The party has been well organised as ever. The glittering lights in the corridor is the talk of the day.
Amrita has spent almost 2 days trying to make it perfect. She ruminates about the hard work which has gone in into making the whole thing look so enchanting. She knows she has a knack for all this, no wonder the compliments from the guests have just not ceased throughout the night. The lamps are also an attraction, she bought them last month when she had gone to the new super mall in town. Hanged from the ceiling, made of glass, circular in shape like the conical test tubes, rose petals on the surface of the water in the lamp, and ten tiny
diyas floating on the water. They cost her a fortune, but what was more difficult was finding the right place for them in the hall. She doesn't like crowding the place too much and
Rahul, well, he never has an opinion on anything.
The drinks are getting served in those pristine glasses bought from her last trip to
Kerala. The glasses are special, they have a distinct aroma around them. It entices you to the drink when you are sober and starts moving you away from it as you get drunk. She liked the idea, maybe that would restrict people to drinking much and ruining her parties. This was one thing which she disliked about the parties. Why did people not have control on their senses ? At least the spouses can help control their partners. Mrs Gupta had exclaimed that it was the way that
Amrita organised these parties which made the others feel like drinking more and letting loose. It was to do with the dingy lights, beautiful lamps adorning the passages, art painting which could submerge anyone into moments of thoughtfulness - quiescent and introspecting, incense sticks with their mild and soothing aroma, and the absorbing soul-touching music which
Amrita chose. Couples just came to her parties and felt like getting lost in the new adornments which she would have bought since the last party. But that still doesn't justify the behaviour some of her guests had portrayed in the past ! In one of the parties, Mrs Gupta after having 5 shots of Martini, had lets her taps go loose and had started talking openly about her job and pressure at home.
Amrita had spent the entire night cajoling her and had to finally drop her home. Mr. Shah had discovered his son is a habitual drinker in
Amrita's last party when his son could but resist the temptation to drink; only problem being he had had one too many making the oblivious obvious. Mr Bose had gulped down 5 drinks in her last party in October and totally gone crazy. He had come out vehemently with his likings for the fairer sex and had spent five minutes praising
Amrita's beauty with his
ghazals. She had felt quite flattered, even though she knew
Rahul must not have liked the compliments. No wonder what Mr Bose had never been invited to any other party which
Rahul had hosted. She never understood that part of
Rahul, she liked it and also hated it. Anyways no point thinking about
Rahul now and getting into a pensive mood. She had many things to do and many guests to entertain.
It is quite surprising that
Ravneet has not been able to make it to the party in time. She is seldom late, she comes early most of the times and helps
Amrita with the finishing touches.
Amrita has always had a penchant for
Ravneet's opinions; she finds them quite delectable. Well a fashion designer has to have a good choice, especially in such a competitive scenario where opportunities are few and chances for success rare.
Amrita remembers the time when
Ravneet suggested her to try her hand at designing. It was one of the most enjoyable month of her life, she had travelled with
Ravneet to Delhi and had contributed in 2 of her public shows. The dress combinations she had chosen had not only made it to the
Volve Fashion magazine but had also been been tabulated as trend-setters for the youth. The accolades though had gone to
Ravneet, which was hardly a concern for her. She had managed to do what she had dreamed of doing ever since she had participated in her college fashion show. Of course at this juncture in life, she didn't really care for worldly praises and admiration. It was the deprivation she had been feeling within which needed to be satiated. The way she had deprived herself of the countless pleasures and experiences she could have gone through in her life which needed to be taken care of. She had somewhere developed a respect for
Ravneet's professionalism and her insensitive attitude. The day
Ravneet realised that
Amrita could be a good designer, she had stroked her off from the designing circles.
Amrita's stint was over in a flash just like it had kicked off. Their friendship though had not been effected by all these events and
Amrita wondered why. Maybe they were not friends at all, maybe it was more of a
parasiticalness which kept them close.
The doorbell rings, and disturbs her thoughts. She doesn't like a disturbance, especially when she is inclined to give a shape to her relationships. She regrets having taken the decision to host the party, its an unwarranted interference. She wishes now she had put someone else to attend the guests at the door; why had she instructed that only she would welcome the guests inside ? She wonders why she had told
Rahul last night; ' I love these parties, they make feel not dead for a change'. She
cognizes for the fact that the party is still on and she must attend to her guests.
Mr
Chawla walks in with his wife. There is a lull as everyone turns to see Mrs
Chawla (popularly known as
Shilpa), dressed in a peach t-shirt and off-white bottoms. The t-shirt wears a slogan in the front "
Shilpa Group - Bridging the Gap" and a painting at the back. The painting was designed by
Amrita; it shows a child emerging from a whirlpool of misery and filth and moving towards clear skies.
Amrita recalls how she has always been an ardent admirer of
Shilpa; one women who has managed to live life the way she wanted to. They met when
Shilpa was in her early twenties and having this urge to start her own social work society.
Shilpa's arcane thoughts always touched a chord with
Amrita; she was one women who opened her heart only to a few.
Shilpa finally got her break at the age of 30 when her husband gifted her an office from where she could operate and start her social work society. Mr
Chawla had been quite supportive in
Shilpa's endeavours and had always aimed at bringing her dreams true. He had in fact given an entire page of his newspaper to the publicity of
Shilpa's trust.
Amrita wished she could break free from the shackles of socialising and spend some time thinking what she actually wanted to do. She had joined
Shilpa's trust and spent three months there; what had seemed like a burning desire prior to this experience turned out to be a futile attempt.
Amrita never found the peace which she was looking for in the society; the animosity for our society in the hearts of foundling kids at the trust was probably too much to handle for her. She knew she could give them direction and bring some solace to their turbid thoughts; maybe this was not just the right time in life to venture into something like that. One way it had helped was that she now understood
Jasmeet better;
Jasmeet had always been a neglected child and that is what pinched her. Meeting the children at the trust; she realised her responsibilities were first with her own child. She had therefore diverted the time which she was spending at the trust to
Jasmeet.
Jasmeet who had become stubbornly disobedient could not comprehend the change in her mother's attitude at first. He found it weird yet loved the change in his mother.
Jasmeet was 4 years old at that time and had not yet moved too much away from his parents.
Amrita had ever since expressed her gratitude to the
Chawlas by donating every year to
Shilpa's trust and inviting them to all the parties she hosted. The discomfort with the same was the lecherous looks of Mr
Chawla who had this opinion that
Amrita had a liking for him and therefore invited the couple to all the parties; something which he had made aptly obvious after getting drunk at the new year party. The bigger discomfort was that Mr
Chawla had read
Amrita too well for her liking.
The guest start leaving at the stroke of
midlinght. The
Chawlas leave early, as they have a big day ahead.
Shilpa's work has been nominated for a national award and they need to submit write-ups of her entrepreneur work.
Ravneet had called up an hour back saying that her fashion show had continued past the scheduled closure time and that she would not be able to make it to the party. That was sad,
Amrita had wanted to spend some time with her tonight. She was hoping
Ravneet would stay at her place for the night. The
Chabras leave at the end;
Amrita waving them goodbye as
Rahul closes the door abruptly.
"Well I am tired of the festivities tonight, I think I need some rest" says
Rahul, unbuttoning his shirt. "By the way, nice choice of the shirt,
Shalini liked it a lot. Said wise choice, blue suits me a lot. She liked the watch too, especially the metallic dial with the silver arms. Told her my wife has the best taste in town for garments and adornments."
"Whatever ! Frankly I
dont think that much about what suits you. I bought the shirt because i liked the texture. I think its uncomfortable dressing up in those thick fabrics you wear. As for the watch it is light and has special features which ensure long battery life. You only said that you want a watch with those
characterisitc, therefore found one suiting your taste" says
Amrita, remembering how she had fought for the blue shirt in the festival sale, knowing that
Rahul looks smart in blue attire. The watch is another big story, she had spent days looking for it, combinations of metal and silver is something she had always had a craze for. Finally she had to get the watch custom made, she had gifted it to him on his 43rd birthday last year.
Rahul's choice is terrible, she thought to herself, who would be looking for long battery life in a watch ? As for
Shalini, she has this habit of flattering
Rahul, and
Rahul didn't mind someone praising him in public. She was working in the same office as
Rahul, only 2 designations below
Rahul and
Rahul always asked her for her opinion on his garments, adornments etc.
Amrita, on her part, had no issues if her husband wanted to be like a sissy who wants consistent pampering and praise from his office colleagues.
"Well it is futile having a discussion on this. Sometimes wish you would say a nice thank you, close the topic rather than debate a lot."
"Why, you
dont like expression of thought anymore. You were the one who said,
Amrita, always give me a frank opinion on everything. Do not fudge your thoughts and twist them to suit my moods. I said, I bought the shirt just like that; having a liking for its texture, not considering the colour. What is wrong with expressing my thoughts now
Rahul ?" says
Amrita patting
Rahul on the back as he walks to his room upstairs.
"Oh nothing. Its just that people change. It was different then, our thoughts were so much in cohesion. It was as if I was looking at my own reflection when I was discussing things with you. You have changed now and therefore my perceptions have changed. It was comfortable telling you something knowing that you would relate to it. Things have changed, our likings have changed. You cannot live in the past
Amrita, especially if the present is strikingly different. Is it not so
Amrita that 10 years back, you would have known that blue suits me, what kind of a watch would look good on my wrist ? Today I have to tell you what I want
because you don't know me well enough anymore. You had a natural inclination for my choice then, something which is missing today. Same hold true for me too".
"Well
Rahul I am inclined to staying silent right now. I think talking with you would aggravate my temper. I am no mood for a discussion right now. I had rather sleep"
"Why ? What
happened to expression of thoughts ? Want to suppress them now that you
don't have the answers"
"You wouldn't know
Rahul there is an orgasmic feeling in talking with you. Now wonder I love these parties, can at least avoid these unnecessary conversations with you".
