Arunima

she took the 12:15 local to her mother's place. no screaming for cabs, no hurry for life. she walked down, her baby clinging to her fast asleep even in that peak traffic rush. her bag stuffed with baby food, diapers..another zip had a purse with certain change, a comb incase it got windy and a cell phone that kept her searching everytime it rang. but she never panicked while looking for it. even if it stopped ringing and she couldn't find it even then, she never..

an hour later when she knocked her mother's door, she opened it, messed up in a crumpled nightie. looks they shared were obvious, no greetings exchanged. the traffic noise lost its impact inside the house. shiny marble tiles, cold and black, on which the baby would crawl and play, once up..

the day glided at its own merry pace and paused whenever it felt like. the dal in the pressure cooker whistled once and again. it woke her up from lazy day dreams she had staring out of the window on the ninth floor at the unruly cabbies underneath. at distant smoke. watching life happen, this way, from a height was all she wanted to do. indifferent, uninvolved and away..

watching the baby sleep quietly was quite another thing. playing with his nose and tickling his lips.. waking him up and biting her lips once he began crying..was yet another thing..

later post three, she would knead dough and flatten balls of it..watch her mother blow them up on a tawa she wondered had always been that black..they would watch soaps in which she would keep confusing between characters and guessing the story ahead..not looking for much spice and leaving life as it was..

sipping cups of sugary tea, sitting on the swing in the portico, watching afternoon become evening..watering her mother's potted plants...playing with mud and clay..

she would take the 6:30 local and be home by the time he came home.

later she would pinch herself to believe if life could be that impeccably normal..

Arunima..

10 comments:

The Unsure Ascetic said...

yes, if only.

Vaga Bond said...

An awesome awesome story ! absolutely brilliant

Lucifer said...

ah i like d way u have described d deatils

The Juggernaut said...

beautiful...the pic goes so nicely with the post

wildflower said...

@ unsure ascetic
that if only made me write this.. i yearn for this normality..that peace..

@ vaga bond
i understand why :D

@ mayz
details make life a trifle less excruciating..!

@ juggernaut
yea..arunima must have been like her :) i suppose

Vagabond said...

it is certainly a picture. i love your style because of the way you play with the visual imagery! it is touching. a moment captured.

yes a successful art which captured a moment!! will come back to it when life dsn't look normal.

for peace.

Vagabond said...

agreed on the details bit. completely.

................your's entirely said...

Dear.....The picture and the words weave magic together....wonderful...as usual....

wildflower said...

@ Vagabond
and i agree with the coming back bit, completely

@ ..your's entirely
thanx.. u cud have replaced the first ellipsis..with wildflower..wud have sounded sweeter :D

Smruti Ranjan said...

very good story..well written
Only thing that the name "Arunima" does not go with the story. Arunima mostly presents energy, good start etc etc