Escalator Ride

Uttam Singh, sarpanch of his village, surveyed the scene around him. Valley Mall, just across the road from his son Purushottam's suburban apartment, was all shine, steel, polish and colour. Shamla, the sarpanch's wife of fifty years, was struck by the glitter all around. Uttam Singh nodded his approval, casually checking the designer kurtas on display in the shop windows.
The approach of the escalator made Shamla nervous, and she hesitated. A guard came forward to assist. Uttam Singh waved him away. He then made his wife observe another lady boarding the steps, and instructed her on how she should do it herself. Shamla dithered for a while, then finally stepped on and let herself be carried away. Uttam Singh surveyed the lobby again. The crowd was milling. Shopkeepers were talking to customers. Shamla was already halfway to the first floor. Only the guard was watching him. Uttam Singh looked away from him, adjusted his spectacles, looked at his watch, then up, took a deep breath, and placed his foot on the first step. There was a brief stutter, but he recovered quickly. Sarpanch Uttam Singh's first escalator ride was smooth after that. The guard smiled to himself and moved away. AbNQ

Transaction

A torn-off bit of envelope, with an amount scribbled on it. Startled expression, not at the proposition, but at the amount. Too much. But then papers can't get through. Slightly less please. Can't afford that much. No negotiations. Want to get work done? Even after missing photo, late submission? Jab at bit of envelope with pen. Don't have that much sir (lie)! Otherwise it was ok. Not done, sonny! Fixed price. So many loopholes. Flip through papers. Another mistake found. No discount. Lower amount suggested. Ha ha! Original amount is final amount. Nothing less. Will have to bring from outside please! Do it then!! Sir, do something. What? Senior sir calling for signing. Sir, sir, please. No no, not today. Senior sir calling. Can't wait now. Too late for today. Come on Monday. With completed form and photo. And remember the amount. Ok sir, but take that much today only. Will bring it from outside right now. Too late, boy. Shouldn't have wasted time bargaining...

Brought it? Do one thing. Take these papers outside, put it in between and return. Go. AbNQ

Next Time

"We will win next time, boys!" Rajan's voice rose above the din the opponent team made. "We will show them where they belong," he spat, pointing to his feet. "We will pump in goals from left and right, front and back!" His voice rose further. "We will hit back when they try to scare us. We will tear their shirts off their backs, we will..." Clearly, the loss had not gone down well with the 12 year-old captain of the neighbourhood football team. "... and we will make sure they can't walk back home on their own legs..." The rag-tag team listened to their captain only because they were too tired to get up and make a move. The big boys in the enemy team had outrun them, shoved them around, mocked at them and broken their spirit. "We will break their bones and chase them out of this ground!" Rajan ended, shaking with anger. To emphasize his point, he threw the stone in his hand hard into the distance, where it landed on a dog busy marking his territory. With a howl of indignance, the dog charged at the football team. Panic broke out as the team ran for its life. Rajan climbed up a tree, the goalie rolled into a gutter, the defender lost most of his pants to the dog... "Next time boys," Rajan whispered from above. AbNQ

Jeans

Tattered, torn, bloody -- the jeans were in a mess. The hard denim had done its best to prevent Muneer's skin from peeling off at more places after he got knocked off his bicycle by a speeding car. But the fabric itself was threadbare at almost a dozen spots, and was red from his blood.
There was no way Muneer could let his mother know about the accident. No, she would become hysterical. His limp was imperceptible, but his messy jeans were not. He quickly changed his clothes, and went out onto the balcony. He waited till there were no passersby in the lane below, and then casually dropped the piece of cloth into a shady corner.

Ghirni, a 12 year-old ragpicker was on his rounds. He noticed the dirty but otherwise new pair of jeans in the corner. He surreptitiously looked up and down the lane, and then with one swift movement of practiced hands, rolled the cloth into a ball and stuffed it into his sack.

Muneer smiled quietly. And then his mother called, "Beta, what happened to your cycle?" AbNQ

Who am I?

Hello, yes, please stop the bus. Now we just want this couple out of the vehicle, and you can go. Yes you, mister, mind coming along with us? And do get your missus too. Here, easy does it. Down the steps, nicely. Good. Into that car, please. Okay, bus-driver, you go along. Good bye!...
Don't worry guys, we'll just take you to a nice little farmhouse. All expenses paid, promise!...
Neat motorbike, officer. Why don't you ride it down the road a little and jump off it? That'll make it look as if our man here was riding it. Yeah yeah, I know I am smart. Now get along with it... Well done! Okay my man, showtime! You mind lying down on the road as if it was you who fell off the bike? No? No problem. Hey guys, our man has stagefright! Shouldn't you all help him? Just push him on to the middle of the road, next to the bike... Perfect. Now we can fire!...
Boys, how does the thought of a bonfire on a November night sound? Nice, eh? Madam, how about accompanying us? No, we couldn't really have the bonfire without you. You're the fuel, you know?! Truth be told, I'm really sad about your hubby. But he got swayed by Foreign Hands and plotted to kill our dear CM! Pardon? Who am I? Just a loyal cop, madam... AbNQ

The Great Mall of India

I hit the malls often. I go there to enjoy myself and hang out with my friends. I like the crowd, which is cool. Climbing the elevator steps is fun, specially when it is going down. And then there are bowling alleys and pool tables, so that you don't get bored. My friends play well. But when they force me, I also play. Most malls also have cinema halls on top. You can see the best Hinglish and English pics here. Even if you don't watch movies, you can spend your time watching all the good-looking people coming and going. The food in the food courts is great. Clean pani puri, just imagine! Sometimes we shop. Mostly window-shop, everything is so expensive, no. There is a bookstore that has all the Harry Potter books. I have seen all their movies. Somebody said the director is richer than the Queen. And on some days, an actor or actress comes to open new stores. They look so different from their movies.
But the worst thing is when none of my friends can drop me home. I have to sit in those noisy autos stuffed with sweating people. Of course I don't say anything to them. Most of them don't hang out at malls. I don't know where they hang out. Their life must be so boring, na? AbNQ

The King

The swagger (click). The high backlift (click). The flamboyant footwork (click whirr click). The flashing blade (click, too late). The lazy elegance (click, click). Close up to the eyes (zoom). The hunger, the passion (click). Zoom out, back in real time. Cut to opposition. Hands in the air. Hands on the head, on the hips. Drooping shoulders, heads bowed. Close up. Despair.

He graced the greens for seventeen years at the highest level. Coming in at a time when his tribe was infallible, he continued to sparkle even when the tribe lost its invincibility. He scaled the peaks thought to be too high. He scaled them again when others dared to make the peaks their own. He tried to lead his men to success. At times he did. But his men failed him more often. He was labelled an enfant terrible, a prodigal. He shrugged his shoulders and carried on entertaining the connoiseur and the layman alike. Graceful as ever, humble in words, charming in demeanour, he left his fans wanting more. And maybe that was the best way to go. A lesson perhaps to someone half a world away, but alike in more ways than one. Adieu, King. AbNQ