Sunday, February 3, 2013

And then there were none


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"
“That looks wonderful”, said Ajay eying the frosted beer bottles greedily and licking his lips. I mean he actually licked his lips.
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!

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.
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: 09

56 comments:

  1. This was nice with strong message. But so true. Sure people will like it. Wish you best of luck for your blog-a-ton.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, TF! As long as some people like it I am happy!

      Delete
  2. I really liked the message behind this. That IS what happens every time these days. Big words and no action.
    All the best.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I 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 :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Liked reading your post, specially the "someone-should-do-something-about-it syndrome" part!! That was bang on target... All the best

    ReplyDelete
  5. nine 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!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Debs! I can always count on you to come around and make my day :)

      Delete
  6. and then there were none....in pursuit of one....good intention!!! :)

    Hlarious!!! :D

    Akila

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Akila! Not in pursuit, in avoidance :)

      Delete
  7. Ah, 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!

    //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*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kappu! You always manage to pick on my lines :)

      Delete
  8. Strong message conveyed in a subtle manner. The part which I liked most was where Math came in, epic lines those!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks DS! This post is making me feel like Aesop - so many people see the message in it :)

      Delete
  9. Ha 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?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fictional but where is the fiction that is not inspired by real life :)

      Delete
  10. It is easy to lecture but when it comes to walking the talk-there are none.Excellent way to tackle the theme.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Indu! That was the pith of what I wanted to say :)

      Delete
  11. Why 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I chose the one time when I actually needed it the most, Zephyr! :)

      Delete
  12. LOL very fresh! Admiring your ability to convey that in such a short story/ excerpt!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Saro! Great to see you coming here so regularly!

      Delete
  13. Thought-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.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Loved the underlying message. We all love complaining but wont do anything to change things :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for coming by Purba and for the lovely comment!

      Delete
  15. A great piece indeed! Loved it!
    All the best Suresh:)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Very well presented, the reality. But I wonder what could be an antidote to such self centered attitudes in society?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Antidote for Society - None! Individually, attitudes can be changed for ourselves.

      Delete
  17. Very 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.

    Best of luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Fayaz! And in this case it is blaming a person for not doing what you would not do yourself :)

      Delete
  18. This 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. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Only words no work ... nice one Suresh :)...

    ReplyDelete
  20. I don't know where my earlier comment has gone. Well, great literary piece, must say.
    All the best. Dude.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know either. Thanks PL and thanks for trying again too!

      Delete
  21. i learnt a new way to keep people off my alcohol...:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I always knew I was an inspirational writer :)

      Delete
  22. Nice message delivered Suresh. And I too liked the start of story.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Heya! 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for that compliment Richi! If times are changing good for all of us.

      Delete
  24. the 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 :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alcohol or not alcohol most people seem to behave like this Maliny - all talk and no action.

      Delete
  25. blame game attitude of us Indians very well potreyed

    ReplyDelete
  26. Ah! 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do that sometimes - this social moral thing :)

      Delete
  27. Apt 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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have become a 'someone should do something about it' society :)

      Delete
  28. A 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.

    ReplyDelete