CHAPTER I
9:00 P.M. You arrive at
the scene of crime. You alight from your car, greeted by the salutes
of your subordinates. It is a cold-blooded murder, they say. You make
your way up a flight of stairs and find the body lying on the floor,
covered in a pool of blood. The clamour of the gathered crowd
irritates you. You tell them to shut the f**k up.
9:10 P.M. You start
looking around for a clue and accidentally stumble upon a....... The
back of your head is suddenly attacked by the atrocity of a rooster
crowing.
8:00 A.M. You find
yourself scrambling for the snooze button. You shut your eyes
desperately trying to get back to the scene. Alas! Your mind comes
face to face with a black, blank and seemingly endless wall. Wonder
what could have happened next?
CHAPTER II
You go to a friend's
place. He says, “Have I told you of the time when I was
about to get kidnapped?”
“No.” (surprised)
“Okay, then let me tell
you.”
Naturally, you agree. He
begins. Your mind gets whipped up into a frenzy. He starts narrating.
“There was this guy
sitting beside me in the bus. He was smoking a beedi.”
It had begun pretty much
the way you had expected. A shady character in an equally shady
setting. By now, your curiosity has reached its crescendo.
“He started talking to
people seated right in front of us. It seemed like they were his
friends. They didn't look nice people.” (takes a pause)
The plot thickens. You
inadvertently adjust your posture expecting a long story.
“They were speaking in
a strange language. That guy then looked at me in a rather strange
manner.”
“Then??”
“Then……
(unbelievably long pause)………I'll tell you tomorrow.”
(straight face)
“Are you f***ing
kidding me!”
“No. I will tell you
tomorrow. Kyun? Dikkat kya hai (Why? What is the problem)??”
(a straight face encore)
You cannot believe what
just happened. That was ridiculous. You start cursing him. Still, he
does not give in to your repeated requests. Alas! There is not much
more you can do now.
CHAPTER III
Everyone says it is a
great movie. You decide to find out for yourself. You invite your
friends too. The ticket seller charges you 120 bucks per ticket. That
is fair enough. After all it's a multiplex. It has been quite a long
time since you watched a love story. But this one had incredible
performances (supposedly) from the cast, won awards, was critically
acclaimed and screened in various film festivals (whose names you
cannot recall).
The film begins. The
actor plays a widower, Mr. M. The actress plays a housewife, Mrs. W,
whose married life is anything but happy. She has a school-going
daughter too. Your appreciation for the movie grows with each frame.
The film gradually builds up to its climax. M parts ways with W. Up
until now, you love the movie. But it has not reached its end. A few
hundred frames later M realises something is amiss, and decides to
persuade W to be a part of his life. But Mrs. W contemplates
committing suicide. That’s pretty understandable. M boards a local
train, with dreams of his new life drenched in the music of the
dabbawaalas. W, meanwhile, packs her bags and leaves home with
her daughter.
And out of nowhere, the
credits start rolling.
THE END.
The movie has finished.
It seems someone has ripped apart a portion of the final reel. Did M
reach in time? Alas! Nobody can say for sure. Your disappointment at
the lack of closure leaves you in a fit of rage, effectively clouding
your appreciation of what has to be said was, in hindsight, great
art.
CHAPTER IV
If you have reached thus
far, I believe you must have related to at least one of the chapters.
Now you think there must be something I, the author, intend to
convey. I most certainly do.
But let us keep that for
another fine day. Somewhere in the not too distant future.
-Ayush Poddar
