Sunday, September 2, 2012

Strangers in the Night

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 31; the thirty-first edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The theme for the month is 'Strangers in the Night'

“Sneha! This is Vijaya, our estate manager’s wife”
Sneha barely glanced up to acknowledge the greeting. The warm smile of recognition died on Vijaya’s lips. Was this the same girl who shared a room with her at college? The poor girl whose fees she had paid, whose books she had bought and whose wardrobe she had purchased? The one who was so willing to do any job for her? This woman bedecked in golden finery was scarcely recognizable as the poor yet lovely girl at college.
“Rama! I do not agree that it is luck that makes us what we are. It takes intelligence to keep what luck has given us.”
“How do you say that?”
“Well…there was this girl at college with me – Lakshmi! Born of rich parents and could have lived a life of luxury. She was fool enough to love a middle class botany student and marry him against her parent’s wishes. They disowned her and she is now probably eking out a miserable life somewhere”
She had not changed all that much from college – bar a few wrinkles on her face. The night was dark but the place was festooned with party lights and, so, it must not be too difficult to see her face. How could Sneha not recognize her – Vijayalakshmi – while she talked so disparagingly about her?
“Don’t you know what your friend is doing now?”
“No! After I married Rajiv and we went for our honeymoon to Switzerland, we lost touch. Anyway, she would only be embarrassed to meet me now”, said Sneha smugly patting her silk sari and adjusting the diamond necklace around her neck.
Vijaya was embarrassed. How could she have invested so much emotion in this woman who could not even think of the possibility of happiness without a Ferrari in the garage? How blind she had been when she held affection for someone who seemed to dole out her love and attention in proportion to the recipient’s bank balance?
Vijaya took leave of the duo. It was better to pass each other as strangers in the night.
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Introduced By: The Fool, Participation Count: 5

70 comments:

  1. Nice to see you back ... hope your vacation was nice... Nice post.

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    1. Thanks Amit! You are being kind. I tossed this off iwith just a couple of hours between knowing the contest topic and putting it up just to ensure that I did not break my sequence of participation. Feeling too groggy from my travel to write anything good :)

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  2. Nice one. Materialistic pursuits can indeed be misleading!


    All the best for BAT!!

    ❤Not Just My Allegories❤

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    1. Thanks Anisha! Gratifying to see comments on this post!

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  3. There are people like this and we must ignore them. Liked the way you bring real life situations into your stories :)

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  4. That was a fabulous story in just two hours - simple, striking, touching and with a lot of meaning conveyed at the end of it! Only a writer of your caliber could have done this.. Good luck :)

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    1. Thanks Arti! That is your kindness speaking :)

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  5. Very nice depiction of a situation where known person is alot comforting to pass as strangers. Unique thoughts penned.

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  6. Wow! That's a great one as was expected of you, Suresh! I really enjoyed and liked it! All the best:)

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    1. Thanks Amit! That was more friendly than critical :)

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  7. Nice story Suresh ji. A very nice depiction in such an economy of words. All the Best.

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    1. Thanks Anupam - economy of words forced by circumstances :) Did not have enough time to think up and write an elaborate piece :)

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  8. Nicely written Suresh. Nice flow and narration.Loved it

    Strangers in the Night

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  9. Ah well well, you say you did not have time and yet here it is, a story with enough layers to put an onion to shame, and something to which everyone can relate. I wonder what I would have done in the situation. Probably yelled at Sneha for being such a bitch, or better, have an affair with her husband :D All the best sir!

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    1. That affair business is not really Vijaya's cup of tea - remember she married for love and eschewed parental wealth? :)

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    2. True that. Guess I won't be inviting Vijaya to my tea party then :D

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    3. Not if you intend seduction - or if you invited Sneha :)

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  10. a common thankless human being whose proportion in the society is very high :)

    all the best for BAT :)

    if you have time do visit
    Strangers in the night

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  11. so much emotions brought out in so little words.

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  12. Love of money mess up relationships...gawd, what a woman! sic..
    Short n crisp narration!
    ATB...

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  13. It is better this way CS! Good Luck! Keep writing!

    Someone is Special

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    1. :) I await your comment on my post CS :)

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    2. Done SIS! Did remember doing it earlier but as it often happens my BSNL connection gives way in between and then I give up..later I forget that the comment did not go through!

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    3. thanks CS! Happy to read your comment.. :)

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  14. Highly coincidental! I can say I liked your previous BAT post better :)

    Ah yes, Sneha is an ungrateful person. Reminded me of someone from my school.

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    1. Easy enough to say that Kshitij - so why belabor the obvious?

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    2. You make me refer the dictionary :)

      I will look forward to your next BAT post.

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    3. Good! A writer is also expected to widen appreciation of the language :)

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  15. Ah, its such a cruel world out there. Sometimes the people we invest in the most are the ones who hurt us the most. But I guess by investing so heavily in them, we give them that right too? For something written in 2 hours, this is extremely poignant. I quite like the idea of the affair, but then the way you've sketched her character, Vijaya wouldn't stoop to Sneha's level. There are such people and the best thing to do is avoid them and console yourself that you had given away the time/money to charity! Best wishes for BAT!

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    1. Thanks Deepa! I'm afraid that we end up hurting ourselves when we invest in people whose minds are too shallow to see people in other than Social status terms.

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  16. Very crisp narrative, but an all expressive way of writing.

    All the best for BAT

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  17. from the very first para u had me glued...short,crisp and an awesome story...love it...

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  18. unfortunately these days there are a lot of Sneha's around...ungrateful and shallow...we should either ignore or not invest in them...to identify them early is the key
    ATB for BAT :)
    i could not participate...but u can see my post here
    Karan - Strangers in the Night

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  19. only you can come up with a post like this in two hours. we can all empathize with Vijaya, as we come across people like Sneha too often these days. We play both these roles.

    you observe people a lot, and understand and narrate human nature better than many of us. you bring out that aspect of your writing through these short stories.

    that doesn't mean you should stop writing humor because that's where you need all your skills and expertise :D

    all the best for the BAT!!

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    1. Thanks Debajyothi! And now you want to take a sabbatical - who's going to come around patting people on the back as warmly as you do?

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  20. Hi Suresh there are indeed quite a lot of these 'Sneha' s we meet everyday . Well etched Suresh :)

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  21. life indeed take surprising turns!
    brilliant take on it!

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  22. Once again essay disguised as story, eh, CS? Good one. More so since you reeled it off in 2 hours.

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    1. You caught me out, TF :) And you know how little time I had since I started even thinking only after I finished Gtalk with you!

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  23. Two hours? :-o

    You're awesome! Nice post :)

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  24. Yours was among a few first entries I read..though could not comment as I was using my cellphone :-)

    Anyway, I wanted more of this story. I know two hours is a very less time..but still - I wanted more of it!

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    1. Wish I had had more time! I would have preferred to elaborate this one as well.

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  25. Two hours ..such an impeccable short story poured out...Wow!!

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  26. hmhm... I liked the way in which "strangers in the night" was used.

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  27. What a lovely story. These type of experiences often happen with people and you have penned down one of them beautifully. ATB :-)

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  28. That is an awesome take on the topic. You never fail to surprise your readers. kudos for this one!

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    1. Thanks Richi! Never expected such kudos for this one considering it was put up in such haste.

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  29. We do have such kind of materialistic people between us ! Nice one Suresh, a very diff take on the topic !

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  30. now if you have written this lovely post in just two hours,a real hats off!:)
    found it to be really meaningful :)

    best wishes!!

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    1. Thanks ashzees! I really did - had no choice but to since I was away from the previous Sunday to the evening of the Sunday when the post had to be submitted!

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  31. A lot of people can relate to this post. Well written :)

    ATB for BAT 31.

    Hope youve read my entry.

    http://scriptedinsanity.blogspot.in/2012/09/blame-it-on-dark.html

    Cheers
    CRD

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    1. Thanks CRD! I read all the blogaton posts so of course I read yours as well!

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