One day a handsome young man embarked upon the shores of my apartment and suddenly the snob value that I already had in my neighborhood rose up a few notches.
Initially there was interest among all and sundry about who he was and what he did etc.
Then in a few days when people at large realized that he seemed to have settled within the confines of my apartment there were all kinds of assumptions and subtle questions like – Ya Hi! How do u do and how’s work and all? And ya that guy works with u? a friend ?? Ya Ya ok so what does he do exactly?? And oh ya ?? and oh that?? Etc.
In a city like Bombay nobody really has the time to really bother whether u live or die but I am luckily in a apartment block where people have a little extra time and there are these evening rounds of chat and gossip among the society women who diligently discuss about who is sleeping with who these days and in which serial which saas is troubling which bahu etc. …who’s making money and who’s not and what’s jinxed ….what’s hot ………………etc etc.
I got a chance to be part of such discussions two or three times and realized it was a huge stress buster for people who were part of it and probably a really stressing thing for people I mean women who were not part of it. Women part of this group seemed to have an aura of satisfaction around them after they finish. It is a satisfying culmination of a hard day’s of work and toil.
What I could never figure out from the media amid massive news coverage and speculation and huge concern in the entire nation about the rift between the two Ambani brothers …… I figured out in detail with this group………..what’s supposedly wrong….who is doing what and what all led to the present situation.
I wondered what works here and how? My wild guess is that these are all the silent and backend workers of this nation who are just supposed to silently perform their duties without raising their voices and without demanding their place in the sun. And this is one platform where they can express themselves freely without a care or concern. Without any eyes or judgments on them these groups were close knit having a little politics and fissures of their own but still all the problems remain within the group.
I sometimes wonder whether gossiping is the favorite pastime of this nation because it is not only women who do it but all the men in the clubs, coffee shops and bars also. Men just camouflage it with an overall perception of discussing important things.
Well, anyways coming back to the handsome young man and all the concern about him in my neighborhood. People increasingly are keen to know who he is and why we are going on all these bike rides together and increasingly seen together completely engrossed in each other.
The concern slowly turned into anger especially among the younger lot because of the unflinching attention I was getting from this charming and sexy man.
My landlord once dropped in my apartment pushing aside my day maid to just get a fast entry I don’t know why but I guess just to check – what’s happening??
Another day one of the seemingly caring person dropped in to check on me as I was a bit ill but her purpose seemed completely different once she was inside the apartment. After her few vague questions and my unrelated answers I finally let the cat out of the bag and said he was my boyfriend and was now living with me. On the face of it seemingly there was no reaction from her but her fixated gaze on me I know is going to stay……….. I haven’t reached any celebrity status in my professional field yet but I am the most watched personality in my neighborhood right now for sure……….. I can’t say I loathe it only. Somewhere I am enjoying it too…..the ability to shock people and gain their attention has its own charm…… the only weird thoughts I get in the evenings at times is what if they are discussing my imaginary bedroom stories sitting there in those plastic chairs right now.
Are they watching…? Are they commenting… Are they…anticipating ……..are they calculating………. i wonder......days and months are passing…..and I am waiting for different things to happen ………..as I am discovering the +s and -s of a Live-in relationship and its impact on the neighbourhood.
Initially there was interest among all and sundry about who he was and what he did etc.
Then in a few days when people at large realized that he seemed to have settled within the confines of my apartment there were all kinds of assumptions and subtle questions like – Ya Hi! How do u do and how’s work and all? And ya that guy works with u? a friend ?? Ya Ya ok so what does he do exactly?? And oh ya ?? and oh that?? Etc.
In a city like Bombay nobody really has the time to really bother whether u live or die but I am luckily in a apartment block where people have a little extra time and there are these evening rounds of chat and gossip among the society women who diligently discuss about who is sleeping with who these days and in which serial which saas is troubling which bahu etc. …who’s making money and who’s not and what’s jinxed ….what’s hot ………………etc etc.
I got a chance to be part of such discussions two or three times and realized it was a huge stress buster for people who were part of it and probably a really stressing thing for people I mean women who were not part of it. Women part of this group seemed to have an aura of satisfaction around them after they finish. It is a satisfying culmination of a hard day’s of work and toil.
What I could never figure out from the media amid massive news coverage and speculation and huge concern in the entire nation about the rift between the two Ambani brothers …… I figured out in detail with this group………..what’s supposedly wrong….who is doing what and what all led to the present situation.
I wondered what works here and how? My wild guess is that these are all the silent and backend workers of this nation who are just supposed to silently perform their duties without raising their voices and without demanding their place in the sun. And this is one platform where they can express themselves freely without a care or concern. Without any eyes or judgments on them these groups were close knit having a little politics and fissures of their own but still all the problems remain within the group.
I sometimes wonder whether gossiping is the favorite pastime of this nation because it is not only women who do it but all the men in the clubs, coffee shops and bars also. Men just camouflage it with an overall perception of discussing important things.
Well, anyways coming back to the handsome young man and all the concern about him in my neighborhood. People increasingly are keen to know who he is and why we are going on all these bike rides together and increasingly seen together completely engrossed in each other.
The concern slowly turned into anger especially among the younger lot because of the unflinching attention I was getting from this charming and sexy man.
My landlord once dropped in my apartment pushing aside my day maid to just get a fast entry I don’t know why but I guess just to check – what’s happening??
Another day one of the seemingly caring person dropped in to check on me as I was a bit ill but her purpose seemed completely different once she was inside the apartment. After her few vague questions and my unrelated answers I finally let the cat out of the bag and said he was my boyfriend and was now living with me. On the face of it seemingly there was no reaction from her but her fixated gaze on me I know is going to stay……….. I haven’t reached any celebrity status in my professional field yet but I am the most watched personality in my neighborhood right now for sure……….. I can’t say I loathe it only. Somewhere I am enjoying it too…..the ability to shock people and gain their attention has its own charm…… the only weird thoughts I get in the evenings at times is what if they are discussing my imaginary bedroom stories sitting there in those plastic chairs right now.
Are they watching…? Are they commenting… Are they…anticipating ……..are they calculating………. i wonder......days and months are passing…..and I am waiting for different things to happen ………..as I am discovering the +s and -s of a Live-in relationship and its impact on the neighbourhood.
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