#100WordsOrLess The 9pm news show came on and Manasa groaned inside. Ramesh was glued and would remain that way for the next 60 minutes. She was halfway through reheating her maids cooking when the doorbell rang. By the second ring, she knew she was expected to answer it. Not one to give up easily, she tried her luck. ‘Rameessshh. Bell.’ ‘Yaa, it is ringing’, came the insightful reply. She hurried out to the hall and opened it in a huff. It was the apartment’s gurka doing his monthly round. She picked out 40 Rs in the most tattered 10 Rs/- notes she could find and handed it to him. He stuffed it in his pocket without counting, but didn’t move. Manasa knew what he was angling for, but played dumb. ‘Madammm.’ ‘Haan. What pa?’ ‘Madam, you give book. Me sell.’ She tilted her head pretending she hadn’t heard or understood him, hoping his broken English would carry over the din of the news channel. Tough ask, but still. ‘Madaamm. Old books.’ ‘Ohhhoo. Magazines?’ ‘Haan madam. Week. India Today. Books. Anything.’ ‘I have no time pa. After coming back from office. I will collect and keep on Sunday. Take.’ ‘Sir can give.’ ‘Sir ah?’. She could barely contain her laugh at the thought of her husband working in the house. But no offer of help came from her husband who was now mumbling counter-arguments to the news anchor’s logic. She returned to the kitchen disheartened, to see a thick and almost opaque smoke rising from the utensil. Their dinner was up in smokes. -- The fan creaked slowly and she tossed in her bed once more. Anger kept her awake, hunger did the same for her better half. ‘Slept?’ ‘No.’ ‘Hmmmm. You work too much da.’ ‘No. I don’t mind the work.’ ‘You needn’t cook after coming back from the office. I think we should buy a microwave. You can just put the food in. No need to stand next to it.’ ‘I don’t know how to operate.’ ‘That is okay. You needn’t work so hard.’ ‘It is not the work that I mind.’ ‘Don’t worry. It’ll be much easier. You can heat up everything in 5 minutes without having to stand next to the stove.’ -- An all cash payment from Ramesh meant that a compact box lined with thermocol came in by noon and Manasa took half a day off to meet the service rep. When Ramesh came in in the evening, the food was warm, but the mood was frosty. ‘All of this heated by the microwave? Good good. It tastes much fresher.’ ‘Hmmmm. Okay.’ ‘And you learnt it all in one day? So easy la.’ Never one to give up easily, Manasa took a second to reply. ‘I thought it would be difficult, but Vijay made it very easy.’ ‘Good good. Who is Vijay?’ ‘The customer care rep. Helped a lot. Good boy.’ ‘Ohhh. It was a guy?’ ‘Ya. Why are you asking?’ ‘No, in the store they said it will be a lady who will teach you recipes also. That is why.’ ‘Ohh ho.’ -- It took Manasa exactly 35 minutes to get all the dishes reheated the next day. It would’ve taken lesser, if Ramesh hadn’t kept getting in the way with offers of help. But it was a hindrance she enjoyed more than her dinner. While Ramesh was figuring out which side of the Scotch Brite was to be used to wash the dishes when Manasa’s phone rang. ‘Good evening Ms. Manasa Ramesh, we are calling from IFB. We would like your feedback about our Customer Service Executive.’ ‘Yes, please.’ ‘How would you rate our Executive’s Demo?’ ‘Yes, demo was very good. She explained very well.’
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 12:54:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015