EXTRIMITIES!

Mr.Raman was very punctual. No clock could deny it! He was always there…well on time, well prepared, be it a wedding or a funeral or a friends meet or believe me ‘A shops open’. Punctuality brought a smile upon his face…The idea of reaching ages before and waiting for it to start, The ‘Eve’ of it was most important for him.

'Auto'…she shouted, running in the rain, holding an Umbrella, not really caring to hold it in place…
There, It went right past her splashing a little mud on her… ‘calm down', she told herself…The disgusted expression on her face was free with all the mud. It is after all Nitrogen, carbon and a few bad elements that I will wash down with H2O.she consoled herself, running on the road for an auto…catching one at last and climbing in hastily…she went and stopped by their house, as her Dad hopped in with the baggage speaking angrily ‘Why did you have to shop now?’ He yelled… ‘the weathers even more pleasant’, he mocked never leaving that subtle humor even if it was yelling…and the Traffic..damn..he dint stop muttering while Arti settled and looked at her watch.5:25…too early to catch a 7 ‘o’ clock train with about 10km of travel. ‘What else can she do stop themselves from reaching so early’????.She gave up, settling to enjoy the rain and plugged in her player.

Thanks, Mr.Raman smiled at the driver and added ‘Keep the change’
6 : 00 PM and there they were…already for the 7 ‘o’ clock train…she looked up, frowning at her dad, who was slightly embarrassed for his overestimation but nevertheless heaved with pride, belly out and moustache wide….meanwhile Arti called half the population…family and friends explaining her plight, pausing only to ask if they were listening…Mr.Raman nudged her after a while, ‘The phone bill’ his look read and Arti switched to texting.

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Mrs.Raman yelled at her kids…’Grab the keys and lock the house’...as Arti fetched the keys and hastened to lock, she shouted ‘Wait’, ‘let me get us some cotton for our ears, we may catch a cold’ and ran in and ran out…she ran back yet again disappointing Arti while Anup just looked on…she brought some sindoor and smeared it on their heads ‘Pray the lord for a safe journey’ she said closing her eyes in prayer and pausing.. ‘Praise the Lord if we make the journey’ Arti shouted. Arti was a mere earthling bothered about daily life, traffic, time and trains…she couldn’t recall God at such times. Anup dint speak a word but shifted the luggage to the Lift at his own pace…his face read ‘what’s the point’, she’ll take her own Good time anyway….he was disappointed at the idea of leaving his Xbox for around a week and maybe dint mind missing the train.

Arti kept glancing at her watch, she couldn’t help it…5:50 and they were still nearing the station for the 6 ‘o’ clock train….Puffing and panting they reached the platform and climbed in the right coach, while the coolie followed breathless…5:57 and they stepped into the train blocking the way for other last minute boarders and hastily paying the porter…Mrs. Raman’s bargaining skills only got better under pressure…she was justifying why seventy rupees was very genuine for that young porter who had asked a hundred…while the train moved on…
Arti recalled this incident to her dad filling time and laughed at his jokes on her mom, nevertheless making it a point to recount it to her mom later.

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Mr.chaturvedi was a staunch religionist. Every ritual he practiced and every action he executed had a religious significance. He felt conscious of it. If the act lacked it, he created it symbolizing it with myth or cipher or sometimes madness. He believed that his Life comprised of Miracles and dramatized incidents from life adding significance with his commentary and expressions. He was well versed in the Upanishad’s and Geeta and this life, he felt was significant and purposeful.

The early hours of dawn saw Mr. Chaturvedi in a deep trance resounding the room with the sound of ‘Aum’ and reading out the various mantras and chants, resonating the house with a bell in one hand and a firepit(Arti) in the other, decking every idol in their room with flowers, sindhoor, chandan and finally the incense that filled the room and out so much, He felt lifted as it got difficult to breathe…Maybe this peculiar suffocation confused him to ‘being lifted..’
Cough cough…His wife coughed from the bed, ‘oh stop it’, she whined knowing full well it was of no use….whining and getting ignored was a part of the ritual…
Cough cough…it got louder
“What’s the point in all the prayer if you suffer your wife???” Mrs. Chaturvedi’s shouts were alas drowned in the flood of chants, accompanied by the bell….
He then settled for the main ritual, he went towards his much admired Aum sculpture made out of sapphire and applied all that was applicable on the glass case in which the idol rested. He had a separate light and air-conditioning for that glass case to keep the stone long-lasting and all this protection was for the main reason that no one had touch the idol. He believed that it was charged and unless touched by someone really deserving, that which he was aspiring to become through his rituals…One couldn’t touch the idol.


"The goal which all the Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at, and which men desire when they lead the life of continence … is Aum. This syllable Aum is indeed Brahman. Whosoever knows this syllable obtains all that he desires. This is the best support; this is the highest support. Whosoever knows this support is adored in the world of Brahma."
~ Katha Upanishad .

He felt elevated as he experience the stupor that was intoxicating him… the more he concentrated on those lines…The more he entered a daze.

After the main idol was done,
He now read the Upanishad’s verse repeatedly decking every Om idol in his altar with flowers and in all the process, not touching them. While the ceremony seemed to complete, Mr.s Chaturvedi was ready with the offering that they put before all the idols and Mr.Chaturvedi sprinkled water on them all, settling down to eat the offering and after he heard his own burp, he seemed satisfied and waited while Mrs chaturvedi made him Pan from beetle leaves and nuts.

Chewing Pan and dressed in his favorite attire, A silk dhoti and smearing Ash on his forehead with three of his fingers, he set out for his daily walk to meet Mr.Avadhani and discuss the weather, politics, Bangalores Traffic, Newspapers, petrol prices, today’s generation, cricket, price of beetle nuts, quality of cloves etc…

He set out in his usual way and found that the colony seemed blocked by some commotion and mourning at someone’s death in the neighborhood. wanting to avoid the sadness, the deaths air he’d catch and the bath over his head he had to take after going home, what after seeing a dead body?, He decided ‘no-no’ and traced the main roads way on the busy streets of Bangalore to Avadhanis house.

As he walked on thinking of death and the obvious fear it caused, he stopped in his tracks looking at the wall nearby, Gaping at it…anger, frustration and Rage filling him. The wall was adorned by spit marks, dried urine and waste that was right over it…and that was not all…The wall read…”plz. Do not spit or Urinate here” and had a huge ‘Aum’ painted over it! Needless to mention, religious blackmail dint seem to work what it was meant to…It only worked on Chaturvedi’s anger, rejection, disgust and what not? He stood staring while the busy Bangalore Traffic went past him, all the noise dint seem to bother him like before…he sensed something…something beyond….



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Goutam stood first again…He was walking back from school with Arti by his side, who ranked second and eyed him with jealous mixed admiration.
‘so, she asked…what you planning for today?…Oh wait, Mr. first has to study’…she mocked.
Goutam nodded…No not until the exams tomorrow, what’s tomorrow?, he asked an amazed Arti who was sick of this genius who dint keep track,who always kept his cool, who just came and went and always stood first. Arti was ever suspicious of what he did and that was the main reason she hanged around with him, even if the whole school linked them up.
Goutam was chilled out with the gossip and enjoyed all the attention. They also studied together so Arti couldn’t understand what is that she missed???

Life was slow…They just sat in the school grounds while Goutam rested his head on Arti’s shoulder…she shook it off rolling her eyes…he decided he would bug her later…maybe in a better mood and offered her a chewing gum…They sat chewing it, not talking much while the interval just passed…next class was Physics and moments after the physics sir entered, yet after a hundred failed attempts, they seem to doze away by his sleepy lecture and decided, they’d beg notes later and began playing bingo, hangman, Tic-tac-toe, Bollywood, Hollywood pretending to take notes and keep sleep at bay……….
The Physics teach left with a note that he’d conduct a test the coming day and this shook away the sleep from their faces.
Alas, Arti moaned…Night out!


It was 2am and Goutam texed, ‘Hai ssup?’, Arti was running around in her room, books lying open on her bead, papers thrown helter-skelter, phone under a pillow and she searched it out before replying angrily…’Dreaming about ya’….He sent a huge smiley and a few hearts .she blushed but brushed away the feeling and concentrated back on Physics.
It was 3am and Arti was on phone, as Goutam explained the principle of Logic gates though both dint seem to listen to it in class that day….
Arti was still amazed and listened on….
4am and Arti seemed to doze off…she knew what would wake her and texted Goutam, his reply was instant….again she wondered and carried on….



Hai, he catcalled from far off, while Arti waved…’All the Best’ they wished each other and sat for the test. Arti struggled through the peculiar feeling of sleep and the immense feat of pouring out all that she’s mugged up in one night… ‘First plz…atleast this time…’ This line ran in her mind! She glanced at Goutam, playing with his pen and trying to pull the hair of the girl in his front…she rolled her eyes yet again and coughed loudly…their usual code…

He turned around with a stupid grin while she just scowled….15 min more, called the invigilator and Goutam was already out waiting for Arti, whle she shuffled through her pages, checking and rechecking and came out well after time….

Goutam stood smiling and they jogged out…happy to rid the exam, discussing the paper and settled in the canteen while Arti reflected, ‘Where was this calm when I so wanted it yesterday’????.Phew, she thought, the exam went great and Goutam rested on her shoulder again…she dint mind, all this peace and calm…no mugging up, and sitting with someone who really liked you inspite of your…yes, she had to admit Attitude???
She just smiled….She wanted time to stand still, let everything pause………………………………………………………..
While she relished the sensation of being free, without duty, without responsibility, without the feeling of being answerable, without all the care’s and bothers of the world….

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