Absent-minded

I am surrounded by people who seem to have elephantine memories!!  All, except me!

My mom seems to remember every thing in painstaking detail much to my discomfort sometimes. So it is impossible to dodge her questions with excuses because she will remember every minute detail that I might have told her. But she is the one who reminds me whether I have my purse, watch, etc with me, when I venture out. She is the one I call before I come back from shopping, to check if I have missed anything. In short I can count on her to be my second (rather First) brain behind my memory for anything and everything. 

Dad seems to have a huge memory too! He can recount incidents from his childhood from when he was as young as 7 or 8 years old! He has always managed to keep us regaled with funny instances and stories. I fail to understand why I cannot recount anything from my childhood! Memories are so blurry that they hardly seem existent. Actually, I cannot recount anything from yesterday, so childhood definitely is light years away. I have to depend on him to tell me what I did! And whatever I know now is only due to the constant repetitions of the tales he has told me.

The other day, my ex-colleague reminded me what a prankster I had been during my stint with the organization. I was at a loss to remember even a single event. ‘You don’t remember anything?’, he asked me.  It was only after he recounted what all I had done, did I remember those lovely days! It is not that I completely forget everything. But someone has to keep jogging my memory all the time!! He also narrated how I had sms’ed  a poem to tell him I’ll be late for the meeting, which went something like this-

“I am stuck in the rain,

In a busy crowded lane..”

blah blah blah…

I did manage to recollect the day and had a hearty laugh. But I also pitied myself for forgetting such beautiful moments.

Thankfully I have had wonderful friends who have kept in touch with me and each of them have their share of amazing memories that they are kind enough to keep sharing with me.

I have often trembled at the idea of having to attend an interview because I am pretty sure I would just blank out as if I have not even attended kinder garden. I am sure I would not be able to answer even the most basic question! Luckily, my first interview was in the midst of my final examination of graduation. And bingo! I made myself and the panel proud but not only performing very well but also landing the job! I stayed long enough in that organization to avoid any interview again for many years. Luckily enough, when I attended my next interview, the panel was too happy to see the bright and chirpy side of me (or so I presumed) and did not ask anything that would embarrass me. Of course, I landed the job this time too!

I realized this when my neighbour’s husband had got transferred and they were moving to Ranchi. She asked me if I knew where Ranchi was. And I stumbled and errr’ed and hmm’d and haw’ed, till she told me, it was the capital of Jharkhand. Of course! I knew it. I had just taught that to my son a couple of days before, for his GK exam! How could I forget that! She told a red faced me, that I need to brush up my geography. How do I explain to her that I need to brush up my memory and not geography!

My mom tells me that I am not forgetful, just absent-minded, whatever that means! She tells me I am multitasking, too much, probably, and that leaves me flustered all the time. I am plain happy there is an explanation to my disorder, if I can call it so. She tells me to keep little stic-it notes handy for all the reminders that I may need. So my house is full of them! You will find little yellow stic-it notes on the larder, kitchen cabinets, doors, mirrors, computer, refrigerator and all possible places! I religiously jot down everything I need to remember.

My forgetfulness also means a lot of forgotten birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, pending works, blah, blah, and blah! And a lot of angry people!

So my mobile is in use not so much for making a call or sending an SMS but for putting in reminders for things to do, birthdays and anniversaries to remember..(psst… I even keep reminders for my favorite shows to watch on television…)

My dad being the optimist he is, tells me it is good for my married life to have a memory like this. True to his words, I cannot remember the fights we have, beyond the night after. Even if I do, the topic of the fight is always lost on me and I can see no reason why I should keep sulking. My hubby is a happy man because he has a crib-free, nag-free wife!

I have often walked to the refrigerator, and stood there with the door open, wondering why I opened it in the first place! I can forget things just like that, in a matter of seconds! Then I have to walk back to from where I have just come, so that I can try to remember it.

Such incidents keep happening, every moment of my life. I put the milk on the gas stove and conveniently forget about it, only to be alerted by the smoke emanating from the kitchen. Oh, yes, I have reprimanded myself for being careless, but somehow have managed to burn the milk every single time!! I have a lot of burnt vessels that were the victim of my forgetfulness!

I can never remember where I have kept my keys, my watch, my purse, etc…though I am pretty sure I kept them in the same place as yesterday( wherever that was!!)

When I have a story developing in my mind, I have to put it to paper immediately or else the idea would be completely lost! Even if I have to write it in the middle of the night, I do it, because it would be completely erased out of my memory by next morning!

I often think whether I would survive alone in this world. That is without my little helpers, my parents, my hubby, my kids, friends, my nose, the little yellow stic-it notes, and my mobile who have chosen to ignore my ant-like memory and help me when I need them.(by the way, that means each moment) . But on the brighter side, like dad says, I find it very easy to forgive anyone because I cannot remember why I am nursing a grudge against them. I might have had a fight one day, and if the same person happens to talk to me next day, as if nothing has happened, well…good for him, I will never hold it up against him (as if I can….)

*Sniff* can I smell something burning? I better rush, before I cause a fire!

The kill...

They had tormented her for long! They had kept her under their complete control. She could not even step out of her room when they were around.

‘How dare they make my life so miserable! I must do something about it’, she thought.

This fear and hatred led to the conception of a deadly plan.

‘If I have to put an end to this torture I must soil my hands with their blood. That will be my only salvation’, she said and strengthened her resolve to kill them.

It was a Friday and the children would have holidays for the weekend. She would execute her plan then. She packed off her children to school and went to the nearby chemist and brought her weapon. A deadly combination of Imiprothrin and Cypermethrin. A drug so potent, that just a few drops would suffice to send them into deep sleep.

Forever.

The thought brought a smirk to her face. She also brought a pair of surgical gloves and surgical mask.

‘So long, farewell…’

“Behenji, be careful if you have children around the house. This is very toxic”, the chemist warned her.

“Yes bhaisaab, I will be careful.”

She hid the drug on the attic in her room. Then she called up her mother.

“Mom, shall I send over Guddu and Bunty to your place for the weekend? They wanted to play with Chotu and Raju. I’ll pick them up on Sunday,” she said to her mother.

“Of course, my dear, you need not ask my permission.”

After the kids came from school she dropped them off to her mother’s place. She did not want any witnesses for the gory incident. Her husband was away on tour and would be back only on Sunday morning. Perfect!

Now everything was in place and she could not wait for night to fall!

She wondered whether she should mix the drug with the food or just smother them with it. She decided on the latter. Food would be a dead giveaway. It was almost half past 10 and she had finished her dinner and cleaning. Everything was dark. Maybe they had gone off to sleep.

‘Don’t worry, you’ll never wake up’, she thought as an evil smile lit up her face.

Then she stealthily brought down the weapon so as not to alert them to the impending danger. She put on her gloves and mask and smiled. Then she quietly opened the door of her bedroom, but did not switch on the light. Quickly, she used her weapon on the unsuspecting preys and in so much quantity that they did not stand a chance of survival, leave alone try to escape. She saw them writhing in pain as they succumbed to their death. Then she walked to her in-laws bedroom. Her gait was more confident this time. She repeated her act till she ensured the unwanted guests had breathed their last.

Alas, they were gone now, forever! There were little beads of perspiration on her forehead, a smile on her lips, for a job well executed, and her heart was now free of fear! She didn’t bother to do anything else. She just removed her gloves and washed her hands. Then she went to sleep on the carpet in the hall.

Next morning she got up to see the victims lying dead and motionless. They deserved to die. Then she brought out the broom and dustpan from the closet and began gathering all the dead cockroaches in it. Finally she had gotten rid of them!

The Prank

Neeti and Nayan, the best of friends from school, were on cloud nine. Both of them had landed a job with a TV channel and were selected to host a laughter gag series with it. They were given the job of luring gullible people to their pranks and make a fool out of them. They loved their job because that is what they were good at since their school days.

Today they had assembled at an outdoor location out of their city. The director explained the scene to them. Neeti and Nayan were to pose as newlyweds and ask the “victim” to click their photograph from the other side of the road. Just as the photo was taken, the crew SUV would pass by slowly between them. In a split second, the door would open and Neeti and Nayan would exchange places with an identically dressed but much older couple seated inside. The SUV would pass and the ‘victim-photographer’ would be in shock to see an old couple in place of the young. And to add to his shock the instant print out coming out of the camera would be that of the old couple, which would already be set in place. That would freak the victim out. The entire act would be filmed for the TV audience.

‘Oh! This was going to be so much fun’.

They had managed to fool eight passerby’s so far when Neeti spotted the next victim.

“Nayan, look our next bakra”, she shouted excitedly.

The victim was fast approaching and they called up their crew to be ready. They spoke their rehearsed lines and the victim agreed to photograph them. They posed for the photo, and Neeti could feel Nayan’s hand on her hips.

‘Strange’, she thought , ‘she and Nayan were close friends but not lovers. And he had never touched her like that, not even for a photograph.’ She made a mental note to reprimand him after the shoot. As the SUV approached they got into it and the older couple alighted from it.

Nayan looked at the victim again from the tinted glass and remarked, “ Doesn't he look like Karan?”

“Don’t ever mention his name, Nayan, not even for fun. I hate him.”

Neeti had herself thought so too, but chose not to say it aloud. She did not want to remember Karan, the college romeo who had proposed to her a million times. The guy she hated the most, and had set up a prank with Nayan to make fun of, in front of the whole college. Nayan had persuaded him for a snap with her on the last day of college. He had purposefully dropped a banana peel near Karan’s shoes. Karan had skid and fallen down and they had a hearty laugh at his expense. Someone told them that Karan had to be hospitalized after that incident.

‘Served him right’, she thought, ‘that will teach him to be more respectful of women.’

As she was lost in her thoughts she saw the older couple approach the crew.

“Hey guys, the prank didn’t work this time. Who swapped our photo with this one?” the elderly man was screaming.

The entire crew rushed to see what had gone wrong.

Neeti’s blood froze when she saw the photograph.

It was Neeti’s picture with Karan standing with his hands on her hips, exactly like he had stood that day!

Looking beyond..

Perched on the branch,
Of a weeping willow,
Feet overlooking,
A cold brook below.
Thoughts galore,
Heart weeping aloud,
Mind to the soul,
Virtually kowtowed.
The willow and the heart,
A cognate indeed,
Wish they knew ,
Better than to cede.
Looking beyond,
A purple sunset,
Together we shared,
A connate kismet.
The vast azure,
Masking the nebulous,
Propitious outside.
Underneath, Ominous.

The wedding..

Rohit was in a dilemma.

He thought of the day when Sandhya had first walked into his office. Her beautiful kohl lined eyes and long silky hair had instantly pulled him to her. He had fallen in love with this ‘girl-woman’ and her incessant chatter. She was so full of life! He loved the fact that she was an independent woman, so witty and clever with her work. He had been a full time businessman, never wanted to fall in love or marry, but this woman had changed it all. From being a staunch advocate of single life, he had begun to dream of a life with her.

It had not taken long for her to reciprocate his feelings. She had fallen in love with his charismatic smile and ready sense of humour. He pampered her with the best gifts money could buy and had always ensured he made her feel special. Before they knew it, they were madly in love with each other.

The D-day arrived when he had decided to ask her to marry him. She loved adventure and he thought what better place than a hot air balloon to propose. They were sailing above the lush green fields and river below and it looked incredibly romantic. That is when he had decided to pop the question. He had expected her to turn pink, blushing when he asked her to marry him. But he was worried when he saw sadness in her beautiful eyes instead.

“Aren’t you happy, my love? I thought you would be jumping with happiness.”

“I am very happy; just that there is something you should know.”

“Whatever there is, be assured it doesn’t matter to me, my dear. I will always love you the same.”

“I…I…had got married at a very young age, I was just 18. And two years later I lost my husband in a freak accident. My parents didn’t want me back and neither did my in-laws, so I educated myself and came to this place. The rest is as you know. So I want you to think carefully before you take any decision.”

He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know whether he was shocked, confused or angry. They did not speak a word for the rest of the journey and went their separate ways after they disembarked.

He was his parents’ only son, coming from a rich but very orthodox family. His mother always besieged him with marriage proposals but he had always turned them down, earlier because had no interest in getting married and now because he could not think of getting married to anyone except Sandhya.

As it was, it would have been difficult to get them agree for his marriage to her, but marrying a widow? He knew they would never accept her. His mother had wanted a dream wedding for him, but Sandhya did not even have a family whom she could bring to the wedding. He did not want to upset his parents. They had always been a pillar of support for him. They had agreed to every decision of his and had always let him have his way. But on the other hand, he did not want to hurt Sandhya too. Now that he knew of her tragic past, he understood how hurt she would be if he left her like this.

The dilemma was eating him up. He sat all day by the river and looked at the sun go down. He finally made up his mind. He decided to go to Sandhya’s house and apologise to her. He could not marry her. He rang the bell and Sandhya opened the door with a smile. He saw some packed cartons in the hall.

“Sandy, are you shifting the house, what’s all this?” he asked surprised.

“Your gifts. I knew what your answer would be. I no longer have the right to possess any of the gifts you gave me. So I have packed it all for you to take it back.”

How could he even think of leaving this wonderful woman? He held her close and said,

“My love, marry me, I cannot even dream of a life without you. Let us get married now. I’ll handle my parents later.”

“No, I cannot. If you really loved me, you would have said this on the hot air balloon when you proposed. Now it is too late. Please go away.”

He could not even look at her and left her house; his eyes brimming with tears. He took a week away from office as he knew he could no longer face her at work. He wondered if he should try to talk to his mother about Sandhya. Maybe she would understand. One evening he was standing on the terrace staring into the garden below, when he saw a familiar face. It was Sandhya and she was embracing his mother!

After he watched her leave, he asked his mother,

“Wasn’t that Sandhya?”

“Yes beta, Sandhya from our office. She’s getting married so she had come to invite us.”

What! Within days of their heartbreak, Sandy could think of getting married? He was angrier than he was sad, and in a fit of rage he told his mother he wanted to get married immediately, to anyone she thought suitable. His mother was pleasantly surprised and preparations for the wedding began in full swing. She tried to show the bride’s photo to him,

“Beta, have a look, this is Mr. Malhotra’s daughter. He is your dad’s closest friend, you remember him don’t you? He has promised that the wedding will be a dream wedding, just as I had wanted.”

He simply did not care anymore and wished he had not foolishly committed to getting married.

The day of the wedding arrived and he went through the rituals like a robot. The marriage had been grand, befitting a prince. After a tiring day he retired to his room, to find it decorated and his bride sitting by the side of his bed. ‘Oh! What have I done’, he thought to himself. He started to walk away from the room when he heard her,

“Don’t you want to lift my veil and look at my beautiful eyes?”

“Sandhya…That is you isn’t it?” he said his heart beating so loud he could hear it.

“Who is Sandhya? I am Megha, Mr. Malhotra’s daughter; didn’t you read your wedding card? Here, take this card.”

He read the card,

Megha

    weds

Rohit.

Yes, of course. What a fool he had been to think it could have been Sandhya! Then he heard her laughing uproariously.

 “But I won’t mind if you call me Sandhya.”

“Sandhya..” he could have died of shock and excitement, “how on earth did you land here?”

“It’s a long story sweetheart. Our dad’s have been the best of buddies since ages and I have known you since childhood, though you have hardly ever noticed me. Our parents wanted to get us married, but you have always been in your own world and did not want to marry. So our parents hatched this plan and sent me to your office as an employee. I fell in love with you and so did you. All went as per plan and everyone was happy, but on the day you proposed to me I wanted to see if you would still love me if I were someone you had not desired me to be. It was not part of the original plan, and hence all the drama! Your mom wanted to show you my photo but you did not have a look. We thought why not give you a surprise on the day of the wedding, so we kept it all hidden from you. The other day when you saw me at your house, we thought you must have realized what we were up to, but you were busy playing Devdas, so you never realized. By the way, your mom is very happy that you had decided to give up Sandhya for her happiness. And I am happy too, because you were ready to give up everything for me! Well done, sweetheart!”