Skip to main content

Amused in the auto...despite myself

It's been a long, frenetic week. So long and so frenetic that I couldn't write about it while I was in the midst of it; I couldn't whistle about it even when it was over. But I decide to do some breezy articulation just before the next, frenetic week begins.

The thing with long, fenetic weeks is this - it exhausts one to think about it, much less remember the interesting factoids (and by interesting, I only mean infuriating - hindsight is such a delightful palliative). So I thought I'd write about something that made me chuckle.

Not very strangely, the incident happened while I was in an auto. (And though the phrase doesn't sound as sweetly romantic as 'while you were sleeping', I guess it could be the title of a movie. Small-budget, independent film or something. A play, at the very least.)

Anyway, it's around 10:15 p.m. some night when I'm returning from office. I'm wearing a skirt which, by virtue of being bright yellow and pink, attracts looks of aghast and interest from people on the road or in neighboring vehicles. Aghast increases and interest piques when gazes travel to my face - it's wrapped in a dupatta (pink and yellow) with only my eyes visible. Now, in the best of times with adequate light, my face in such a situation looks a little scary. I can only imagine what people must be seeing in the seven shades of darkness that pervades Asalpha.

But no matter. I was almost done with a difficult portion of my work and was doing cartwheels in my head. So I guess I disregarded the first 10-20 glances. When I reached Ghatkopar station though, I had stopped doing cartwheels inside my head. Instead, I'd adopted a more sober mental stroll around the to-do-list for the next day. My elation in work matters is usually short-lived.

There I sat at the signal, minding my own business, furrowing my own brows, and kicking myself figuratively for being such an ass over estimating time improperly. Suddenly I noticed the guy in the auto next to mine.

He seemed to be nice enough - or would have been, if he were not practically hanging out of his auto gawking at my face. He was staring hard - with an expression I can't quite explain.

In my mind I imagined his friend telling him the plot of a horror film on Star Movies. As his pal explains the plot, this gawker unconsciously conjures an image of the ghost that murdered a whole town or something. And at the signal, he just happened to be thinking about the film and spotted me...in veiled, dark eyebrow glory. The ground shifts beneath his feet (I love Rushdie and I believe he will win), and he's scared. (That's the expression I got, by the way.) However, even at the risk of losing his life to a ghoul from netherworlds, he continues to stare.

Ghoul is extremely irritated. I look away and try to ignore him, but unblinking stares a little hard to shake off. Finally, at that interminable signal, I pull down my scarf and bark at him, "WHAT!?!"

My voice is loud and shrill and causes a few people to focus onhim. My auto-driver puts away his comb and peers into the man's face, the gawker's auto-fellow turns behind, the jaywalking pedestrian stops in his tracks to figure out what's going on.

The guy is taken aback, but only for a second. Coolly, he looks at his watch, looks at me and says, "10:45."

The signal turns green and we're on our way again. No-one notices, but someone in an auto is chuckling ghoulishly...despite herself.

Comments

Anonymous said…
lol. made me laugh as well. just as much as you must have enjoyed writing it.

kshopgurl
I scribble here said…
hehe., that indeed was funny
but hey, why was ur face wrapped??
He probably wanted to memorise your face...haaaate such lukkhaas. It rained last night and I missed hearing it patter down on the parched landscape...had fun walking amongst half-dried puddles this morning though.
Mukta Raut said…
Hi gurl,

Glad you laughed...it was quite funny, wans't it? Really quick recovery...

Hi Scribbe

It's the pollution. :-(

Hi idle

Wow! It rained! I'm really really waiting for the rains now! It would be so glorious now! :-)
Ajeya said…
What a weirdo. Or am I missing something?
Mukta Raut said…
Hey Ajeya

Nope u are not..he was a weirdo.. but a clever one..
Just Me said…
well,knowing u well enuf I am not surprised that it happenend to you only :-p.... But why dear why?

Popular posts from this blog

First Impressions: How to Get Away with Murder (Netflix)

 I love courtroom dramas.  I love non-linear storytelling. I love thrillers. I love tender love stories that embellish such series of grit, grime, and blood. This series delivers on all counts, dips somewhat after a couple of seasons, gets uneven and predictable (when it is less courtroom and more drama) and then finishes strong. The series centers around Annalise Keating who is a fierce, black criminal lawyer who also teaches a class in criminal law (which she calls 'How to Get Away with Murder'). As a teaching methodology, she gets her class to weigh in on her live cases. Part of her strategy also involves picking a handful of promising students and have them work in her 'lab' where they get to help her in strenuous arguments and civil suits, etc. The plot thickens, a murder happens, people get involved, incriminated, incarcerated, and dead. I found a couple of characters in this cast to be really unlikeable - Michaela, Laurel, and Bonnie. After the first couple of se

That kind of a day, that kind of a thought

 It was Eid and Ekadashi today. Thus far, I have managed to keep the fast for Ekadashi. But we still have 2 hours to go so...let's see. I had this urge to go to a temple. There is a small one near my house. Today it was filled with people singing keertans. So I went to the  Iskcon. I like the temple. It's so big and bustling. It's organised and musical.  But today was very crowded. Usually I go to temples and do a quick pranaam without offering flowers or fruits. But I felt like buying a thali. I got one with some fruits, tulsi leaves and a single marigold flower that lay there like a fully energized petaled sun. There was a long queue and I was already feeling stressed in the pit of my stomach. But the line kept moving and just like that, I had my darshan and I got done.  I came out and thought of getting a flower for the pooja room in my home. I bought a lotus. The florist fluffed out the petals and it looked like a sweet little bird.  I caught an auto back and as is my n

A very bad mood

 I have been trying to sleep for a while but have not been able to. I am in a very bad mood. Turns out I am very averse to change. Things are crap.  Deep breaths are not helping. I am feeling very trapped. The anger and irritation is quite intense. Let me take a few moments to just quietly watch myself.  Works