Framing Humanity- Humans of Pune

If you’re walking on the streets of Pune, and two girls happen to walk up to you with their dSLRs for a photograph and a short interview, you could identify them as the ones behind Humans of Pune (HOP). Nayanika Chatterjee and Isha Chitnis are studying in Fergusson College, Pune. With Mukta Joshi, student of National Law School, Bangalore, the two nineteen year olds have decided to pay a tribute to the infamous ‘Humans of New York’ that has gone viral on social media since last year.

Humans Of New York (HONY) is the brainchild of Brannon Stanton, a self taught photographer from Atlanta, USA. He has gathered about 6,000 portraits of people in New York, and uploaded them on social media, with short paragraphs about each person he photographs. HONY is the bestselling book and photo-blog, featuring street portraits and interviews collected in New York City.

Humans Of Pune, is a tribute to HONY. Inspired by the aim of ‘New York City, one story at a time,’ the ones behind the project in Pune hope to take ‘one street portrait at a time’.  They explore the city, and meet different people; from all walks of life, interact with them and tell the city their story through social media. Enthused by HONY, it’s their way of bringing the people of Pune together.

From left to right: Mukta Joshi, Isha Chitnis and Nayanika Chatterjee

Kicking off

Mukta, 18, was moved by the concept of HONY. She decided to pay her own little tribute to the photo blog, by starting ‘Humans of Pune’ in 2013. “I’m a huge introvert so I have trouble talking to strangers. I uploaded photographs without captions earlier, and that defeated the purpose of it,” says the demure student, who admits to be moving towards extroversion because of HOP. Nayanika and Isha joined in much later, in April 2014. Since then, the page has been more active.

Photography is their hobby, and these three self-taught photographers make a good team when it comes to approaching people and clicking them. Nayanika, the extroverted young Army-bred student says, “Most of the people speak in Marathi. Since Isha has lived here most of her life, she does the translation. Any one of us clicks the photograph. It’s all coordinated well that way.” Nayanika and Isha have their own Facebook photography pages; while one hopes to sustain this as a hobby, Isha wants to pursue it further, and become a photo journalist.

The Awkward Moment when...

 "My girlfriend had called me one day to see a house she had just shifted to. I reached the house as fast as i could. But suddenly, the doorbell rang and her parents came in. My girlfriend had to get rid of me. So I jumped off the balcony, from the second floor."

"How hurt were you after that?"

"I have an iron rod fixed in my leg now."

"And how is your girlfriend?"

"She broke up with me..Its been a while now."

More than approaching unfamiliar faces, it’s their reaction that is a major hurdle for the girls. The second year student of BA Politics, Nayanika says, “People walk away, they give a blatant ‘no’, or shy away when we ask them for a photograph; even if we approach them in the language that we think they will be comfortable with. Some of the boys on the street pass comments at us, and that’s just absurd!”

Apart from that, the girls have noticed that it’s difficult for people who don’t use the internet to understand their concept. While many who aren’t familiar with social media give them hostile glances, others like the concept but don’t wish to be seen by the people in the city on Facebook and Twitter! Isha laughs, “We approach so many couples to ask them more about their relationship, but they don’t want to be clicked because their parents or relatives could see it!” 

That’s their biggest challenge, but they hope to overcome it by familiarising people in the city with the concept of HOP. Their efforts begin at home, where the young enthusiasts have got their parents to follow HONY on Facebook. Nayanika says, “I made my mother like HONY, and then our page. I explained the concept. Now even she loves it!” The young photographer’s parents are proud of their daughter’s photography skills, and the fact that she meets new people and interacts with them while she’s at it.

Being a Mini-Celebrity

From left to right: Simone Noronha, Aarjavee Soni

"She's too unpredictable. One day, for no reason at all, she splashed ketchup all over my hair."

"She's always right. Which is really annoying at times. Probably that's why we're best friends."

Simone Noronha, a student who was photographed by HOP says, “My friend and I were casually walking out of class one day when we saw two girls with DSLRs pass by; as they made eye contact we sort of knew what was coming...” Simone speaks about how it was completely natural, and the conversation with Nayanika and Isha was delightful. “It feels nice to have these memories documented. And of course, who in this city wouldn’t like to feature on Humans of Pune?” smiles Simone.

The girls behind their cameras...

When the photographers aren’t walking around for hours on end, discovering the city and its secrets, and capturing the very essence of it, the three absolutely love travelling. Isha makes impulsive trips to places like Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Ajanta and Ellora. The second year BA German student says, “These impulsive trips are usually with my mother, since she loves last-minute trips. I even went to Sri Lanka with her once, and the holiday was planned only a week beforehand.” The talented student also makes surreal graphic designs in her free time, and enjoys swimming thoroughly.

Nayanika on the other hand is a young swimmer as well. The student’s quite a talent; she loves to sing and is learning the classical guitar with trinity currently. Mukta is now a first year student at National Law School, Bengaluru with an all India rank of 23 in CLAT. She has handed over the page to the two ambitious youngsters. When the talented young scholar isn’t clicking, she likes to read creative non-fiction, watch alternative cinema and discuss politics.    

Wishful Thinking

The three girls are in admiration of Brandon Stanton. They observe the composition of is portraits, and try to recreate something similar, yet innovative. While in a lively discussion about the technicalities of his photography; Isha exclaims, “What if he ever sees our page!” An aspiring photojournalist, Isha is energetic, and enthusiastic about making HOP bigger. She discloses that it is easier for them to concentrate on this goal since their college hours are 7.30-11.30am.

HOP Adventures

"What was the happiest moment of your life?"

"When I climbed the tallest peaks of the Alps."

“We go to a lot of places where we’re not supposed to,” chuckles Nayanika, while talking about the thrilling adventures they’ve had while trying to get some photographs. The girls get their kick from travelling and knowing new people. Nayanika and Isha recollected an incident where they were clicking a portrait in the midst of city traffic- with people, vehicles, and animals. “Nayanika was dodging all the traffic and the animals, but I wanted that perfect shot of those kids. So while I was making my best attempt at trying to get it right, I feel something gooey along my sling bag and hand. A cow licked me!” exclaims the lively young student.

The photographers, who often undertake impulsive travels aren’t always equipped with their cameras, to their disappointment. Mukta talks about her travel tales, where she meets a number of new people, “Everyone has such beautiful stories to tell. All that goes on in my head while I’m listening, is “Why didn’t I carry my camera?!” While the three girls have had some extraordinary experiences while interviewing people on the streets of Pune, they recall a memorable incident. Nayanika says, “We decided to photograph a girl in Koregaon Park. She forced us to show her the picture we took, and made us click a number of them in different poses. After that, she took our numbers and email ids. In the evening, I got a call saying “Hey, please could you send the photographs to me? I’ll select one and you could upload it.” Isha adds, “Of course we didn’t.”

The journey so far...

Isha: "What if Brandon ever sees our page!"

Nayanika: "Oh my god yes!"

Mukta: "That day will be the best day of our lives!"

The journey of working on approximately 120 portraits for HOP has been enlightening for the girls. Mukta, an aspiring lawyer, says, “The biggest learning I’ve received from HOP is to never judge a person by their looks. I mean, seriously. You may think someone isn’t approachable, but you get some of the best stories from them.” Adding to Mukta, Nayanika says, “It has also taught us all a lot about patience. People take time to open up since we’re strangers to them, and if we show that we’re in a hurry, we’ll miss out on some of the best stories.”

The young student spoke about a boy with a fractured leg they had photographed. “It was only after half an hour that we got to know that he broke his leg because he jumped off the first floor of his girlfriend’s new house when her parents entered. But the best part was that when we asked him about the girlfriend, he casually told us that they had broken up!” laughs Isha.

You can find links to the portraits by HOP here: 1. http://on.fb.me/1k8mCf4

2. http://on.fb.me/1n4RNY0

3. http://on.fb.me/1p7zIYN

The updated edited article has been published in Pune Mirror: http://bit.ly/1pvyoxs

The Imp and The Knight

I've picked my favourite pair, currently, in the Game of Thrones, and put them in an entirely different situation. It's also my first attempt at poetry, and I've written something after a really long time. 

Here it goes...

He stood, a foot or two well above me,

As he placed me carefully on my steed;

Within a minute we set astride,

Two horses, one knight.

I lead the way, he followed me through,

Without a shade of gratitude;

“I saved you, fool!”

He turned to face me, blankly,

The two of us, in parity.

It was those empty eyes that were same as Father’s,

When he knew his babe was worse than a bastard;

“An imp!” he had said, an imp, I was,

The words rung clearly in my head.

My hand on the hilt of my sword,

Futile, as it was;

Only an imprudent Imp would dare,

To replace his wit with sword,

Against a gallant knight, once his sell sword.

For a moment, I seemed to have forgotten,

That I was the damned dwarf; royal, and unwanted.

In a blink, my hands rested peacefully on the reins;

And quietly, we descended to the perilous night.

“You’re the Hand, you’re the one!”

“Yes, I do justice to them all.”

“The Night’s Justice!” he yelped,

 I knew he would’ve swung his sword,

 Had I not been the son of a Lord.

I peered at the man, once my sell sword,

Who would play the thankless role  of the Night’s Guard.

Long known it was that this disloyal knight,

Fought for the coin, and not for the cause.

Yet, I was sent to talk with this man,

Dangerous as ever; and shew him his fate,

Admired by some, yet kept for the terrible.

In the raw winter amidst bastards and other outlaws,

He was to eat, fight and sleep.

The Queen knew he could’ve slain me,

Or they would’ve never sent an Imp,

Even if he were Hand,

To settle matters of kingsguards and sellswords.

His eyes were bloodshot, he wouldn’t bow down,

He’d rather chop more heads off to win the crown.

But we both knew he’d slay,

And serve any Lord who offered him more coin than another.

Neither understood accusations, yet we played our own games.

I replaced Cersei’s decision with sentencing him to the Black,

I knew the man loved his life,

Just like he treasured his coin.

“Renly’s coin was worth more than yours.”

He smiled, yet angered, yet blind.

He was like a whore,

Playing for anyone who gave him more;

Yet whores loved, I knew,

But traitor’s blood filled them through…

The moon shone through the trees,

As a Knight and an Imp got off their steed,

Walking guarded between high trees and a higher Wall;

Together but in solitude,

As the dwarf waddled while the knight strode.

It was a long walk along the Wall,

While I pondered over the eunuch’s riddle,

Was the sell sword loyal to knight, priest or king?

“None at all.” He said, scoffing loud.

“To myself, and no one else.”

 We walked on, 

Knowing it was the last stroll,

As friend and as foe,

One knight, yet neither knew who it was.

Doom-ed again!

This is my review for Dhoom 3. Do check it out: http://www.campusghanta.com/2013/12/23/doom-ed-again/

                                   

The Prestige by Christopher Nolan ripped off in an excruciatingly long time frame of 3 hours 20 minutes: that’s Dhoom 3 summed up in exactly seventeen words. The story revolves around Jackie Shroff running a flop show, ‘The Great Indian Circus’ in Chicago, while he has no money left to pay off his bills. The Western bank of Chicago seizes his circus, he shoots himself, and there! 23 years later, his son is here taking revenge, bringing the bank down, and re-starting the circus. And obviously the stud-ly Jai Dixit and his tapori colleague Ali are called for the rescue, called off it, and then they solve it together cause that’s what Bollywood makes actors do.

This was easily the most anticipated film of the year, and also the worst; even more absurd than Chennai Express. At least Chennai Express was original. Seems like Aditya Chopra, Acharya and the design team took Nolan’s magic and the Indian audience too much for granted; apart from stealing the key trick from the infamous film, they even replicated the entire set from Nolan’s film. Being a part of the frustrated average Indian audience who pays a good damn amount only for a complete disappointment, I would recommend Nolan to file a case of stealing his work of art. You’d rather spend 900 bucks on buying ALL of Himesh Reshamiya’s CDs only to throw them away the day after than watch this film. Getting into a little gossip, on Koffee with Karan, Aamir Khan mentioned he chose the film cause of the script. After watching it, you’ll wonder if he was blinded by the *possibility* of ‘style’ he could get (which Salman and Shahrukh have and he doesn’t, as he said on the show) and thus overlooked the utterly sloppy script. But his phenomenal acting was probably the only reason you wouldn’t get off your seat more than 5 times throughout the film.

Going on about the actors, let’s talk about their actual contribution to the film:

Jai Dixit aka Abhishek Bachchan

I start with him because he’s been there since the the first Dhoom, and even though he ain’t as good as tapori ‘Ali’, he’s sadly, still more important. Junior Bachan seemed elated after realizing he had some scope left in the film industry by starring in the Dhoom series as the star-cop from India, doing some noble work in Chicago. Maybe that’s why he overacted. I tried hard, but I honestly couldn’t find a reason better than that. His Dhoom 1 and 2 aura, not exactly an aura, but basically something that made the audience like the previous two films had gone for good in the 3rd one. His wife Sweety and her baby are missing. That’s pretty disappointing because a Dhoom film without the over-made-up Rimi Sen, and thus, the overacting couple is an incomplete film. Ah, now that I think about actors who overact, they really did take a lot into consideration while casting for Dhoom 1. Thank goodness that Abhishek had nothing else to offer apart from terrible acting. Yes yes, I know, his looks aren’t what we’d call pleasing anyway.

Ali aka Uday Chopra

Uday Chopra, the second guy who’s been there since the beginning. We all know the only good acting he has ever done was in Dhoom and Dhoom 2 with his tapori charm. His only art (or probably his natural self) was deliberately taken away from him only to stuff in more unneeded action in the film. Message for Aditya Chopra here: Uday Chopra was a good tapori bro! Let him be for once. Possibly, for the first time, your brother could have saved your ass.
He just repeated 2-3 dialogues from the older Dhoom films, apart from the middle of the film where he bestows a great revelation upon Jai that ‘ijjat’ is most important, in a 20 second dialogue. That was the only time he got some importance. Otherwise, he was left as Jai Dixit’s shadow, and even though people wanted to give a fuck about him, they couldn’t. He was funny when he spoke though. But not as entertaining as he was earlier. The director seized his charm. I feel for you, Uday Chopra.

Sahir/Samar aka Aamir Khan

Yeah, he has a double role, but that’s no surprise. You guess it in the beginning, just like you guess every other ‘secret’ they slowly, like really, unnecessarily, slowly reveal. Although his poor choice is left to ridicule, no one can deny that his histrionics was what held the film together. There’s no glitch in the perfectionist’s work, and he beautifully manages to arouse a range of emotions much needed to be stimulated by the film. In fact, his flawless work makes you want to cry for his wrong script choice. That’s it for him, he was good either way.

Aaliya aka Katrina Kaif

I had forgotten about her till I scrolled up to review my work. That’s her contribution to the film. She’s definitely hot, but you experience her sexyness for a grand total of about 9 minutes. Thank the Gods, she had more of dancing than acting to do, so she did a good job. The ‘Asian Beauty who can sing and dance’ in some Electricity jazz movement was her role in the circus. Now that I analyze the character, it’s quite funny. The film could’ve done without her but I guess every Bollywood film requires the actress to come in for 3 minutes of drama which leads to the climax. Also, she was needed for the glamour to accompany the grand-stolen sets.

The other actors were pretty sidey, and obviously didn’t have much contribution to the film. That includes Jackie Shroff. He must be content for the few minutes of fame he got from his 7 minute role, which was still more important than Katrina Kaif’s.

THE ACTION

The film was like a circus, in terms of action. You will see stunts that neither humans nor magicians can perform. They kept emphasizing on magician’s magic tricks to get away with every unrealistic stunt they pulled off. Not convincing Acharya ji. The crew has clearly taken the Indian audience for granted, thinking we’re fools to believe or get mesmerized by that crap. They forgot that the janta has voted for AAP and BJP in the recent elections; we ain’t that stupid after all.

You have Abhishek’s entry in an auto-rickshaw, killing villains while riding it, Uday Chopra riding his yellow-some-model-bike and Jr. Bachan flying off it, 10 meters high, bashing up a villain, and worst of all is Aamir Khan riding his BMW on a 10cm thick rope. Seems like the laws of Physics have been taken for a ride too. The film could’ve been 1 hour shorter, and would’ve still made the same amount of sense as it would otherwise, if they cut off half the action scenes. I walked off in the middle (I swear everyone did), and on re-entering I saw how 75% of the people were on their phones. Also, I walked off, and I still knew what was going on in the film. I had watched The Prestige, remember? And action sequences don’t reveal anything about the story or the strength and valor of the characters, Acharya and Chopra must know.

THE END

The end was sorely disappointing, just a modified version of The Prestige. You’d be like, “Woah, fuck that was.. how did that happen?-” in the 2006 film, but here, you’ll just be like, “Um, dude. Did we just watch a Karan Johar movie?” It’s dramatic and doesn’t go with the entire plot. But since they stole the idea, they had no other alternative and HAD to modify the ending. Ugh, I’m so disgusted right now. You’d expect something much smarter by the end of it. It would also be the last ray of hope you would have in the director to bring about SOME change in the plot, and make it a crisp, or smart ending, or perhaps an open-ended tale. But no, they decide to bring in Bollywood drama in the last chance where they could’ve turned the whole thing around and the viewers would’ve rated it 3.5 instead or 1.5.

On another note, the future of Bollywood has been ‘doom-ed’ by films like this. You’d rather spend a day off by aimlessly walking around somewhere rather than watching this ridiculous film.

Waiting

Dear Reader,

The painting is one by Yuri Pimenov, an expressionist. It’s called ‘Waiting’. Thus, my story is titled the same. I had to write a short story on this for an examination, and it turned out quite well. It isn’t exactly the same since my paper isn’t with me, but a modified version nonetheless.

Roma slid her scarred back against the rough wood of the shelf, as she sobbed incessantly. She had finally gained the courage to make the call. Even though the conversation had ended, the telephone receiver was lying there on top of the shelf, unattended and misplaced. She could hear it beeping. Little did she care about the receiver or the aftermath of the heavy rains; a dull evening, the sound of a damaged street lamp outside the window of her apartment, a car honking on the narrow road between two buildings in an undeveloped and unsought after area of Bombay, with potholes that were now overflowing with contaminated water, a peddler cursing the driver for taking up his business space, and dozens of children playing cricket on the road which was narrower than a pitch. She sat there in pain, her bruises feeling like a thousand needles being pricked into her body, all at once and wept.

Unlike the rest of her friends, Roma looked like a simple, unfashionable woman. Her hair was always in a tight plait or a bun; the only piece of jewelry that ornamented her body was her gold hoop earrings. She tried her best to look beautiful in the limited means that she had. Her face was thin and her body appeared fragile. She didn’t look like a particularly happy woman. Life just went on for her, and she could never define its purpose. Roma wasn’t like this before her parents had arranged her marriage to that devil of the husband she had been living with for over two years now. She was well-to-do, healthy and free. She was cheerful and was loved by everyone she interacted with. She was a charming young woman, intelligent for her time. She was beautiful.

Things had moved downhill after she got married; she wasn’t allowed to continue teaching, which was her hobby and her well paying job, the income from her husband’s side was just enough to sustain the two of them: where he got the luxury to audaciously waste money on drinking at the bar every evening while she would simply sit next to her window and stitch. Over a year after they had got married, and had been trying for a boy child Rakesh wanted, she was diagnosed with incurable infertility. Hence, she continued to live her mundane life aimlessly, where she was constantly reminded her unsuccessful and incomplete life as a woman, by her imbecile husband. A child was all she could have hoped for to make her life slightly better, and that too was snatched away from her, just like a beggar’s blanket getting stolen on a winter night.  

Everyday was the same; waking up early, cooking for Rakesh, getting ready, cleaning the miniature apartment and pointlessly spending the dull day. In the evening, she’d stitch to distract herself from the fear of her husband getting back from the bar and having a new form of torture in store for her. Occasionally, she would sneak out in the afternoon and have a chat with her comparatively rich and happier friends who owned boutiques and salons in the next street. She wouldn’t share her problems with them, because she believed in making the most out of the few spare hours she got away from the depressing house, her beastly husband, and her tired soul and brain. She was genuinely glad that they had more meaningful lives, but the tinge of jealously would sting her every now and then, reminding her that her life was half as uneventful as theirs, yet, in all the wrong ways. Roma had some time to meet her friends this afternoon, but even after trying her best, she couldn’t cover the bruises near on her forehead and ears, so she just sat patiently and stitched. She had memorized helpline numbers from the magazines she had read at her friends’ parlors and boutiques. She recollected seven of them quicker than she could recall her parents’ numbers, who she was refrained from contacting and venting to. Rakesh would threaten her every week, but the voice of his last threat rang in her mind long after he had left, louder than anything else. She bore her head between her bleeding knees and cried while the heavy downpour quietly receded like a misbehaved child shamefully dismisses himself from class, she recollected, “Don’t you dare pick up the phone, you nasty bitch! You call anyone, and I fucking swear to God that I’ll kill you.”

Rakesh had never threatened to kill her before. She was terrified; numb as he had tightly wrapped his fingers above her elbows, suffocating the skin, and marking a significant print on her hand as he mercilessly dragged her across the teen feet wide room just to throw her on another chair. ‘How did all of this start?-’ she thought as she lifted her head, sobbing, ‘What did I do to make it start? What have I ever done?’ Numerous such questions crossed her mind, where she tried her best to find an answer, even though she had no fault in it. Yet, she stared at the door and recalled about the incidents that had taken place an hour ago.

The beatings had gotten more frequent than usual; normally, it was once in two weeks or so, but it had been two consecutive days of inhumane slaps and thrashing for Roma. The wounds from the previous day hadn’t even healed. It only got more barbaric that Friday. She was sitting next to the window and stitching a blue cardigan for her mother’s birthday next week. In a dull lit living room of that miniature apartment, she sat alone between a lamp and a window to make maximum use of the available light, and intricately weaved.  She stopped for a minute, and looked at the reddish-blue clot starting from the end of her thumb, down her wrist, almost up till her elbow. Her eyes moved to her swollen feet as she was reminded of last night’s thrashing, again. She teared up; and let them fall as they moistened the half- stitched cardigan on her lap. She stared into nothingness with emptiness in her eyes, pondering over her everlasting life-crisis.

 ‘How will I end this?-’ she thought out loud, ‘Why can’t I give him a god damn baby?’ she burst into a heartrending cry, and stretched the half-knit cardigan across her face, bearing her face in it. Fifteen minutes of sobbing, and then she finally stopped. But her heart still ached. She hated herself, for daring to speak up in front of Rakesh. The frequency of these outbursts had become unhealthy. The negativity around her was like a parasite, crushing her natural optimistic self, making her a frail figure standing alone in a dark and empty room. That was her life, summed up in ten words.  Roma saw the door knob turn in front of her. Rakesh’s silhouette emerged as the door flung open. His paunch consisted of all the liquor he drank before coming home. He was dressed shabbily, with a half unbuttoned shirt exposing his repulsive chest and loose, stained, brown trousers. Not a soul would believe that he belonged to the professional class.

Roma brushed off any sign of tears on her face, and stood up, with a stern expression.

 “Where’s my food?” Rakesh slurred, as he stumbled into the room, swinging the door shut behind him.

“There’s no bread.” She replied, hesitating.

“You’re a worthless bitch….Why couldn’t you tell me before? WHY?”

“I was telling you in…the morning-”

“OPEN YOUR FUCKING MOUTH AND TALK, WOMAN. WHERE IS MY GOD DAMN FOOD?”

“-But-no money-” she said in desperation.

“Why the fuck isn’t it here, on the table? What the hell do you do sitting at home all day?” he shouted, storming towards her. Roma dropped the cardigan on the ground and stepped aside.

“First you don’t give me a baby. Second you don’t even prove your worth by being a good wife. You can’t even cook my dinner, useless piece of shit.” Rakesh’s unshaved face was a few centimeters away from hers. As he spoke, she had no choice but to inhale the stench of liquor off his body and his breath. She bowed her head, and looked at the sweater on the ground.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you, woman. Don’t be a prick!” Rakesh shouted, pushing her head upwards with a tight grip on her hair. She closed her eyes tight to resist the pain. “LOOK AT ME!” he bellowed, tightening his grip. She opened her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her face wore an expression of helplessness and fear as she stammered, “Please don’t-” and that was exactly when he lost complete control, as his rough palm landed on her cheek, and he pushed her head against the wall, dragging it mercilessly while she shrieked. He stormed off in a fit of rage, destroying the furniture, and anything else he could find. Facing the wall, Roma continued sobbing. He lifted the chair she was earlier sitting on, and banged it to the ground, as she shivered, not even daring to look at him. He dropped all the decorations and necessities off the dinner table, as he yelled, “Why the fuck do you even live here if you can’t buy some fucking bread yourself and cook me a god forsaken meal?” She shrunk to the ground, weeping and shivering. She had no money to buy the bread, and when she had tried asking him for some, he walked straight out of the house without even responding to her. Roma knew that she wasn’t the one to blame; yet, she faced the endless torture with courage.

The electricity went as the thunder outside grew louder, and droplets began to fall from the black skies. He stomped towards her in anger, lifted her by the arm and slapped her hard. Two, three, four, and they continued as he screamed in frustration while she screamed in agony. There they were, in the house illuminated only by the street lamp outside the house as the pitiable wife was ruthlessly thrashed by her beastly husband. Rakesh flung Roma by her arm, onto the ground, as she let out a cry of despair, and slammed the lampshade on her back. The hot bulb landed on her lower back and she screeched in pain, beating her hands and legs on the bare floor. He lowered his face leveling it to hers, as he said, “Not a word to a soul.” And all she could do was cry harder. She struggled to stand with the help of the table’s leg. In excruciating pain from her burnt back and a few glasses pieces in her palms, she succeeded in the mammoth task. Rakesh stood there, staring at her with hatred in his drunken-red eyes. 

Roma feared Rakesh, like a donkey fears its ruthless master. She was the victim of her husband’s intoxicated fury. Her heart would race out of the terror of him being around. As he walked up to the struggling, injured woman, she breathed in to hold her tears back and closed her eyes. Rakesh shouted in anger, “LOOK AT ME? DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS?”

“Stop. Or-” she said, gathering some courage. The spontaneity of the courage startled Roma herself, and she dreaded her moment of bravery then itself.

“OR? Are you seriously threatening ME? Do you know that I can do anything to you, and all you can do is stand there like a wimp? Do you? Fucking bitch. How dare you!-” He grasped her hair and continued, “Don’t you dare pick up the phone, you nasty bitch! You call anyone, and I fucking swear to God that I’ll kill you.” The honesty in his voice was shocking. Roma stared into his eyes and knew, that from that moment onwards, living in that house was a risk to her life. He gritted his teeth in anger, pushing a chair aside, and flinging her onto it with his fingers making an imprint on her hand. She burst into tears with unbearable pain and sat on the chair, hopelessly waiting for the next beating.

Roma could faintly see the stains on the white wall across her. It brought back unforgettable and agonizing memories; of the day, about 3 months back, when Roma had taken a mild interest in making herself look like a 24 year old woman of her age, and not like a weary  woman of thirty five. She had bought some hair dye to colour the white strands which were evidently visible. She didn’t suspect that Rakesh would return early that evening, so keeping herself slightly entertained, she waited till the time the dye package instructed that she could wash the colour off. She went exactly by the clock; when eleven minutes were remaining, her husband came home early, drunk. His first reaction was a condescending laugh, embarrassing her of daring to think that making this effort would make a difference. He laughed and said, “Why do you want to look young? You’re sterile anyway. Wasting my money on this shit.” For his entertainment, he dragged her forehead a few centimeters across the wall, after which he slapped her, and things got ugly again. The stain of her hair dye rested permanently on the wall, prohibiting her from experiencing a shade of joy, and provoking her to constantly think about her dreary life and eternal suffering.

Rakesh threw his wife of the chair with a jerk, and walked off from the house in anger. As the door shut, the last hint of lighting was lost; the street lamp outside the window was damaged by the lightening.  After a fit of weeping, she crawled to where she was initially stitching, except now that there was no chair resting there, and pieces of glass pierced through the skin on her knees.

 Roma’s shifted her eyes from the door, as she was struck with a realization. Even though her back still tingled with pain, her knees and palms still bled, and the pain from her old bruises were only intensified, she thought about her moment of valor. She had stood up to her barbaric husband for once; and even though she was brutally punished for it, the fact remained that she did perform an act of courage. Living in that house was a threat to her life now, and she knew that. His threat and beatings flashed across her mind. Roma was hesitant. She stretched out her knees and her palms in front of herself and thought, “This is what he has made me. I can’t.” The seven numbers she had naturally memorized were running through her mind. Her heart raced. “If he finds out, I’ll be dead. I can’t.” Those numbers forced her to think about the life she could lead, going back to her parents and friends in Chennai. A life with a reason to live; not having to think of jumping out of the window she stitched sitting next to, or not having to think multiple times before picking up the phone from the shelf which was a hand’s length away from where she would stitch seemed to comfort her.

The numbers induced the drive in Roma. She knew she had to take a stand, and this was the only moment she could do it. If her husband entered, she would be killed, but if he didn’t, she could turn her life around. “I have to do it. I can do it. It’s my only chance. I will save myself.” Roma got goose bumps as she said it out loud, taking in a deep breath. Suddenly, all the excruciating pain was secondary. She stood up, with the help of the shelf and reached out to the telephone. With faint light from the street lamp on the opposite side of the street, she dialed the first number that flashed across her mind.

“This is Women Suicide Helpline number, Mumbai are you alright?” said a female’s voice, with genuine consideration.

“I need…help…” Roma spoke, holding the telephone cord as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Tell me what’s wrong, I understand, I’ll help you.”

“I’m hurt..my husband…he threatened to-”

“Threatened to?”

“Um..I can’t..he said he’ll kill me if I ask for help.” She finally said it, under one breath. Her shivering shook the cord.

“We need your name and address, we’re coming right away. Hang on, we won’t take more than 5 minutes. Nothing will happen to you. We’re coming.”

“C7 203 BIT Chawl 1…near Bombay Institution deaf and dumb, Tadwadi. Name is..Roma Yadav.”

“We’re just coming, hold on.”

The call ended. Roma dropped the receiver and it lay on the shelf; she couldn’t believe that she had just made the call. She slid her burnt back against the shelf and sat down. All she had to do was to wait for five minutes and her life would change. She was overwhelmed by her courage. She knew Rakesh could come home any moment, but she took all the possible risks she would have never taken, even in her wildest dreams. Overcome by a range of emotions, Roma wept; wept for relief, wept for her courage, and wept for her strength. She wept from pain and she wept from joy.  At last, Roma wept for freedom. 

With Love. 

The Crowded Patio- "I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud"

Dear Reader,

This is a story which I wrote for The Crowded Patio. It's for the Voices section, which revolves around philosophy, opinionating, and learning. You may read it here: http://thecrowdedpatio.com/wander-like-cloud/
                           
                                 

                                                                                

As I walked out of my house to attend the first day of a new year at college, I thought about a hundred others who were doing the same. It was as if most Puneites were stepping out of their comfort zones, into a multi-ethnic atmosphere where some of us would probably fit in easily, while the rest of us would be wandering. Me? I chose to wander, not because I’m a misfit, but because I like to observe others before associating myself with them.

Walking into college early, I patiently waited near the staircase for a few familiar faces.  During the wait, I carefully observed those who appeared to be involved in something more intense; something which I wasn’t a part of- socializing. All of them had stepped out of their comfort zone, into an atmosphere where they wanted to be accepted. It appeared to me as if standing without a group, for them, meant social suicide.

 Searching eyes adorned their lost faces. They were looking out for a world where they would meet people of their kind. Fidgety fingers and cracking knuckles showed their restlessness and their desire to be in a place away from their current company. While their group engaged in a whole hearted conversation about the previous night’s “adventures”, they reflected the expressions of the speaker, only duller and less enthusiastic. Others just stood amidst groups, listening, while they were engrossed in using their teeth to level their nails. I went on to ponder about the use of biting one and a half centimeter ‘long’ nails, in public.

My chain of thought was interrupted when I noticed a girl walking out of the elevator, her face festooned with a lost expression. Lost in thought, lost without company, and lost within herself. Her wandering eyes were in desperate search for some company. Drifting across the corridor, her eyes caught sight of me, observing her closely. Without giving myself away, I quickly smiled at her and waved politely. She did the same and continued her search.  Her eyes lit up for a fraction of a second when she spotted her mates standing on the other side of the corridor. On the short journey to her destination, she ran her fingers through her hair, cracked her knuckles, and looked down at her feet a few times. Her hesitant eyes were continuously trying to catch others looking at her, and her face exhibited a constant expression of uncertainty, both about herself and everything else around her.

Since her friends were absorbed in discussing something seemingly more controversial, they didn’t take notice of her arrival. Nonetheless, she stood with them, turning around occasionally with those shifting eyes, searching for somebody else to talk to. Occasionally, she would interject in the conversation with expressions that were possibly suited to the discussion, but didn’t seem to have much of a favourable reaction. But most of the time, she just stood, listened, while she observed the other friends in her group, their clothes and their body language. She would give a faint smile to avoid the awkwardness when she accidently made eye contact with one of them. Unlike the others, she seemed out of place, uncomfortable, and self conscious. I could imagine her at a party, watching people have fun while she’d try to mask the immense boredom arising from the burden and torture of socializing with an expression that suggested condescension.

Even during the lunch break, her behavior was unchanged. Meek attempts of interaction were made by her, while she followed her group, in hopes that someone would turn around and reciprocate. That was when I lost sight of her and caught sight of something more interesting. In college, we were all new. I noted how someone who hadn’t quite found themselves a proper set of friends, would fake smiles and kill a few minutes with strangers, just so that they would not have to bear with the discomfort of lunching alone. They would then abruptly stand up, and stroll off. I wondered where they went because wherever their Secret Garden was, they seemed to be happier after the lunch break, when it was time for class.

 I also noticed how a lot of people out of their comfort zone chose the easy way out and sat with familiar acquaintances. When I saw the quiet person in the not-very-quiet group, I laughed, and thought about how there’s always that one person in that one group who’s nothing like them, and nobody knows why they’re even there. Yet, their group seems to be fond of them, and they rejoice the appreciation, while they slowly and proudly make their best efforts to turn into one of them.

I noticed that the extremely self-conscious ones showed their discomfort simply through their body language. It wasn’t difficult to understand their thought process. It just required some attentive observing or sympathy, if anyone had been in their place at some point in their life. Their slouching shoulders, hesitant actions, vague expressions and highly uncomfortable way of walking because they’re conscious of the way others perceive them, gave them away. They seemed to be constantly cowed down by everyone around them. Watching their vacant expressions during the non-class hours when everyone was mixing around compelled me to study how others perceived them.

I saw a few pitiful faces, glancing every now and then in the poor victim’s direction, to see what they were engaged in. I saw some empathizing expressions on the faces of all the uncomfortable ones in groups, turning around, just to look at their kind without having any eye contact with them, and then walking off from their respective group, only to spend a while with themselves in an unengaged part of the balcony. However, most of the people were indifferent towards them. They continued their discussions or whichever activities they were preoccupied with, barely looking away to notice the ones who were lurking off to the balcony. I too found some space there, where I sat, listening to ‘Yellow Submarine’ by The Beatles and continued to observe everybody.  

The nonchalant expressions provoked me to think: People are too busy living their life and fulfilling their dreams to even take a glimpse of those who are still struggling. Were they utterly selfish and self centered or did they have too much to cope with which didn’t give them time to think about others? The struggles were the bumpy rides on the unfinished roads of life. Sometimes, the road would be so inhospitable, that its ditches would harm the journeymen, and leave them stranded. Yet, most people would carry on, just to reach the smooth end which they thought, would continue for eternity. The stranded ones would have to pick themselves up, make everything right, and move on, even though they lied behind the rest. If they were lucky, a few passersby would reach out to help them. Otherwise, they would be stuck in the dark ditch forever, envying those who were able move on and eventually hit the smooth road. However, the ones who succeeded despite the unpleasant circumstances and being behind the rest, would have gained something the quick achievers wouldn’t have; which would ultimately make them the happier ones: the immense experience of rebuilding themselves. Those would be the moments that they would look back at, with moist eyes. It would make them realize how much they’ve grown, and how they’ve come out as a better person.

As the day got over and I was heading home, I thought that a day would come soon, when everyone would find the sort of people they were looking for, and everything would be at peace. There would be no wandering eyes or itinerant souls; there would be no confused faces, drooping shoulders and tensed bodies.  Everyone would fit right in. Those thoughts were the only streak of optimism that day. I wandered, observed, and contemplated. I realized that I knew myself and my batch mates much better than I did twenty four hours ago. I understood J.R. R Tolkein’s words much better by then, “All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.”

With Love.