A silverframed smiling photograph atop a walnut side table. Odd trinkets from various travels.
Two tickets to Singapore lying by.
A suitcase with its lid open.
Neatly folded piles of clothing. Light pink, light yellow, powdery blue, shadowy lavender. Matching petticoats and blouses. Yardley's talcum powder amidst a pile of cotton sarees.
A box of threptin and several presents. Some wrapped, some waiting.
Excitement in the air. Sweets in mithai boxes. From Aggarwal's, Haldiram's and other modern halwai stores sans the vest, the dhoti and customary enormous potbelly.
Last minute phone calls. Gudiya's 3 year old chirpy voice. To inform she shall be waiting at the airport with her teddy bear.
Giggles, soft smiles and eager hearts. A new camera- Sony cybershot 5.1, their anniversary present from the NRI son. Packed to bring back a stack of new photo albums.
The chatter mutes. The flurried activity freezes.
The suitcase lies forgotten. Clothes lay in abandon. An array of medicines turned into spider-web grounds.
A silverframed smiling photograph on a wall. A garland of flowers atop it all.
9 comments:
i like how the last lines rhyme. Its as if fate is silently mocking nd chuckling almost, about the ominous turn things took.
I dont know if you meant it like that, but thats how i felt from it. We are so busy trying to control our lives, that something like this happens and shakes us up.
Heartbreaking.
Oh, and the image that came to mind was one of those slow-motion shots of a much-loved glass ornament crashing to the polished hardwood floors and breaking into a billion pieces.
i like the image you brought up.
oh my iGod!!! :-o
u r ............
(btw, does Olympus has a 'cybershot' series? :-p)
umm I think my secret is out then :$ - serves me right for never editing or reading over.
but my excuse is i wrote it in my usual 5 mins right after my midterm so im allowed to be exhausted and letting it show :)
and i hope the oh my god wasn't bad :P
Ouch.. that was touching.
Beautifully written.
Casablanca- thank you
very touching...unfortunately my life is the picture of such stories...
Z: i'll talk to you soon. all this doesn't sound right.
Surabhi: thanks a lot :)!
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