'Damn!'
Dron got off from his car. The indicator on the dashboard was still blinking...a blue kind of an icon with a lock sign...it had been blinking for the last few minutes. In fact after coming out of Madhusudhan Mancha, where he had gone to attend a programme on invitation, when he turned the ignition key on, that curious sign was not there.He distinctly remembered that. It started a few minutes ago. When he turned towards the street near Chetla Agragami club that would connect him to Taratola, he noticed the sign for the first time.
'Only last week the second service of the car was done...it might be a minor problem...' He thought then and turning deliberately blind to the blinking locked down sign he moved on.Apparently there was no slightest hint of any glitch forthcoming. The car was moving as usual... No unusual noise...no knocking...
The evening was cool after a spell of heavy rain. The mid July sky was still covered with clouds which thundered time to time to remind mortals that another spell of shower could be on the offing.
Crossing Taratola, the car stopped. It just stopped with no presumptions. Dron then realised that the innocent looking blink of that lock sign was an indicator of something serious happening inside the vehicle.
He got off.
Switching on the light of his cell screen he tried to get a look inside the bonnet.
Nothing he could see. There was a sense of heat inside that came out, kind of liberated, as soon as he opened the bonnet. There was a metallic smell fused with oily flavour.
Dron took out the car manual from the glove box and started dialing the helpline number provided by the manufacturer.
It rang. A menu driven operation took his call to a call center where he registered his complaint. It would take at least one hour for any mechanic from the nearest workshop to come down to the place where he was stranded.It could take more time even, he was informed.
'What am I supposed to do then?'
Dron involuntarily mumbled, within himself, but loud enough for the call center employee to hear.
'You can stay inside your car and listen to music... Sir...'
The female voice quipped, perhaps to cheer his dampened spirit.
After the call, he locked the doors of the car and started walking, kind of aimlessly.
Cars were whizzing past him. The headlights fell on the wet asphalt like cylindrical light beams.
Dron tapped lightly on his right pocket of trousers.
'There should be a packet of cigarettes...'
Dron thought but only felt the presence of the lighter there...a solid feel of something hanging there uselessly.
A mild drizzle started followed by a loud noise of clouds roaring.
On the other flank of the road, just beside the office building of the electricity supply company, there was a paan and cigarette shop open. Dron thought of crossing the road. Just then he heard the horn and looking up he felt the blinding light of some vehicle upon his face. He stopped. The vehicle screeched to a halt. It was a scooty driven by a woman.
'Are you blind?'
The woman shrieked.
'I'm sorry...'
Dron mumbled.
'Sorry? Hey! Drona? Here?'
The woman exclaimed.
The voice did not sound very familiar to Dron.
The light from the scooty fell still on his face so he couldn't see an inch beyond.
'Turn off the light please...'
Dron smiled and said.
'Oops! I'm sorry...'
The woman got down from the vehicle and pushed it towards the roadside.
'Rupsha?...'
Dron asked, curious.
'Hmmm...right! what are you doing here? jaywalking?'
Rupsha came towards him, asking this.
'Oh...no...my car...it got stranded...'
Dron said pointing towards the car parked a few yards away.
'Really? called any help?'
'Yes...they would be coming soon...hopefully...'
Dron flashed a helpless smile.
Rupsha bit her lips.
With the helmet on, she looked much different from what Dron had seen her in university days. 'You've grown fatter...'
Dron remarked.
'You too!'
Rupsha retorted.
Dron looked at his bulging tummy.
'yeah...kind of...'
He smiled.
Rupsha smiled too.
In white salwar and red half helmet, she looked oddly beautiful...smart...savvy yet lady like.
'Where are you coming from?'
Dron asked.
'Oh...I work at the electricity office right here...accounts department...'
Rupsha said looking up to the sky.
It was still drizzling though the possibility of another spell was very much there.
'Okay! that's good! really good! '
Dron smiled.
'I would not hold you up...it might rain...'
He added.
'Hmmm...but how can I leave you here stranded alone? though you might always do that to others...'
Rupsha said after a brief pause, biting her lips again. She was thinking something...it seemed...thinking hard...
Dron said nothing. He looked at her. The drizzle was leaving marks unashamedly here and there on her body.
'No...no...go home...your family must be worried...'
Dron murmured, haltingly, suppressing his idea of asking her a few questions about her life after he had left her for better opportunities.
'Neither the place nor the time is right...'
Dron thought, still staring blankly at Rupsha.
'Yes...my husband loves me very much...we have a little kid...five years...going to school...and we are really happy...'
Rupsha uttered, with a broad smile...a smile really too broad.
'Really? that's good!'
Dron said, looking fixedly at Rupsha's wet face...it was glowing... the drizzle accentuated the beauty of her face...
'So...big man! you're supposed to be saint...aren't you? that's what you told me after few years of playing and dancing with me beside the trees in several gardens of the city...right? Look at you! Silk shirt! expensive watch! Macho car parked useless though for the time being...huh?'
Rupsha uttered with a kind of biting force...teething every bit of words...breaking them into syllables perhaps under the utmost pressure of her teeth...
Dron said nothing. He kept on looking at Rupsha.
'What a transformation! from a small town innocent girl who never even dared to wear a salwar to university to a lady riding scooty to job...what a change!'
Dron thought.
Suddenly Rupsha started laughing like a mad woman.
'God must have heard my silent prayers..you know...after you ditched me...I prayed to God to give me a chance to face you...so that I could slap you on your face...but seeing you here...half drenched...with a car not moving I pity you...I pity you really...bye bye Big man!'
Saying this Rupsha started walking towards her scooty.
Just then a ringing sound emanated from somewhere.
Rupsha stopped, brought her cell phone from her side bag and started talking to someone.
A few paces away Dron stood perplexed.
The ringtone!
The ringtone!
My Goodness!
Was that not the ringtone of a deep tibetan flute?
Had he not made a compact disc of the tibetan flute recitals and presented it to Rupsha...six years ago?
Had he not once asked her to listen to those recitals every morning?
After talking hurriedly and ending the call, Rupsha switched on ignition and cast a side hateful glance to Dron. Then she moved on.Dron saw her from behind going away slowly, cautiously...down the wet slippery road through the drizzle. The ends of her red dupatta tied sideways kept fluttering in the cool breeze of the wet evening.
Dron only saw that image slipping away into the darkness of the evening and he thought he heard the ringtone casting a jarring persistent note in his ears...as if Rupsha had left the disc playing in a repeat mode in Dron's mind...The road seemed blurry. A deep indescribable pain was imploding.
Dron felt his eyesight losing strength...He thought he ought to run after the fading tail lamp of the scooty.He started running...almost instinctively...too instinctively...as if that run was the only goal of his tiny life at that moment...
.
Dron got off from his car. The indicator on the dashboard was still blinking...a blue kind of an icon with a lock sign...it had been blinking for the last few minutes. In fact after coming out of Madhusudhan Mancha, where he had gone to attend a programme on invitation, when he turned the ignition key on, that curious sign was not there.He distinctly remembered that. It started a few minutes ago. When he turned towards the street near Chetla Agragami club that would connect him to Taratola, he noticed the sign for the first time.
'Only last week the second service of the car was done...it might be a minor problem...' He thought then and turning deliberately blind to the blinking locked down sign he moved on.Apparently there was no slightest hint of any glitch forthcoming. The car was moving as usual... No unusual noise...no knocking...
The evening was cool after a spell of heavy rain. The mid July sky was still covered with clouds which thundered time to time to remind mortals that another spell of shower could be on the offing.
Crossing Taratola, the car stopped. It just stopped with no presumptions. Dron then realised that the innocent looking blink of that lock sign was an indicator of something serious happening inside the vehicle.
He got off.
Switching on the light of his cell screen he tried to get a look inside the bonnet.
Nothing he could see. There was a sense of heat inside that came out, kind of liberated, as soon as he opened the bonnet. There was a metallic smell fused with oily flavour.
Dron took out the car manual from the glove box and started dialing the helpline number provided by the manufacturer.
It rang. A menu driven operation took his call to a call center where he registered his complaint. It would take at least one hour for any mechanic from the nearest workshop to come down to the place where he was stranded.It could take more time even, he was informed.
'What am I supposed to do then?'
Dron involuntarily mumbled, within himself, but loud enough for the call center employee to hear.
'You can stay inside your car and listen to music... Sir...'
The female voice quipped, perhaps to cheer his dampened spirit.
After the call, he locked the doors of the car and started walking, kind of aimlessly.
Cars were whizzing past him. The headlights fell on the wet asphalt like cylindrical light beams.
Dron tapped lightly on his right pocket of trousers.
'There should be a packet of cigarettes...'
Dron thought but only felt the presence of the lighter there...a solid feel of something hanging there uselessly.
A mild drizzle started followed by a loud noise of clouds roaring.
On the other flank of the road, just beside the office building of the electricity supply company, there was a paan and cigarette shop open. Dron thought of crossing the road. Just then he heard the horn and looking up he felt the blinding light of some vehicle upon his face. He stopped. The vehicle screeched to a halt. It was a scooty driven by a woman.
'Are you blind?'
The woman shrieked.
'I'm sorry...'
Dron mumbled.
'Sorry? Hey! Drona? Here?'
The woman exclaimed.
The voice did not sound very familiar to Dron.
The light from the scooty fell still on his face so he couldn't see an inch beyond.
'Turn off the light please...'
Dron smiled and said.
'Oops! I'm sorry...'
The woman got down from the vehicle and pushed it towards the roadside.
'Rupsha?...'
Dron asked, curious.
'Hmmm...right! what are you doing here? jaywalking?'
Rupsha came towards him, asking this.
'Oh...no...my car...it got stranded...'
Dron said pointing towards the car parked a few yards away.
'Really? called any help?'
'Yes...they would be coming soon...hopefully...'
Dron flashed a helpless smile.
Rupsha bit her lips.
With the helmet on, she looked much different from what Dron had seen her in university days. 'You've grown fatter...'
Dron remarked.
'You too!'
Rupsha retorted.
Dron looked at his bulging tummy.
'yeah...kind of...'
He smiled.
Rupsha smiled too.
In white salwar and red half helmet, she looked oddly beautiful...smart...savvy yet lady like.
'Where are you coming from?'
Dron asked.
'Oh...I work at the electricity office right here...accounts department...'
Rupsha said looking up to the sky.
It was still drizzling though the possibility of another spell was very much there.
'Okay! that's good! really good! '
Dron smiled.
'I would not hold you up...it might rain...'
He added.
'Hmmm...but how can I leave you here stranded alone? though you might always do that to others...'
Rupsha said after a brief pause, biting her lips again. She was thinking something...it seemed...thinking hard...
Dron said nothing. He looked at her. The drizzle was leaving marks unashamedly here and there on her body.
'No...no...go home...your family must be worried...'
Dron murmured, haltingly, suppressing his idea of asking her a few questions about her life after he had left her for better opportunities.
'Neither the place nor the time is right...'
Dron thought, still staring blankly at Rupsha.
'Yes...my husband loves me very much...we have a little kid...five years...going to school...and we are really happy...'
Rupsha uttered, with a broad smile...a smile really too broad.
'Really? that's good!'
Dron said, looking fixedly at Rupsha's wet face...it was glowing... the drizzle accentuated the beauty of her face...
'So...big man! you're supposed to be saint...aren't you? that's what you told me after few years of playing and dancing with me beside the trees in several gardens of the city...right? Look at you! Silk shirt! expensive watch! Macho car parked useless though for the time being...huh?'
Rupsha uttered with a kind of biting force...teething every bit of words...breaking them into syllables perhaps under the utmost pressure of her teeth...
Dron said nothing. He kept on looking at Rupsha.
'What a transformation! from a small town innocent girl who never even dared to wear a salwar to university to a lady riding scooty to job...what a change!'
Dron thought.
Suddenly Rupsha started laughing like a mad woman.
'God must have heard my silent prayers..you know...after you ditched me...I prayed to God to give me a chance to face you...so that I could slap you on your face...but seeing you here...half drenched...with a car not moving I pity you...I pity you really...bye bye Big man!'
Saying this Rupsha started walking towards her scooty.
Just then a ringing sound emanated from somewhere.
Rupsha stopped, brought her cell phone from her side bag and started talking to someone.
A few paces away Dron stood perplexed.
The ringtone!
The ringtone!
My Goodness!
Was that not the ringtone of a deep tibetan flute?
Had he not made a compact disc of the tibetan flute recitals and presented it to Rupsha...six years ago?
Had he not once asked her to listen to those recitals every morning?
After talking hurriedly and ending the call, Rupsha switched on ignition and cast a side hateful glance to Dron. Then she moved on.Dron saw her from behind going away slowly, cautiously...down the wet slippery road through the drizzle. The ends of her red dupatta tied sideways kept fluttering in the cool breeze of the wet evening.
Dron only saw that image slipping away into the darkness of the evening and he thought he heard the ringtone casting a jarring persistent note in his ears...as if Rupsha had left the disc playing in a repeat mode in Dron's mind...The road seemed blurry. A deep indescribable pain was imploding.
Dron felt his eyesight losing strength...He thought he ought to run after the fading tail lamp of the scooty.He started running...almost instinctively...too instinctively...as if that run was the only goal of his tiny life at that moment...
.
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