Part 3 - Four Women, One Life

Dorothy’s house

Chicago

It was spring time in city. Spring always indicated hope and new colours. The lively nature with hues of colours in the trees and clouds makes it more happening season. Thunderstorms prevailed for definite period of time. But for Dorothy, her life had given a hardest thunderstorm. She was cheated by some people in her business and she was close to bankruptcy. Her life revolved around art and paintings. She made her ends meet through selling paintings. She ran a gallery house full of modern and classic paintings. Some were her works and some were of others. 

She helped the underprivileged class and was part of cultural committee in church. She was always ebullient and hopeful in her life and handled solely all the work. For her, everything was temporary except for her mansion. It was given by her father. It was the dream of both of them. Dorothy invested half of the money in the mansion and rest was paid by her father. After the demise of her father, it was written on the will that Dorothy would inherit the house. As she was the only child of her parents, that was natural. 

She made every penny out of her sale of artworks and trying to pay the debts. But the season was dull and the sales were considerably low. She hosted exhibitions, stalls and visited houses to make a deal. But the hard time was teasing her and testing her every level of patience. The phone bell rang. Dorothy was preparing breakfast. The usual egg omlet and cheese with orange juice made her morning look happy. She wondered who was calling her at that time of the hour. She was not used to phone calls. Normally no one called her except her two friends. They were her lifeline as they supported and stood beside her in all points of her life. She was socially very active but hardly people came to her place. The neighbourhood church was one pleasant thing and stress buster and she pulled every stop to devote her time to the service. She washed her hands and pulled the receiver. It was her friend Mary.

“Oh, Hi Mary, How are things?” asked Dorothy and eyed the microwave, turning her back on her breakfast which lay waiting.

“Dorothy, I need to talk to you. I have got an idea. Can we talk now or meet after your work hours in nearby Le cafe?” insisted Mary with her cheerful tone. Her voice showed that she had some positive thing to suggest.

Dorothy wondered what it was and agreed to call once she finishes her work. She kept the receiver down and saw herself in the mirror. These days, she forgot herself how she looked. With so much of events happening in her life, she missed giving attention to herself. She loved dressing nicely and being attractive and experimenting with her hair and face. Though she thought she had so much to catch up on the lost time, she looked amazing. Even with the dishevelled hair, she looked like a doll. Her petite figure and curly hair stood out and gave her a look of innocence.  

She smiled over her conversation with Mary and moved ahead to go back to her half finished work. Morning time was her ME time when she had her breakfast and watched news. She thought if Mary was getting engaged or she received an acceptance for her higher education. Whatever it was, she was going to listen it from the horse’s mouth. For that she had to wait till evening and it sounded as a long day. 

Part 2 - Four women, One life

Introduction of Protogonists 3&4

Rags (Ragini) - Chennai

Tendrils of smoke from her tea cup formed patterns that Ragini sipped in her plush house. She watched television and the hot news of Srushti house flashed in front of her eyes. The famous Advertising agency declined her promotion though she struggled and slogged and surrendered her soul for the company. The promotion was granted to Mr. Rajiv and his experience worked against this recognition and did not make him to be a deserved candidate. The glass ceiling showed the ugly head and Ragini was heart broke of this news. Now they were holding a press to talk about this new development in the organization. “Shame on them”, she thought. Back home, she had to cope with her alcohol addict mom who had to visit rehabs frequently. Furious, she switched off the television and closed her eyes. Listening to her cell beep, she shot her eyes to her mobile. She leapt from the sofa and checked her email at once. Her email was answered. “That was not an email but manna from heaven”, she thought gleefully

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Norah – Singapore

Love was not on the cards when Norah entered corporate life. Even though she maintained a significant length from the heart issues, lot of guys followed her and proposed her. She let go all of them and concentrated on her career. Career progression was the main focus all her life. Meetings, deadlines, phone conferences, client visits etc brimmed her life and paved no entry to any social life. But today was different. Norah was sitting in the airport waiting room, flipping the pages of the magazine. She lifted her gaze and tied her hair in bun and that very moment she saw...she saw. She saw children playing and fighting with each other and their parents smiling and laughing at them. A boy was leaving his girlfriend (so she thought) and going out of country and the girl hugged and cried. An elderly woman shook her hands with every member of her family while leaving them outside the waiting area. Norah’s eyes were transfixed. Seeing those moments, she was touched. She thought, “How flippant she was all her life”. When life poured  over her with lots of love and affection, she ignored everything and paced towards her career. Amidst her busy days, her life lay alone and cornered. She lifted her bag and moved ahead towards her flight. She thought,” she was doing a right thing signing up for much needed vacation”. Norah slowed down her path. So did her busy life.

Four Women, One Life - Part One

 Introduction to the Protagonists ( 2 out of 4) - 

Kyra - London

It was a breezy evening.  The sun gleamed and indicated its presence. Time had come and it had to bid goodbye for the day. Gradually it hid behind the sky and its absence marked the entry of white beauty. It was half past seven and Kyra drove her car with full speed. The kohl on her eyes made her look beautiful and the strand of the hair behind her ears had a stubborn quality as it touched her cheeks even though if it was ordered to go back to its own place. The grip on the steering was so bold that she was determined to carry out her plan. The tears which stood at the corner of the eyes did not choose to leave her but stayed and made her vision blur. Along with her vision, her dreams started to blur and grow dim.  In a fraction of a second, she lost it. The life which she embraced with a broad smile marked complete disappointment. The player in her car that played the song “when you gonna stop breaking my heart” made her heart beat stop for a second and she could see the pieces of her heart with the breeze. Like sand dunes, it too formed various shapes. She could hear the sudden thud and the vehicle came to a halt. There came Heathrow Airport.

 

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Anisha – Pune

The street lights were shining bright in the city. It was like somebody watching you in the dead of the night. The night sky hinted rains and lightening started to descend from the clouds. The peaceful night was disturbed by sudden gush of rain showers. The rains started to wash away the dust particles in the air and ground. It surpassed the umbrella and fell on the ground and gave an earthy mud scent all over the place. For people, it was like breathing after sweat stewed battle of scorching summer. The showers filled the heart with joy. But the tear shower from Anisha’s eyes made her heart heavy. She thought,” one more night with solitude”. Slowly closing the French windows, she listened to the rains from inside her bedroom. The warmth and company that rains gave her was incomparable. Only for that day, her loneliness disappeared and gave her a sense of happiness. She had a look at the tabloid and circled one classified. The classified read “ Dorothy Mansion” , United States of America – wanted tenants. She heaved a sigh of relief and dialled the number of Dorothy which was printed below the ad.

Everyone's sport, My Dream

The thing which i haven’t tried yet and would surely want to try out one day would be swimming. If you ask me why not I have tried this sport yet, the answer would be fear or hydro phobia. I am afraid of water. Water which I love drinking, love watching fall on to the surface, love splashing over the loved ones, love mixing fruit syrups to drink, and love sprinkling on my beautiful plants, etc. That same water poses as a threat when I watch it in the swimming pool spread across the length and breadth. As a kid, I used to watch my fellow mates throw themselves in water and get a fresh feel inside the pool. I envied them and wanted to be with them in that same pool. That went as a dream. Today I feel if I got an opportunity to develop this sport, I would definitely give it a try and excel on it. This was my hope. And this dream sustains.

(This is written as a part of Daily Writing Prompts of wordpress)

Where are you hiding?

Perhaps in the ankle bells that I refuse to wear nowadays

Perhaps in the half finished painting of our old block

Perhaps in the unsaid words when your eyes met my glance

Perhaps in the old clothes that stay untouched

Perhaps in the unreturned flight

Perhaps in the deleted song of a movie

Perhaps in the pages of a book which did not qualify to make it to the movie

Perhaps in my unwritten words of a poem

Perhaps under the carpet which I failed to dust

Perhaps in my draft folder of my message list

Perhaps you are there somewhere

And I wish that somewhere is heaven

As I close my eyes forever to see you there

Journals, Tea and Victim - Part 2

Connaught Place, New Delhi

8.30 a.m.

“I would not be able to sit for editor’s meet on 25^th of this month. I have to attend my best friend’s wedding at Mumbai”, spoke Rahul Arora in a nonchalant manner. He was on phone with his colleague. Keeping the receiver down, he sat in his chair sipping hot cup of coffee. Caffeine was all he wanted at that hour to soothe his brain from dwindling thoughts. He had marathon meetings, conferences, deadlines, pending assignments. In midst of all these work pressure, he had a family wedding to attend. Though Praveen was a best friend to Rahul, he fitted more like a family than a close friend.  

“Excuse me Sir, Can I come in?” came a voice. The voice was of Sheetal Naik. Sheetal was a secretary to Rahul and been with him since 10 years. She was kind and soft spoken girl.

"Yes, tell me Sheetal. What’s new in the market," asked Rahul in a pleasant tone.

"Sir, I need a signature in all these documents. The clients need this in order to move forward in the process."

"Yeah, No issues. Said Rahul taking the whole bunch of papers with him. I will do it. You can take it after lunch". Heading Editors unit involved lot if signing, he sighed.

"Hey Rahul, What’s up?" , said Rajat in a boisterous tone. Rajat was a best friend and colleague of Rahul. He was heading marketing and communications department.

“Nothing yaar, the same old editing and signing” said Rahul lowering his voice.

“Do you know Devyani?”

“Who? Devyani Sharma of ‘The Times Daily’? What happened to her?”

"Yes. She is planning to do a writeup on our work and events."

“What does she want now?” Rahul remembers that he has never had a good experience with that lady. Last time he met her in Ficci meet, they disagreed on various topics. She is really a headache, he thought.

Rajat broke his reverie and chipped in with his opinions. Hey Rahul, this would be a great milestone for us. And moreover we have carried out various CSR operations that we have enough to tell and boast” said Rajat with his usual body language.

Rajat was a jovial sort of character who loved to spread fun. Rahul loved his company. But now that his friend has come with bitter news, he wanted to have a ME time. He asked Rajat to excuse him and ensured that he will talk about this issues after office hours.

3.00 Noon

Rahul was so busy with his morning documentation and meetings that he forgot his lunch. He saw the clock and the two hands of the clock were mocking at him. It was already three o clock and he was starving. He shut his laptop and quickly rushed to the canteen to have a bite. The fragrance of the various eateries tempted him. Suddenly he was ravenously hungry. He ordered salads, potato fries, pulav and dal and came to the seat which was closed to magazine shelf. He thought while the pantry staff are at work and preparing food for him, he would read and have a look at some of the articles in the The Week. He grabbed a copy and sat with his legs criss crossed. The color of his face changed and it took him few minutes to regain his composure. He straigtened himself and placed the copy of magazine at its own place. The Week was his favourite magazine which he never failed to read. But today, his animosity triumphed. The cover page had her- Devyani Sharma.

A Peek at the classic Little Women

"I don't see how you can write and act such splendid things, Jo. You're a regular Shakespeare!" exclaimed Beth, who firmly believed that her sisters were gifted with wonderful genius in all things.

                     The book’ Little women’ was one of the finest classics of olden times. It talks about how little girls (March sisters) led their beautiful life in world war times. By taking enough responsibilities on their shoulders, they waited for their father to finish his duty towards the country and come back. Each girl had particular talent which defined them.

 If one was good at music, another was bibliophile. Amy’s confidante was Meg aka Margaret and Beth’s confidante was Jo. I found Jo’s character very interesting. Although each sister had wonderful talents stored inside them, Jo’s talent was the one with which I could relate or connect. She was independent, practical, and funny. She had dogmatic views on all topics. She was the strongest female character in the book. Her writings connected with Shakespeare and such great authors. Her anger towards Amy and the way she teased her shows the tender relationship between sisters. We all fight with our sisters but we don’t carry that baggage throughout our lifetime. Likewise, though Jo and Amy were always picking at each other, their love and affection was deeply ingrained.

                     Meg was a role model to Amy. As she was a elder sister, she taught the girls how to behave and carry out the duties effectively. Beth was a homely and flowerlike girl among all. She loved music and aspired to become one of the best musicians. She practiced keyboard after finishing her household chores which majorly involved knitting, cleaning, tending plants and flowers etc. Each of them had their own aspirations and dreams and their distinct personality interests us and makes this book unputdownable. They called their mom Marmie and worshiped her. In the absence of their father, their mother showed them the manner to walk in the path of life. 

                   This is my little book which keeps me going and gives me immense pleasure while reading. On the surface, this book surely scores to must have category. If you think that as the name goes, it will be related to children, then you are wrong. One of the realities of mankind and life are well portrayed. This book enlists relationship, friendship, memories, dreams, hopes and separation inside it. The happy and sad lives of four girls are nicely shown. As the story goes, the childhood memories gives us a good laugh and smile on her face but at the same time some of the harsh realities makes us bleed. For example, it happens when Jo and Laurie did not end up together. 

                  This book gives us a look at author’s life as the events on the book pretty much revolves around her life. For some of us, this book acts as a rule book and certain valuable quotes should be noted on our diary for reference. One should definitely read this book and get themselves a good treat and food for their thoughts. Love Louisa May Alcott. And Love my little women. Our childhood is the glorious days of our life. Let’s enjoy and make it more memorable like these young girls did.