This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 36; the thirty-fifth 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 "and then there were none"
I
know we are all accustomed to using such phrases metaphorically but Ajay seemed
to believe that the actions described in books had to be enacted. Accounts for
the fact that he is yet to find a girl-friend though he was in the final year
of his engineering, I suppose. Girls do like to be considered attractive but
what girl would like a man literally drooling all over her?
“Good!
You have enough! We can make a night of it”, said the artist of our group.
Sanjeev had none of the dithery absent-mindedness of the artist stereotype
which showed in the decisiveness with which he opened a bottle and poured the contents
into his glass.
“Where
is Rajiv? Stuck in some meeting as usual?” asked Sridhar as he hastened to fill
his glass. Now this one was a nerdy caricature of the IT man to look at but a
veritable vacuum cleaner when it came to drinking.
Rajiv
came stamping in. “Pour me one guys! I need one to get rid of the stink of your
streets, Vinod. The garbage collection in your area is the pits!”
“What
can we do, Rajiv? We have been to the municipality often enough but nothing
much seems to happen”, I said.
“That’s
the problem with the middle class. Always the
someone-should-do-something-about-it syndrome” said Rajiv.
“Yeah!
True! No matter how much you gag as you walk the streets, you will not do a
thing about cleaning it up”. By the realistic gagging accompanying the
statement, a blind man could have recognized Ajay.
“Actually,
this street looks great for a modern art painting. If only you did not need to
slip and slither on all sorts of waste”
“Guys!
I am going for my second one” Sridhar said, in line with his single-minded
pursuit of mopping up the beer.
“Say,
guys! If you are all serious, we could ourselves do something about this mess.
Ajay! Can you get a couple of friends over from college to help?”
“I…I…Say,
is it 9 PM already? My parents must
be getting worried. I gotta go. See you guys”
Shell-shocked
was not the word for it. Hitherto whatever had floated on top of the beer with
Ajay, it certainly had not been filial piety.
“Sanjeev!
You have that newspaper friend, do you not?”
“Who?
Hey…I forgot. My son has a maths exam. Got to coach him. Bye” That from the man
who has to put in torturous mental effort while adding two and two and still
manages to get four only one time out of ten! There was one kid who would
radically reinvent mathematics for the future generations, if he was getting
coached by Sanjeev.
“Rajeev…”
“Shit!
You know Vandana does not much like these sessions of ours.”
I
had always known it but I had not known that he knew it too – at least, it had
not shown in his behavior till date.
“Got
to keep peace in the family”, he said and left – and then there were none.
P.S: I must bookmark this experience. It
will come in handy the next time I seem on the verge of running out of booze!
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If you liked this you may like to check out the index of other posts of this genre or read a selection of similar posts.
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This was nice with strong message. But so true. Sure people will like it. Wish you best of luck for your blog-a-ton.
ReplyDeleteThanks, TF! As long as some people like it I am happy!
DeleteI really liked the message behind this. That IS what happens every time these days. Big words and no action.
ReplyDeleteAll the best.
Thanks Antara!
DeleteI love the wit and humour you manage to infuse into your stories. And yes, it's easy to talk a big talk, but difficult to follow it up with actions that match. All the best for the blog-a-ton :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mixi! How true that!
DeleteLiked reading your post, specially the "someone-should-do-something-about-it syndrome" part!! That was bang on target... All the best
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Deletenine out of ten people behave in this fashion. a fun read as always and this idea can definitely be employed when you don't want to share booze with others. all the best!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Debs! I can always count on you to come around and make my day :)
Deleteand then there were none....in pursuit of one....good intention!!! :)
ReplyDeleteHlarious!!! :D
Akila
Thanks Akila! Not in pursuit, in avoidance :)
DeleteAh, SO VERY TRUE. Why dont anyone do anything at all ultimately leads to the attachment detachment discussed by Buddha. So may be until we are attached to some form of love / responsible we will be blind to the way of the world!
ReplyDelete//hat from the man who has to put in torturous mental effort while adding two and two and still manages to get four only one time out of ten!
* chuckles* suresh style!
Do visit my post "vishw-aaropam"! Would love to see you by! *cheers*
Thanks Kappu! You always manage to pick on my lines :)
DeleteStrong message conveyed in a subtle manner. The part which I liked most was where Math came in, epic lines those!!
ReplyDeleteThanks DS! This post is making me feel like Aesop - so many people see the message in it :)
DeleteHa ha made me laugh.. :D Loved the characters you created...all behaving similarly at the end... is it fiction or inspired from a real life experience?
ReplyDeleteFictional but where is the fiction that is not inspired by real life :)
DeleteIt is easy to lecture but when it comes to walking the talk-there are none.Excellent way to tackle the theme.
ReplyDeleteThanks Indu! That was the pith of what I wanted to say :)
DeleteWhy just running out of booze? This excuse works anywhere when you want to be left alone -- ask people to contribute in any way, even stand up and fight, and they will run away pronto! All the best for the marathon.
ReplyDeleteI chose the one time when I actually needed it the most, Zephyr! :)
DeleteLOL very fresh! Admiring your ability to convey that in such a short story/ excerpt!
ReplyDeleteThanks Saro! Great to see you coming here so regularly!
DeleteThought-provoking... there are none, when you need/want them to be. True, this is a reflection of the times we are living in today and the bonds we apparently share.
ReplyDeleteSuch indeed is life, Arti! :)
DeleteLoved the underlying message. We all love complaining but wont do anything to change things :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by Purba and for the lovely comment!
DeleteA great piece indeed! Loved it!
ReplyDeleteAll the best Suresh:)
Thanks Amit!
DeleteVery well presented, the reality. But I wonder what could be an antidote to such self centered attitudes in society?
ReplyDeleteAntidote for Society - None! Individually, attitudes can be changed for ourselves.
DeleteVery well said. Blaming is like creating a barrier between us and the other person. This is one of the biggest roadblocks to communication. You have molded well into the story line.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck!
Thanks Fayaz! And in this case it is blaming a person for not doing what you would not do yourself :)
DeleteThis always happens, we get our butts off and do something only if it concerns us (or affects us) directly, else we chicken out. Lots to learn from this post. Thank you, Sir. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Akshay!
DeleteOnly words no work ... nice one Suresh :)...
ReplyDeleteThanks Amit!
DeleteI don't know where my earlier comment has gone. Well, great literary piece, must say.
ReplyDeleteAll the best. Dude.
I don't know either. Thanks PL and thanks for trying again too!
Deletei learnt a new way to keep people off my alcohol...:)
ReplyDeleteI always knew I was an inspirational writer :)
DeleteNice message delivered Suresh. And I too liked the start of story.
ReplyDeleteThanks Diwa!
DeleteHeya! Your posts are always a good read. This one was as well. What you've highlighted is probably true for a lot of people but I know things are changing. I have friends who have made changes; who have not just sympathized with people on the streets suffering in the cold of winter but organized an informal campaign to collect and distribute warm clothes. Therefore I would like to believe things are changing but we are no where closed to being a fully self conscious society. I hope we get there sooner than later!
ReplyDeleteThanks for that compliment Richi! If times are changing good for all of us.
Deletethe stark truth conveyed in the simplest of ways . . never had experience dealing with people high on alcohol , except in hospital casualties , but still i could mentally imagine the whole scenario . . nicely written :)
ReplyDeleteAlcohol or not alcohol most people seem to behave like this Maliny - all talk and no action.
Deleteblame game attitude of us Indians very well potreyed
ReplyDeleteThanks cifar!
DeleteAh! A witty tale with a social moral! Love it. It's like showing us the mirror! We'll blame everything and everyone but do nothing about it. Sigh. Good one Suresh!
ReplyDeleteI do that sometimes - this social moral thing :)
DeleteApt message indeed! I see this happening on FB nowadays, people rant about civic sense and social awareness but you never find them doing anything about it in reality
ReplyDeleteWe have become a 'someone should do something about it' society :)
DeleteA true satirical look on our society. We are all armchair social reformers who talk the talk but fail miserably while walking the walk. In fact we make certain that we never walk, we will crawl but never ever walk.
ReplyDeleteIf we do not RUN in the opposite direction :)
Delete