Metamorphosis (Part III)

" When I saw you over there,

I didn't mean to stare,

But my mind was everywhere,

I wanna know you "

She was amazed at how she could listen to his constant rambling and instead of getting bored, crave for more. They filled their plates with food and walked towards the pool, him still going on about his last anatomy class.

Smiling to herself at his excitement, she listened on.

"Arrey, it got so bad we had to give that guy an enema."

'Stop stop! I so dont want to know the end of that story'

"Arrey but listen no, it's super funny how this ends"

' You had your hand up someone's bum. I can't imagine how it could possibly end in a good story', she giggled

"You have a really cute smile, did you know"

'Typical boy I tell you. Chote se gap mein marofying chance'

"Arey no baba, just appreciating good anatomy"

The live band was playing some old classics.However fun the new techno-beat-electronic mish mash that today's music was, there was nothing that could beat the golden oldies, she thought. As if on que, he started humming.

It seemed like a scene right out of those silly romantic comedies- moonlight night, perfect music, wedding set, the female lead with a slightly obnoxious quirky comic who turns into a charming hero by the end of the movie.

'Gosh!', she said out loud as she touched her emerald earrings.

“What happened? Is my singing that bad, yaar”

‘Tell me one thing, where did you become up this “yaar-yaar” business from?’

“Delhi slang, it catches on eventually. Just like you Southies use ‘da’ for everything.”

‘Ok, first, “you southies”? Where do you think you come from?’ she said as she rose, ‘and second, I, the southie was raised in Delhi for 10 years. To be specific, my formative years were spent in Delhi. Neither do I use ‘yaar’, nor ‘da’ ‘

“Arey yaar, I think there is a problem with your nose”

‘Eh?’

“Anger resides on the very tip of your nose, one tiny spark of and BOOM. You girls I tell you. Oops no no, no genaraliing girls either or you will stab my other foot with your 4 inch heel. Come, now pull me up, let’s go for desert’, he stretched his hand out.

‘Delhi boys can get up on their own yaar’, she giggled as she walked away

She’d reached the serving table before she turned around, but he wasn’t there. She looked around for that familiar face, but there was no sign of him.

“Naina”. It was her mother. “Shall we leave?”

‘Sure ma, let me just check on something.’ She walked back towards the pool. Still no sign of him. Maybe she had been a little too rude. She rushed back to her mother, still browsing through the crowd to catch a glimpse of Rithwik.

“Aint no sunshine when she’s gone..”

She looked out of the car at the canopy of lights one last time and that is when she had realised that she had dropped her earring.

It's all about the price tag

We live in a world where what you wear defines you more than what you do...
What you drive matters more than where you are heading...
Where you eat matters more than whom you have fed..

Perhaps it's the new age arrogance, but it wasn't a sudden churn.  Every 'age' saw it's bit of change and that's how we are where we are today.. Wherever it is that we are....!

 It all started with a simple man's wish to lead a better life, have a little extra to buy himself some comfort.

"All I want is a room somewhere
Far away from the cold night air
With one enormous chair
Oh, wouldn't it be loverly?"

And there he sat with his dreamy eyes, leaning over his desk,  thinking of a perfect world where he'd have that extra bit to get his lady a nice dinner.
But then one day he looked over his shoulder. And there he saw a fat man with a flashy Rolex and a girl on either arms.
Suddenly his perfect world with a 'just a  little more' seemed insignificant.
Who wanted a simple glass of hot chocolate and a a warm fire to make one feel cozy when you could wish for a tall glass of champagne and buy the company of exotic escorts.
 
Enamored by the sight he saw, he changed his mind. -from a simple wish of having a little more to spend, he now wanted a lot extra, to splurge.It was no longer about what he really needed, but about what he could have

"Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man's world
All the things I could do
If I had a little money
It's a rich man's world"

 But how could he get there, he was a simple man from a simple background. He wasn't born to Kings and Queens. He was the middle class. There were tales of hardwork pushing you up the ladder of success. But it would take him forever to get there. Would he survive the slow climb? How long would it take him to get to the top? What was the guarantee that everytime he took two steps forward, someone wouldn't push him one step back? He was the middle class after all. He was so accustomed to have his toes stepped on that he expected it.
He knew there was no straight way to get to where he wanted to be.
Like everything in the world that time, he wanted his share of the fame and glory instantly. What would it take to get there faster? He was willing for anything.

"Lie for it
Spy for it
Kill for it
Die for it

So you call it trust
But I say it's just
In the devil's game
Of greed and lust"

Even if it meant selling your soul to the devil himself, our man was ready to do so. For he was too blinded by the gleam of the gold that he didn't see where he was headed. H e was so intoxicated by  the smell of fresh notes to know what he was doing. Everyone around him was his competition, and he had to get above them all. He now knew how to climb that mystical ladder faster- all he had to do was step on a back every now and then. Even if it meant losing out on ones he loved.

"If you show me the cash
Then I will take it
If you tell me to cry
Then I will fake it
If you give me a hand
Then I will shake it
You do anything for money"

But how did it matter. After all everything in the world could be bought.He didn't need to be born  to royalty anymore to have people bowing to him. He could buy their loyalty. What if ones he loved wouldn't look at him anymore, he would replace them with gold statues. He had it all.. Or did he?

Was perhaps just a glass of hot chocolate really what he wanted. Was the laughter of his lady more dear to him than the cha-ching of his cash registrar?

What DID he have around him now apart from the shine of diamonds and the glint of gold.

What was a stone in comparison to tender words of love. What was a hard metal of any value for when you needed a soft shoulder to lean on.

He had it all, yet he had nothing, for in his race to fame, not only had he lost himself but also left behind what really mattered.

"Why is everybody so obsessed?
Money can't buy us happiness
Can we all slow down and enjoy right now
Guarantee we'll be feelin' alright

We'll pay them with love tonight"

Metamorphosis (Part II)

The car turned into the gate; she stared at the shimmering canopy of lights. She could hear the loud thumping music at a distance and feel the festive joy in the air. She did NOT want to be there. She was all dressed up in her green salwar, an emerald choker around her neck. She pushed her hair off her brow and tucked it behind her ear and touched the emerald earrings that adorned them- her grandmother's.

The car came to a halt in front of a huge archway made of white roses. She stepped out into this temporary phase of razzle-dazzle, dreading every minute of the fake smiles and hugs and the meaningless small talk that was to ensue. The music got louder with every step that she took, she took a deep breath and kept walking..

She stepped on the stage with her mother, to go and wish the bride and groom and stood for the customary picture when suddenly a laugh distracted her. She looked to see where the sound had come from and that is when she saw him. Dressed in a white kurta, with the sleeves rolled up, hands in his pocket, talking to an elderly woman and charming her with his dimpled smile. She wondered who he was. 'Thank you!', the photographer called out. She hugged the bride again and followed her mother off the stage.

Having unwillingly completed the ordeal of exchanging the usual pleasantries, she excused herself and walked out of the hall, away from the high-pitched laughter, away from those ridiculous air-kisses and away from the plastic smiles. The sound of the sea was something she had always loved, she listened intently ignoring the din from the party. She spotted a vacant swing and decided to sit there a while. The salty breeze blew gently on her face as she dug her feet deeper into the sand. She finally felt real again.

Her eyes fixed on the full moon above, she started humming a tune that had been stuck in her head all evenings. Gently swinging back and forth, she thought of the summers she had spent at her grandparent's place, trying out dare devil feats on the swing by the mango tree. Such a long time ago that seemed like.

"Hey"

Naina snapped back into reality.

"Aren't you a little old to be on the swing?"

She frowned. "I'm sorry, I didn't know there was an age limit", she said sarcastically as she slipped her shoes back on.

"Ha ha ha oh god, I was just kidding you know."

"Never mind, I had to go anyway". She adjusted her drape and looked up.

Her skin, glowing under the moonlight and the breeze moving through her hair, her surreal beauty left him speechless.She turned around to walk away, back towards the party.

"Hey hey I'm sorry, did you take offence?"

She turned back, " Don't worry about it."

He raced up ahead of her. "Oi, listen, I was kidding yaar."

Naina smiled. "I know. And it's ok. Yaar."

"Those are really pretty earrings by the way."

"Thanks."

"Ummm I'm Rithvik."

"Nice meeting you Rithvik."

She walked away, and he watched on, listening to the clinking of her bangles. He slapped the back of his head. "Douchebag," he said to himself.

Her mom was still busy talking when she stepped back into the hall, she decided to just show her face and walk away before she got stuck in the pretencious talk again. All the 'kids' her age were on the dance floor  in the basement. She decided to go have a look, atleast that would be better than listening to old ladies gossip. Soon she was also swaying and shaking to the latest 'bollywood' songs with a group of girls her age whom she had just befriended.Jumping and dancing to the beats, she let her dislike for her dad's family go. She was finally having fun.

"Sajna ji vaari vaari....."

"Ow!"

"I'm so so sorry, I didn't mean to do that".

She had stepped on someone's foot, she looked up to see who it was.

"Haha, no worries yaar. My punishment for the earlier comment."

" I really am very sorry, are you ok?"

"Well, you're wearing what looks like a 4 inch long pencil heel, what do you think?", he pointed at his toes and wiggled them.

Naina smiled.

"Why did you stop? Dance no", he pulled her hand and dragged her into the crowd again.

He was studying to be a doctor,he loved his bike and his two dogs and he would not shut up. She laughed at his silly stories as they continued dancing. She'd forgotten when she had had so much fun.