Storizen Magazin July 2018 issue Storizen Magazine July 2018 Issue | Page 53

STORIZEN CONTRIBUTE
Pinky loved being a
prima donna at
social gatherings,
teasing the poor
adolescent victims
infatuated with her;
the young men, with
faint traces of hair
on their upper lip,
their voice-a curly
mix of hoarseness
and shrill twang:
Pinky, like a female
Pied Piper, would
lead the procession,
followed by these
love-sick lads when
she made umpteen
trips to the buffet
JULY 2018
table, espresso
coffee booth , ice
cream corner or the
spicy chaat stall.
Their immediate
neighbours, the
Varshneys, were to
have a big fat
wedding that
summer. They were
a very prosperous
business family,
being the fifth
generation involved
in selling utensils
and brass ware of all
kinds. They had
fixed their only
daughter’s match to
another well to do
business family but
their prospective
son-in law was an
engineer from the
prestigious I.I.T,
Kharagpur. The
delirious Varshneys
were bent upon
making the event so
lavish that the grand
affair would be
remembered for a
long time.
Mrs. Bhatia hadn’t
recovered from her
daughter's refusal.
She didn’t dare to
face the thronging
inquisitive crowds at
the marriage venue,
all asking the same
question,
“Mrs.Bhatia, ho gayi
twaddi Pinki di
kudmai ?”(Has your
Pinki got engaged?)
She wrapped the
dohar (light blanket)
around her tightly,
battling inner
demons and decided
against attending the
wedding. Better to
sulk inside the air
conditioned room at
home then to be
bombarded with
awkward probes
which would spike
her blood pressure.
Mr. Bhatia, Pinki and
Bablu, each having
their own agenda,
left Mrs. Bhatia
to nurse her grief
alone.
STORIZEN MAGAZINE
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she practiced all the
angles of her profile
in front of the mirror,
looking critically to
see whether she
looked better from
right, left or frontal
view. Life is so tough
for the beautiful. To
look pretty all the
time is not easy,
mulled Pinky.
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