Part 14:
Shravan knew Sumo was watching him through narrowed eyes. She was doing that a lot these days, as if he was mystifying her.
Rimmi turned around, undoing the plait he had so painstakingly put together in his hands: I want two plates (she held up three fingers). TWO!
Shravan: Ok baba, aap turn to kijiye and sit still. I can't do it if Rimmi keeps turning around. And hold the ipad up baby, I need to see the video.
Snigdha laughed: Bhaiyya leave it, I will do it. That YouTube video makes it much more complicated than it is...
Shravan: I will do it, don't worry.
Snigdha smiled and went back to her homework.
Sumo watched as Shravan went back to Rimmi's wispy baby hair. What was he trying to prove? What, that he can be a part of this institution and take care of her children? That he can help her in running this place? She would show him that it was not as easy as simply adoring the children, that was the best part of the job, the real work as much less fun.
She strode up to him: Come Shravan, I need you do go to a fundraising gala with me this evening.
Shravan smirked: What!? Little old me!? What about your ususal date, Sahil?
Sumo rolled her eyes: He's going for his vaccinations this evening with Marie.
Shravan: Tabhi toh! I was wondering what gave me first dibs.
Sumo: Stop it! Are you coming or not?
Shravan: Aa raha hoon, talap kyun rahi ho? Afterall, when my boss tells me to do something, I have to, just need to finish doing Rimmi's hair before that.
He went back, his full concentration on tying small red bows on the little girl's sad-looking plaits. Sumo could not lie to herself, she loves seeing this sight before her. It made her feel very vulnerable inside. But that's why she was sure she needed to be harder on him.
Shravan put on his classic go-to look for these kinds of gala nights. Black blazer, white shirt and staight cut blue jeans. He put on his favorite Rolex for good luck. He was going to need it.
Sumo knocked on his door: Ready?
Shravan: Yes, come in.
He opened his hands to give her a look: Well?
Sumo gaped and then looked away: It will do. Look, a lot rides on this gala, some of the biggest philanthropists in Mumbai will be there and...
Shravan: I have been to plenty of these, don't worry.
Sumo smiled slowly now: As a charity-giver no doubt, not as a beggar asking for the money like all the other NGOs in competition. This is a very different beast.
It was Shravan's turn to look humbled.
Sumo: Ha, that's what I thought. Frozen, already? I am taking you along to impress the ladies. So polish up your game. Your task is to get 40 lakhs in checks by the end of the night.
Shravan: 40!?
Sumo: Yes, 40. Mine is 60, so quit whining.
Shravan: But why the women? Let me talk to the guys, I probably know some from work.
Sumo: Because you are...well, you are young and all. That works for the older women who want to be flattered. Listen, these are mostly the wives that control the purse of their husbands, so go all out.
Shravan in shock: Are you trying to tell me that you are taking me along to use me as a stud!?
Sumo: Oh, please. Quit playing the victim. This is a market place where the biggest salesman or woman wins that most. So you have to put forth all you have got. Currently, you are all I have to work with, Sahil usually does his job much better. He's a baby...and the cutest, I might add. He shows them why he's worth their investment. This is the ugly side of fundraising, like it or not. Afterall, he was what made you open your checkbook, isn't it?
Shravan smiled: No, you did.
Sumo: Same story. You were emotionally invested by my story or his. You emotionally connected with the school's video and the memories of Nanu that it brought for you. That's what works, donors need to connect in some way. If you flatter the older women a bit, they will think of their lost youths and for that evening they will feel worth it again.
Shravan: How cynical you have become!
Sumo: I prefer the word practical. Money makes the world go around, it pays for the food my children eat and the clothes on their little backs, I can be a big peddler for them for a couple fundraising events. It's not a big deal.
Shravan angrily: And what about impressing all the funders with a lie that the beautiful Suman Tiwari is just flirting with them for money and not because she actually sees anything in them?
Sumo laughed: Would you rather I see something in every single one of them?
That shut him up.
Sumo: They come to these parties to decide what is the best charity to donate to and I show them without boring them to death about details on running the school, that adorable children like Sahil are worth opening their checkbooks. That is all. They are not fooled and I am no fool for using my best marketing strategies. Now, before you make me late, I am going to go and get dressed.
She left, leaving Shravan to ponder about what she had just said. Sumo had always been the practical one the two of them. But sometimes she really took it too far. Did she need to make him feel like a pretty object to parade around the matriarchs of these rich people? Couldn't she just say that he had to convince the people to hand over 40 lakhs? Marketing sure felt ugly to him now...
Sumo sped into her room, fuming with herself. Why did he have to look so munchable? It made her lash out and dress him down saying that she was only taking him along for the old ladies. She thought she covered her tracks well though, she made it all look like a marketing tool that she intended to come in handy. All she really wanted to do at this moment was climb him like a tree and nibble on his lips. It was insane where her mind went these days!
Shravan paced near the front door for her.
When he heard the first footsteps he called out: Sumo, how are we going to get there? You don't have a car!
Sumo called out: We will take a rickshaw like millions of people in this country. Welcome to your new life, Shravan Malhotra, I hope you like being a peasant.
Sumo would normally take a taxi, but she was hoping that showing him the rough side of life to him could let him see how hard this life really was, that way, he would see that even she was not worth all these sacrifices and go home. Leaving a life of comfort for love is very romantic at first, but when the realities strike, the going gets tough. He couldn't last here, not while knowing that he gave up his Oxford education and career for rickety rickshaw rides to go ask rich people for money.
Shravan annoyed: I am wearing a Rolex. Can't just take a rickshaw. Someone will take it!
She came down, making Shravan stare now. She looked incredible in a red sari. She wore a barely visible chain around her bare waist. Other than that, no jewelry. Therefore, she looked more soft, accessible. It made Shravan bitter.
Sumo snapped: Then leave it at home, Richy Rich.
Shravan pouted: I don't go anywhere without wearing my watch.
Sumo: Then wear a cheaper one!
Shravan: This is the cheapest one! I have had it forever. Let's just take a taxi, I will pay.
Sumo rolled her eyes: And what are you going to do when the money from your old life runs out? You have to live on a teacher's salary, you won't be able to afford anything but rickshaws. Samjhe?
A light lit in his head, oh so that's what it was all about. She wanted to show him he couldn't last here.
Shravan smiled: No matter. I will leave the watch behind. But what about your beautiful sari? It will get stuck in the rickshaw spokes and rip. We have to take a taxi.
Sumo: I know how to manage in a rickshaw. Now stop stalling and let's go.
They arrived at the fundraiser a little late because madam had to pick the slowest mode of transportation. Shravan spent the whole ride feeling guilty for the kind of pressure he would have put on the poor rickshaw driver's back. Besides, he couldn't sit on that tiny seat. Sumo madam sat pertly on the rickshaw with no care in the world - watching him fidget.
Shravan: Great, now we are late. Hope you are happy, we are already behind the competition.
Sumo: Keep quiet, we are fashionably late. You are on Table 3. See Mrs. Archariya there in blue? She's already a donor, just be nice and get her usual 5 lakhs and try and recruit the rest instead, got it?
Shravan chest-fallen: You are not at the same table with me?
Sumo: Of course not, we have to divide and conquer. I am at Table 1.
Shravan looked over and his scales came out: That table is full of men only!!
Sumo smiled: Precisely. Only woman, more likelihood of success.
Shravan's face darkened: You are going to flirt with them, aren't you?
Sumo: I am going to simply charm by being me. Now go join the dinner.
She walked away, leaving him gritting his teeth.
She looked over at his table mid-way through the dinner. Shravan was laughing and sharing a joke with the daughter of Mrs. Archariya. The girl touched his blazer's lapel and giggled at something he said. Sumo accidentally bit her tongue, cursing herself for her brilliant idea. Then, she went back to her dinner acquaintances.
Shravan looked back at Sumo. Now, how does it feel Suman Tiwari? He knew she could not possibly like this young girl flirting with him. He could not believe he put him out to be a stud like this.
He had hoped when she asked him to this dinner that they were officially going out as a couple. And now look what she had done. He fumed as Sumo got a little too close to a middle-aged gentleman's ear and whispered something. The men at that table were practically salivating over her. She couldn't help but be a resplendent red apple in a table full of tuxedo clad penguins.
Mrs. Archariya's daughter: So...you are really from Delhi...My cousin did mention you before. Do you know her well?
Shravan: Who is your cousin?
The girl: Urvashi Dholakia. She's my cousin. She said she knew a Shravan Malhotra.
Shravan absent-mindedly answered, still watching the backless-blouse clad Sumo: Oh yes, I rejected her. Spoiled little rich girl.
There was a unanimous gasp by the women as his table. He looked around, so much for his fundraising goal. Sumo would never let him hear the end of it.
The girl, shocked: Oh! Awkwarddd...
Mrs. Archariya boomed with laughter: So true, Shravan! Urvashi is a spoiled little rich girl. Her mother, my jethani, is the same way. We need to raise our kids to be more responsible. I did not come from wealth myself, I was a poor, hardworking, middle-class girl with a work-ethic and there is a lot to be said for having your priorities straight. Just because god has been kind doesn't mean we forget to be humble.
The ladies at the table, following their leader, nodded. Mrs. Archariya was afterall, the oldest and richest, if she said that's how it was...then it must be.
Mrs. Archariya: That is why I donate to Suman's charity, now there's a girl who knows the value of hard work and responsibility. Ladies, make sure you write the Raguvar Tiwari School a good check, Shravan is from that school too and they do great work for little children. Now, how is that little one, Sahil? He went and hid under the table the last time we met. What a darling!
Shravan smiled: He's doing very well.
Sumo approached him at the end of the dinner by the main gates: I met my goal, more than...91 lakhs. You? (She studied him) Ha, not so easy, is it? I figured you couldn't make the goal on your first event, don't worry.
Shravan looked hard at her: It is easy to make the goal when you flatter those fat, old, rich men.
Sumo: Shravan! Speak lower. They are good men and great donors of ours.
Shravan: And men become dumb idiots when they see a pretty woman in red. I have no doubt they let you write the check and just signed. That's why you wore this (he picked up her pallu), isn't it?
Sumo: Jal rahe ho?
Shravan snapped: Nehi! I am criticizing your technique.
Sumo: I am not conning them, Shravan. This is for good work and they know it. All you are doing is puffing up because you are jealous and you didn't make your cut.
Shravan slapped the checks on her hand: 60 lakhs! Aab jake rickshaw leh le?
Sumo took a deep breath.
Sumo: We are taking a taxi this time, not risking it with all these checks.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
Edited by Marybarton - 9 years ago
Cricket
