The young man of the house words,deeds, actions and shenanigans were a delight to read ππ
There are preferences - coiffeuses to naai and frying in gurgling olive oil for sins . πThe entire exchange between Dadi and Biplab with Kirti as a target was hilarious. The guy is funny spirited, forthright and loves his Di and Dadi.
Anyway this new encounter will be delight to read..he speaks the language of brother/sister duo. Will it be more about Estella and Pi or.ugly umbrella owner and borrower will talk/acknowledge in public
This was a delight to read
Ps.
So things are closing in on Tejas even Dadi cautioned Biplab and I loved how Biplab remained firm with him. It was mentioned before that he started living with Bua after his father remarriage. Kindred spirits and Kirti became close friends with him in school. I am.guessing there is a broken engagement ...what will happen to their friendship now ?
I understand the need to delve into his mind.
In fact the story up till now has been entirely from Kirti's POV so it must feel claustrophobic to be trapped in just her mind. There are lot of blind spots and limited information as well.
But for now it's a story technique, that is how I see it.
Other characters' POV will come but not until much later. But be rest assured, when I give their/his POV, we'll revisit everything. I will try not to leave you all high and dry, as they say.
Hello again! I wanted to reply to CP's comment for the previous chapter about wanting a chapter from Nishit's POV but it slipped my mind. I wanted to say that I was okay not getting a chapter from Nishit's POV. I was kind of liking the mystery behind the bandha and enjoying the speculations my mind was throwing at me.
Though this chapter delves a little into Nishit's life, that it did not give away too many of his thoughts was good. He seems to have nurtured feelings for Kirti for a while. Maybe he didn't want to accept it himself. You've made me really curious as to what happened in their lives earlier.
I really like his relationship with mami. And I am totally loving mami's character! I love the banter she has with Nishit. That Tejas doesn't appreciate her or even want to acknowledge her is not surprising. Well, it is his loss.
On a different note, you know I read this chapter while sitting at the dentist's office π
Luckily(or not), it was for my boy's cavities and not mine! Anyways, I almost burst out laughing when the chapter started at the dentist's. Okay, now moving on to the next chapter.
P.S. I have a small request. Though it probably makes sense for you to have some dialogues in Hindi, could I trouble you to provide a translation too(even if the flow is not what you like)? I can totally understand Hindi but my brain shuts down when it sees Hindi or any other regional language written in English. For some reason, It takes me away from the story. Thank you.
Hello again! I wanted to reply to CP's comment for the previous chapter about wanting a chapter from Nishit's POV but it slipped my mind. I wanted to say that I was okay not getting a chapter from Nishit's POV. I was kind of liking the mystery behind the bandha and enjoying the speculations my mind was throwing at me.
Though this chapter delves a little into Nishit's life, that it did not give away too many of his thoughts was good. He seems to have nurtured feelings for Kirti for a while. Maybe he didn't want to accept it himself. You've made me really curious as to what happened in their lives earlier.
I really like his relationship with mami. And I am totally loving mami's character! I love the banter she has with Nishit. That Tejas doesn't appreciate her or even want to acknowledge her is not surprising. Well, it is his loss.
On a different note, you know I read this chapter while sitting at the dentist's office π
Luckily(or not), it was for my boy's cavities and not mine! Anyways, I almost burst out laughing when the chapter started at the dentist's. Okay, now moving on to the next chapter.
P.S. I have a small request. Though it probably makes sense for you to have some dialogues in Hindi, could I trouble you to provide a translation too(even if the flow is not what you like)? I can totally understand Hindi but my brain shuts down when it sees Hindi or any other regional language written in English. For some reason, It takes me away from the story. Thank you.
I hope your son is fine now.
Thank you for the feedback. Ch 27 has very little Hindi so it shouldn't be much of a problem. Ch 28 has none at all and I intend to keep it that way for the future updates.
28. North And South
βSo many books? You have free time to read all of them?β Biplab asked, eyeing the hardbound and softcovers in her lap.
βOh, they wonβt even last a week.β
Biplab nodded. βThat must have cost you a fortune. Why do you spend so much on buying them when you can loan them from a library? I know a place where they sell books by weight!β
βOh, is there a place like that? I donβt know,β Prasanna replied. βAnyway, these will go to my personal collection and I donβt really like used books. These books on sale have really low quality pages which sucks! I find it an impediment while reading. I need my books fresh and clean.β
βDid you finally start reading?ββ She counter questioned.
βI read a little now and then,β He answered.
βEnough to be not clueless about the characters and authors anymore?β
βThat I cannot say. Youβll have to quiz me on that.β
βI might take you up on the offer. Thereβs nothing more that interests me than talking about books.β
Biplab smiled.
βLunch together? So much to catch up!β Prasanna offered.
βSure, why not?!β Biplab agreed.
βSorry to be a damper but Biplab...Dadi is alone...we should head home,β Kirti reminded, cutting into the younger peopleβs conversation.
βBut didnβt she say she was going to visit Ananya aunty? Her daughter delivered a son. Sheβll be back only by late evening,β Biplab said.
βOh, it must have slipped my mind,β Kirtiβs tone was clipped.
βItβs done then. Weβre having lunch together,β Prasanna eyes glinted with glee. βThe food court here has really good options. Letβs go.β
βNo, not here,β Biplab objected. βThe prices here are really exorbitant.β
βDonβt worry about that. It will be my treat. I can pay,β Nishit, who had been quietly listening to the back and forth after the initial greetings, offered generously.
βTreat for what?!β Kirti asked.
βWeβve no doubts about your ability to pay, Nishit Bhaiyya. Itβs just that we would really like to eat with an easy mind and clear conscience,β Biplab said, steam rolling his sisterβs fiery outburst. βSo if you both have no problem, thereβs a place nearby. The quality is good and prices affordable too.β
βBhai?β Prasanna looked at her brother, asking for his opinion.
He nodded, all of them heading towards the exit, when Nishit halted to make a call. Gesturing all of them to continue, he hung behind making a call.
When he returned, Prasanna was insisting Kirti and Biplab to accompany them in the car.
βNo, itβs okay,β Kirti said. βYou know the place, right?β She asked Prasannaβs brother. When he nodded, she said, βThen letβs meet there.β
As Nishit helped Prasanna inside the car, he listened on to the little argument Kirti and Biplab had on who was going to ride the vehicle and a certain ornament she didnβt buy.
Dismissing all his pleads and arguments, Kirti keyed in the scooty, βWeβll buy the earring some other day. How shall I let the Lord of Lords, our budding lawyer, the Messiah of the poor, ride on his own. No, never! Now, if my dear little lord will get on the bike, this lackey of yours will take you to your destination.β
βYou better take care. A scratch and Iβll tan your hide, you flunkey!β Biplab thundered, as he got on the pillion.
βLittle easy there, Milord. This lackey has a weak heart!β Kirti said zooming off.
βThey are so cute,β Prasanna remarked to her brother who was putting on his seat belt.
βWho?β
βBiplabβ
βHmm?β
βAnd Kirtiβ
βHmmβ
XxxxX
βWhich are your favourite plays?β
βNot including Shakespeare, here. Shakespeare's is an entirely self sufficient world full of human nuances, the moralities and immoralities all captured in his genius works. Incomparable. Sheer poetry all of them. So favourite plays, Pygmalion for the masterstroke that the heroine does not marry the professor! Talk about breaking stereotypes. Sarah Rhulβs The Clean House for itβs poignant take at class, itβs whimsical writing about love and redemption. Most importantly for itβs quotes like, βI donβt read magazine, Virginia. I go to work exhausted and come home exhausted. That is how most of the people in this country function. At least people who have jobs.β
βOuch, I havenβt read this. But why do I feel personally attacked!β Prasanna said.
βGirish Karnadβs Hayavadana for itβs remarkable wit, the moral dilemma of identity, of what one loves in a person, body or soul. Samuelβs Beckettβs Waiting for Godot for itβs minimalist style. Keep reading the play to just know what it wants to say. There are more in Marathi as well but I would stop here.β Biplab finished his list, many more names springing in his head.
βMarathi? You can read?β
βI can. I studied it till ninth as my chosen regional language.β
βOkay, so small quiz. Hamlet or King Lear?β
βKing Lear. Bad egoistic dads over indecisive brooding heroes anytime.β
βBut Hamlet is such a dynamic character! A bisexual, a brooding cynic, a man who weighs between the wrongs and rights,β Prasanna protested.
βFor far too long in my opinion,β Biplab said.
βCharles Dickens or Thomas Hardy?β
βDickens, undoubtedly.β
βBecause he wrote about the middle class?β Prasanna asked, tilting her head.
βBecause Hardyβs novels are generally grim and depressing and Dickens works despite all his realism and exaggerations to draw out tears, are filled with hope and new beginnings.β
βPride and Prejudice or North and South?β
βNorth and Southβ
βHow come? You are choosing North and South over Pride and Prejudice?! It was Austen that had inspired Gaskell.β
βMight have,β Biplab replied, βwith all due respect to Jane Austen and her fans, I liked both Thornton and Margaret more than Elizabeth and Darcy. The industrial revolution, the stark differences between North and South ideologies only added to the beauty of it. It is commendable how Ms.Elizabeth Gaskell imbued social concerns along with an epic romance.If there is any man who loved fervently, it was John Thornton.β He, then quoted the man, βI know you despise me; allow me to say, it is because you do not understand me.β
βYou remember the lines?β
βI donβt intend to. But anything I read and like, it stays with meβ
βHaruki Murakami or Kazuo Ishiguro?β
βIshiguro is a British writer, by the way. Anyway, none of them. Yasunari Kawabata!β
Prasanna sat back and looked at him.
βWhich school did you go to?β
βHoly Acrostic Public School, why?β
βWhere is that?β
βBorivaliβ Biplab replied.
When no flit of recognition passed through her face, he said, βDonβt give me that I donβt know where Borivali is, in a typical SOBO girlsβ fake accent. Very off putting, it is.β
βOf course, I know!β Prasanna bluffed. She didnβt want to be counted among those frivolous South Bombay girls.
βICSE board?β she asked.
βNo, state board, why?β
βNothing,β she dismissed.
βYou think Borivali, state board passouts canβt know literature?β
βNo...generallyβ¦β her sentence petered out.
βGeneralizations are dangerous. Even this one,β he winked, quoting Alexandre Dumas.
Short, curly hair. Spots of acne on left cheek. Braces. Eyes small, and friendly. Ordinarily cute, Prasanna thought. βRead little now and then, eh? You know your texts too well for that,β she commented.
βI had to! Once upon a time there was an Estella who had mocked Pipβs lack of knowledge in books.β
βSo you owe all of this to me, then?β Prasanna asked, her tone flirtatious.
βEver in character you are, Estella!β
Kirti felt proud looking at her brother being able to hold his own in a conversation. She wished their father were alive. She could have shown him that school doesn't matter.
The man next to her cleared his throat. She turned to meet his eyes, the color of which were more defined because of the rich blue shirt he wore.
βDessert order. They have sewai kulfi,β Nishit informed her.
βI know! Iβve been here many times.β
βSo sewai kulfi for you, right?β
It was the surety in his tone that made her say,βChocolate Fudgeβ
Coursing her hand through her hair, she flipped it, gathering the entire mass of her tresses on one side of the shoulder. The side where he sat.
He scrolled through his phone as they waited for their desserts.
She tapped the table, taking in the people around her.
βWhy were you shopping in this part of the suburban world?β She asked finally. βPhoenix not enough to cater to your needs?β
βWhy? You have a monopoly over the area?β He asked, his eyebrows raised.
βBut I understand even though your side of the world might boast of having firsts of everything, we can now boast of all the international brands malls here.β She continued unperturbed.
βRight,β he said.βI agree. You answered your own question. Thatβs why I am here.β
βArenβt you having breathing issues? Iβve heard the air on this side of the world is cheap and dirty as compared to your cleanlier South Bombay atmosphere.β
Biplab and Prasanna, lost to the world, were discussing The English Patient.
βBut you forget I have dropped you home more than twice,β Nishit said, βThe air quality is the lowest there or so I have heard. I survived. This is still East where we are sitting in.β
Bristling, she sat back, looking away.
βSometimes, Kirti, I think you are unnecessarily picking fights with me. Like, the underlying issue is altogether different. Is it so?β
βYou tell me, Nishit? What underlying issue could I have?β
βI am clueless,β he shrugged.
βUnless it could be about you ignoring me a few days back at Food Plaza. But that is your regular behaviour, isnβt it?β
βOhh. That!β
βYeahh that!β She mimicked him.
He did not clarify any further.
βSo what system do you have? Odd even rationing? Something like that? I acknowledge her today, donβt the other day.
β
βI see, my acknowledgement or the lack of it has quite an effect on you. Should I be flattered?β
βOh. Donβt take it personally. In my leisure time I prefer researching human behaviours to swatting flies.β
βAnd I am your muse? A trial subject? Should I,at least, now allow myself to feel flattered that I am given preference over flies?β
βWhy are you so insistent on getting flattered? Donβt you have enough gir... people around you fattening up your ego?β
βThere are,β he made a show of thinking/counting all of them in head, βBut no harm in adding one more to the list.β
The waiter brought the desserts for them.
βKirti, do you read Literature?β Prasanna asked.
βI donβt. Apart from school texts, I know nothing. The texts also I have forgotten.β
βNishit Bhai also has no interest in reading. Novels work as soporific agents for him. He would prefer a volleyball game any day over books.β
Kirti smiled, humoring Prasanna, when in reality she had no interest in the girl's βBhaiβ.
Her head bent, she began eating her ice cream. Prasanna and Biplab were now discussing something about the greatest judgments of all time.
'62******09 is your number?' He asked out of blue, showing him his phone screen where her contact lay open. She raised her head to look at the screen.
'It is. Why do you ask?'
'Personal number? Exclusively yours? Not sharing with anyone else?'
'What kind of question is that?' She asked.
'Very legitimate, I would say. Last time you were sharing your number with your brother.'
'That was a long time ago.' Her brother was still in school and she was in college. There was only one phone and they shared it between the two.
He nodded, then his eyes glued to the phone, his fingers swiping the screen.
βSooo,β he dragged, βThese texts were sent by you?β he whispered, keeping the phone between them.
The texts jumped out at her.
Her face coloring, she not meeting his eyes, nodded. Her ice cream cup was sweating.
βIt was real, then.β He said.
βHmm?β She looked up.
βNo, it is legit to doubt no? The circumstances in which it started, the timeline, the pace at which it died off...I thought it happened all in my head. Or maybe someone else had been posing as you and texting the entire time. Your Dadi isnβt into texting, is she?β
A mortified Kirti could find no humour in his statement.
βThe other day you came...I didβ¦β He had no doubts that day. Hadnβt she given him the umbrella? Hint of sorts.
βThe other day, right! When you hardly spoke anything, is that the day we are talking about?β
She should have ordered her usual kulfi. Chocolate fudge was tasteless but she had paid for it. She would have to finish it.
βSo no, itβs not even odd rationing. It's the same as yours. Ekadashi days I recognize you, on non ekadashis, I donβt.β
Edited by Ginnosuke_Nohar - 3 years ago
Tit for tat. π. These two are such kids. Only thing left is to say 'katti'.
But at least, they are talking without the shadow of the jerk hanging over them.
Biplab can hold his own infront of others ( Tejas, Nishith and Prassana) . Whereas Kirti hides behind excuses.
Biplab chose a literary hobby because of Prasanna. I remember my sister and I used to borrow books from our uncle and aunt ( social circle, not blood relation . Why do we have this rule to call every elder one uncle or aunt. My kids find it really odd and funny when I I insist them to follow the same π) They lent us books on the condition that we will discuss the book with them when we return it.
I liked when Kirti chose to go with Biplab instead of Tejas. For a moment, I had this doubt that Tejas will again emotionally blackmail her. But it is good to see that she is coming out of the long drawn haze.
Biplab & Kirti's views on "North & South" are similar, but the way they express and deal with it are completely different. While Kirti is angsty about the unfairness of it all, Biplab is more pragmatic. I like this guy. He is straightforward and puts his point across without making a big deal about it.
Nishit ignored her at Food Plaza, but didn't Kirti ignore him first? Kettle...pot.
P.S. - I would never choose chocolate fudge over sewai kulfi, no matter how mad I am with anyone. Priorities, Kirti!
The convo between Estella and Pi was entertaining. Biplab interest in literature or reading has a lot to do with his past association with Prassana ?seems so. He just does not read for sake of reading but as ability to discern,dissect the work he reads.
Nishit is still smarting. Thought he had lot gf would understand the unsaid when she gave him the ugly umbrella π
Ps. Sevai kulfi is her favorite..he remembers. Hmmm π
This was beautiful writing GN, enjoyed reading it.
Biplab is aware of the class difference in the society, yet he is not bitter in any way and he knows to hold himself among the "elite" and have a good conversation.
I wonder if the different schools they went and their experiences there shaped the sister-brother duo to how they are today.
Did Prasanna really encourage Bip to read more? I think the best friendship would be when one person encourages the other to better themselves.
Kirti and Nishit's conversations are always fun to read.
His reply about him recognising her on Ekadashi days and not on the other days made me laugh.
Even her ice cream cup was sweating - π
Nishit knew her choice would be Sevai Kulfi and to spite him she ordered ice cream. I think Nishit should irritate her like this every time to make her think and do outside the box. π
Edited by canapoem - 3 years ago