliant best. It was only then that he stepped inside. The lady in a black chiffon sari who was standing some steps away was the first one to notice him.
"Gad!" she cried out. "Look who is here. It's Neil Kapoor, isn't it, friends?"
The next moment nearly half the women present in the room, were all over him. But for the guards, Neil could have been out swarmed and in serious trouble. Being a celebrity in any part of India, has its own price. Somehow, he was cordoned off to the table just on the right of the ramp. Hardly he had taken his seat when he spotted Sri looking at him askance. The dubious look on her face said it all. Celebrity or not, she had never even heard of this media magnet of StarWorld.
What had to happen, happened. Towards the end of a gala evening, someone introduced Neil to Sri. It was just a matter of time before they were sitting face to face. And a half hour later, Neil found himself arming Sri out of the hotel into a taxi. Sri had opened up to him the moment he mentioned her sister. Things started unwinding as if everything was predestined and taking place as the script. Now sitting beside him, he started wondering how far Sri knew the story or if she knew it at all. The taxi ride from Alipur Rad to his flat at Park Street was like a dream. The night was slowly awakening to the unfolding of another story. As he turned the key in the keyhole of the door, he looked at the gorgeous lady beside him for one more time. Why did the thought of Piu crop up in his mind? After a long while the sleeping giant started stirring within him. He wanted this maddening beauty by his side all his life. He wanted to marry, have kids and spend the rest of his life loving and being loved in return by this ravishing beauty.
They didn't have time for small talks after Sri was persuaded to spend the night in his bedroom while Neil would take the guest room. She even consented to having a sip of Champagne before retiring to bed. She had to catch the first flight to Delhi to be able to report to office for the next shift.
"It's strange that sis Piu never mentioned you to me. But I once heard her talking to mom about one someone and how infatuated she was with his personality. It was only after I was introduced to you tonight that I realized what she meant to say at that time or who she's talking abou. Did you two ever come very close...what I mean is, did you, Neil, spend some quality time with my sister? She's too young to die, you know."
Sri was sitting very close now. The fragrance from her hair, those large black eyes that have had a hold on him for a long time, were just a foot away, probing into his eyes for some confirmation. In the dim light of the living room, Neil breathlessly sighed to himself. He didn't know if it was a relief or regret to know that Piu kept their secret, their story of a boy being taught about manhood, to herself.
"No. Though you can call us friends, " Neil heard himself starting another relationship with a blatant lie, "we could never get as close as I'd have liked. When I heard the news of her car crash, I felt devastated. She was in the city the night before." It was only then he realized that the eyes that had kept him captive all along knew more than he would like to convey. Neil stopped then and was caught up in a whirlpool of loss and remorse. The blank expression in his own eyes told Sri what had been the untold story thus far.
The next moment Sri was behind him, trying to console him with her hand moving slithly over his head. Her glamorous face just inches away from his, searching for the truth and solacing him at the same time.
"Now I could guess why she was so crazy about you, Neil. I don't know, I ain't sure, if you have started getting ideas into your head about me. But let me tell you this that I ain't cheap. As her sister, I can very well feel what transpired between you two. Don't you worry. I won't make the same mistake. Please wake me up in the morning if you get up early. Good night..."
As she started retracing her steps to the bedroom, Neil realized for the first time that he'd been wrong about Piu all along. Theirs was not just a one-night-stand kind of thing. She came all the way from Delhi, inspite of being a married lady, not just to have some fun but because she really loved him.
At around 6, Neil knocked lightly on the bedroom. While Sri was dressing up, he used the kettle to make some black coffee. The time at the table was spent in some silence which was more vocal than anything he'd ever experienced. As they got out of his car and into the airport lounge, Neil tried to keep a distance. Sri, in the meantime, had gone to Checking for her luggage. There was an announcement being made about Sri's flight leaving within the next half hour. As she came back to him for a final goodbye, all his restraint was blown to the winds. He did then what had been there in his subconscious all these years, since he'd chanced upon Sri's photograph on the shelf. He put his arms around her like he would never late her go. And she came into them willingly as if this was why she came to Calcutta. And again for a flicker of a second, Neil had the image of Piu in front of his closed eyes.
The whirlwind wedding of Neil Kapoor, the so called gay media tycoon and Sri Shirodkar, the TV newscaster, was the talk of the town for the next week or so.
The End. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
The Unfolding Story:
Neil'd to keep the story to himself - how what set off as a scuffle, how Jeet took off all on a sudden and whether Piu got murdered or not, and how Neil came to be known as a gay, all this is a story that might remain a mystery unless he gets to meet Sri, Piu's sister, who, most probably, didn't even know that there is
a man, and exceedingly handsome man, in his late twenties desperately trying to put all the missing threads together. Neil looked at his reflection in the rectangular mirror fixated on the wall of his spacious bedroom again.
At 5 feet 11 inches, with the brown pair of eyes in the thick-set face he was the quitessential handsome young man. His curly hair and attractive physique backed up with an equally impressive persona, were what made women take a second look at him even in a crowd. Like the way Piu did. Piu, the elder of the two daughters of retired Major Ritrendra Singh, fell flat the first time she met and set her eyes on Krish.
Convent educated with a checkered portfolio, Piu had no hesitation in approaching Neil straight away in the middle of the party, an approach Neil appreciated in a world where pretention is the name of the game, especially for women. Piu and Neil became fast friends. Every Saturday Piu would come and spend some nice time with him.Namrata, a distant sis-in-law, who taught him how to grow into manhood from the innocent, immature youth that he was within a matter of hours. It was towards the fag end of their love making that he found Namrata looking out the window with a wistful look on her face."You'll grow out of tonight's tale in the years to come and look upon this experience as .. something forgettable. I don't know how, but I want you to know Neil that to me, you will always remain one of the best of friends, the last word on both beauty, no, not so much of beauty as of brain. I even shared with my mom once how clever and smart you were even as a kid..."Not destined to love. Something died in me in the early hours as I found her wrapping her sari around her. Something in me was pleading out to her to stay back. Though it was insane on my part to do so. But I knew then that I'd never be able to love anyone like the passionate way I had been taught to make love the night that turned into the most painful morning of my life, leaving me bruished, battered with a bitter story to boot."Until that fatal night when, without any information, Jeet landed in his posh Park Stree flat. Sorry, I forgot to introduce Jeet to you. Jeet had the look of a professional boxer. His friendship with Neil dated back from their school days and did not border exactly on the platonic. Jeet considered Neil as his best friend. On that Saturday night, on entering Neil's living room, Jeet was surprised to see the buxom beauty there. Piu was least bothered about Jeet's presence in the room and provocatively tried to be intimate with Neil. Jeet ohhhed and uhhued before going out of the room. Neil immediately withdrew from Piu and rushed out to the attached dining room.
As Neil followed by Piu, came in the dining room, Jeet surprised even himself by putting his arms around his best friend. There's something in the grotesque gesture that Piu found too much to digest. Without uttering a single, unpleasant word, she left his apartment quietly. As Neil pushed Jeet away, there was a look of hurt and anger in Jeet's eyes. Before Neil could say anything, Jeet sauntered out. Neil came to know about the crashing car in the Park Circus bypass and the unidentified body of the young woman. He came to know about the woman, now identified, from the 7.30 news bulletin next morning.
Now five years since that fatal night, Neil found himself heading to Hotel Taj in Alipore Road. Neil took a taxi to the most prestigious hotel in the city rather than going there in his own van. Getting inside was no problem as he had obtained the pass from the Managing Director of his company. He just rehearsed his purpose of coming to Taj Hotel quietly to himself as he started climbing up the mosaic steps to the golden banquet hall. Something in his psyche prepared him with the prompt:
'He is looking for a girl, who doesn't know he exists, or the story that he has brought with here. He has no reason to be discreet but still he has to be careful He is standing near the doorway and surveying the golden banquet hall, which is filled with refined bodies in saris and jackets, and beautiful young women with straight hair who never make facial expressions. But they will, soon. Any moment now.
The only thing to keep in my mind is...how far she knows the truth of the story, he reminded himself for the final time. As he paused for a tiny second outside, he took out his cell phone and made sure that he was looking at his brilliant best. It was only then that he stepped inside. The lady in a black chiffon sari who was standing some steps away was the first one to notice him.
"Gad!" she cried out. "Look who is here. It's Neil Kapoor, isn't it, friends?"
The next moment nearly half the women present in the room, were all over him. But for the guards, Neil could have been out swarmed and in serious trouble. Being a celebrity in any part of India, has its own price. Somehow, he was cordoned off to the table just on the right of the ramp. Hardly he had taken his seat when he spotted Sri looking at him askance. The dubious look on her face said it all. Celebrity or not, she had never even heard of this media magnet of StarWorld.
What had to happen, happened. Towards the end of a gala evening, someone introduced Neil to Sri. It was just a matter of time before they were sitting face to face. And a half hour later, Neil found himself arming Sri out of the hotel into a taxi. Sri had opened up to him the moment he mentioned her sister. Things started unwinding as if everything was predestined and taking place as the script. Now sitting beside him, he started wondering how far Sri knew the story or if she knew it at all. The taxi ride from Alipur Rad to his flat at Park Street was like a dream. The night was slowly awakening to the unfolding of another story. As he turned the key in the keyhole of the door, he looked at the gorgeous lady beside him for one more time. Why did the thought of Piu crop up in his mind? After a long while the sleeping giant started stirring within him. He wanted this maddening beauty by his side all his life. He wanted to marry, have kids and spend the rest of his life loving and being loved in return by this ravishing beauty.
They didn't have time for small talks after Sri was persuaded to spend the night in his bedroom while Neil would take the guest room. She even consented to having a sip of Champagne before retiring to bed. She had to catch the first flight to Delhi to be able to report to office for the next shift.
"It's strange that sis Piu never mentioned you to me. But I once heard her talking to mom about one someone and how infatuated she was with his personality. It was only after I was introduced to you tonight that I realized what she meant to say at that time or who she's talking abou. Did you two ever come very close...what I mean is, did you, Neil, spend some quality time with my sister? She's too young to die, you know."
Sri was sitting very close now. The fragrance from her hair, those large black eyes that have had a hold on him for a long time, were just a foot away, probing into his eyes for some confirmation. In the dim light of the living room, Neil breathlessly sighed to himself. He didn't know if it was a relief or regret to know that Piu kept their secret, their story of a boy being taught about manhood, to herself.
"No. Though you can call us friends, " Neil heard himself starting another relationship with a blatant lie, "we could never get as close as I'd have liked. When I heard the news of her car crash, I felt devastated. She was in the city the night before." It was only then he realized that the eyes that had kept him captive all along knew more than he would like to convey. Neil stopped then and was caught up in a whirlpool of loss and remorse. The blank expression in his own eyes told Sri what had been the untold story thus far.
The next moment Sri was behind him, trying to console him with her hand moving slithly over his head. Her glamorous face just inches away from his, searching for the truth and solacing him at the same time.
"Now I could guess why she was so crazy about you, Neil. I don't know, I ain't sure, if you have started getting ideas into your head about me. But let me tell you this that I ain't cheap. As her sister, I can very well feel what transpired between you two. Don't you worry. I won't make the same mistake. Please wake me up in the morning if you get up early. Good night..."
As she started retracing her steps to the bedroom, Neil realized for the first time that he'd been wrong about Piu all along. Theirs was not just a one-night-stand kind of thing. She came all the way from Delhi, inspite of being a married lady, not just to have some fun but because she really loved him.
At around 6, Neil knocked lightly on the bedroom. While Sri was dressing up, he used the kettle to make some black coffee. The time at the table was spent in some silence which was more vocal than anything he'd ever experienced. As they got out of his car and into the airport lounge, Neil tried to keep a distance. Sri, in the meantime, had gone to Checking for her luggage. There was an announcement being made about Sri's flight leaving within the next half hour. As she came back to him for a final goodbye, all his restraint was blown to the winds. He did then what had been there in his subconscious all these years, since he'd chanced upon Sri's photograph on the shelf. He put his arms around her like he would never late her go. And she came into them willingly as if this was why she came to Calcutta. And again for a flicker of a second, Neil had the image of Piu in front of his closed eyes.
The whirlwind wedding of Neil Kapoor, the so called gay media tycoon and Sri Shirodkar, the TV newscaster, was the talk of the town for the next week or so.
The End.
Comments
Post a Comment