Tuesday, May 16, 2006

A Walk in the Rain...


As she sipped her coffee, she couldn’t help but think how magical the night was. It was raining softly outside. She listened to the rhythm of the rain lashing over the roof as if whispering unheard tales inducing the night into sweet slumber. She finished her coffee and went about her routine activities. She kept a jug of water next to her father’s bed; her father who had been paralyzed by fate for years now. For the last time she made sure her little brother was asleep. Then, she stepped out into the rain, in her crimson red sari, when the world was fast asleep.

She didn’t bother to carry an umbrella. The rain was no alien to her, nor was the rain to the expressions of her heart. She felt the cold shimmering pearls of rain that fell from the heavens above, drench her warm body slowly. It was not the kind of rain that poured with vehemence that cut through the sacred earth and echoed the storm within you. It was the rain that caressed you with each of its drops trying to wash away the pain engraved in the heart of your soul. She took a deep breathe of the sweet fragrance in the air. Yes… this is the closest one can get to magic. Each drop fell gracefully on the unforgiving ground in steady rhythm; music as if to guide a lost child to find its way.

As she approached a turning in the road she could hear the laughter of children. Just around the corner there were a group of children playing in the little lakes that the rain had made and were ridiculously giggling away to glory. At that moment she wished she were a child cached in the bubble of its laughter… A child with only childish fantasies so improbable within the realms of reality, yet seeming attainable within the vagaries of a child’s mind.

She walked further down the road to the bus stop and stood a little away from it, waiting. After a couple of minutes a man came walking down the road towards the bus stop. As he neared the bus stop he looked at her. Time seemed to stand still as their eyes locked. A flash of lightening momentarily illuminated the dark night making her face shine with an unearthly glow, which was followed by the sound of thunder that rolled across the sky. Everything seemed to be frozen around them as their eyes penetrated each other, assessing each other, anticipating each move. She caught her breathe as a cold chill spread across her bones. Was it the rain or was it fear that gripped her every time for just a millisecond?

She walked towards him and stood beside him. He looked the other way and asked her, ‘How much?’

She replied, ‘500’.

‘Hey, that’s too high. I’ll give 200.’

‘Look, I am not settling for anything less than 400.’

‘Go away. I’ll look for someone else’, came the reply.

When he moved as if to go away, she instinctively took a step forward before stopping herself. She swallowed hard hoping to erase the desperation in her voice and said, ‘Ok. I’ll take 300 for one hour and that’s final. Take it or leave it, old man.’ She said it as vehemently as she could. She didn’t realize her eyes portrayed a strange blend of conflicting emotions.

He seemed reluctant for a minute, which seemed like an eternity to her. But finally he said, ‘Fine. Follow me.’

She let out a sigh of relief and followed him along the road to a dingy hotel. There were other women standing outside the hotel. The men in the hotel gawked at her. Her gaze didn’t waver even for a moment as she glared back at them. The hotel was dimly lit and smelt of stale air. She waited near the window as the man spoke to the guy at the reception.
She watched the sporadic drizzle through the dirty window. She was struck by how different the rain looked from this side of the world, as it fell on the puddles creating ripples that spread far beyond only to see its own end as the ripples of each droplet merged with each other. From that dingy, stale hotel lobby she felt the rain looked like heaven’s way of washing away all the filth in the world.

Her trail of thoughts were broken when the man called out to her, ‘Hey you. What is your name?’ He was standing inside the room that he had rented on the ground floor holding the door open for her to enter. She walked towards the room and said, ‘Does it matter?’ She shut the door behind her. For about an hour she shut herself away from the rhythmic tales of the rain… shut herself away from her childish dreams…

Later, she sat on a half-broken chair staring at the money the man had kept on the bed. He was sound asleep. Opposite to where she sat there was a mirror that held captive her image, reflecting silence. It seemed like a stranger was staring back at her from inside the mirror. But if she looked closely she may see the distorted image of a person she once knew. Someone had once told her that your world eventually becomes a reflection of yourself. She instantly looked away, picked up the money and quickly left the room. It was still raining gently outside, as if it was waiting for her… knowing the need of its comfort.

Once again, when the world was fast asleep, she stepped out into the rain. The rain swept her face as she walked along the lonely road following the rhythm of the rain… like a lost child… trying to find its way…

82 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice one...

All Is Whole said...

Hey Rose..nice one..really touching ..good work.....
nd abt ur ques... whats in my mind...
"A big dream....."
:-)

All Is Whole said...

Nice one Rose....
Great piece of writng....
hats off.... :-)

nd about ur ques whats in my mind.
....
"A Dream......"

byee...tc

Ankit said...

good one rose ... i m really moved !

its me said...

hmm.. rose all of your posts are touching...u have a way with words...

SeePearrl said...

voww walk in the rain....i love it !

SCRIBBLEZ TO WAKEUP said...

Hey....When I began to read I could imagine the scene in Chameli...But why were kids playing late at night.....??? :)

Yucks, wht a place she had to go with some stinker, well thats how she makes money so wht can be said! It is so sad tht some opportunities to earn money sell you so much and you r willing to be sold too!!

Layfield said...

...300? I thought they cost 10k!

dharmu said...

from real hilarious ones to real touching ones, good job rose.

some reality of life, some story, some ones life, some ones bread, real a toughtful post.

Advitiya said...

Oh excellent piece. You write really well. Hats off!

Pranay said...

Rose you write really well yaar. you made me feel every word. No word is a waste. Each word helps to take you to the world and feel it. I could feel the rain, the thoughts in her mind.
Am very impressed. you have the talent to be an author someday. hope you won't forget me then.;-)

Pranay said...

hey rose. thanx for dropping by and your caring words.:-)

I loved coming of the great.
You are racing ahead to be one of my favouritest authors...

jac said...

Hey
That was really a cute piece.

You have real talent and do it often.
All the best !!

Keshi said...

Thunder, Lightening, Rain, Floods, Rainbow, Calm skies...sunny skies...Thunder...

Life is that too...

Keshi.

starry said...

I cant say enough, I like your descriptions and your writing style.Touching story and sad.

Rose said...

2 Prashant -

Ok Dude... Wake Up!!!! Stop dreaming and do sumthn abt actualising it!!! :) Sorry prashant if i sounded rude.. But its amazing that u feel very much that there needs to some difference. That is surely the first step.. But unless u actually do sumthn abt it, the thought just doesnt count.. :)

Anonymous said...

The Best yet.... truly moving ...

k
and

I wish i were a child ,
with only childish fantasies,
so immprobable ,
yet, so seeminlgy with the grasp of a childish mind.

Oh how i wish........

=)

Rose said...

@ Ankit..
I feel gud that i cud make u think from another's point of view...

@ Its Me..
'Coz its only words.. n words r al I have.. to take ur heart away.. ;)

@ White Forest..
I luv it too

@ Scribblez..
No.. wats sad is when one has to succumb to sumthn like this unwilling.. n btw those kids were from the nearby slums.. for them there isn't any diff b/w day n nite...

@ Jetru..
Prob u wud knw the going rates better ;).. But u must be talking abt the big-shot call girls who get into prostitution to earn extra pocket money to buy expensive stuff for themselves... But the protagonist in my story due to circumstances had to sell herself for a living.. I rem a few years ago when strict measures were taken by the govt to curb prostitution in my state, the condition deteriorated so much that these women had to sell themselves for as low as 25 Rs!!!!
Welcome to the real world buddy!!!

:)

..Me

Mr. J said...

:)

Rose said...

@ Dharmu & Advitya..
Thaaaaaanks a ton!!! Ummmmmma... :D

@ Pranay..
Im on TOP OF WORLD!!! HELP!! Sum1 get me outta here... ~laughs~ Thanks yaar.. Hope u r feeling better now.. :)

@ Jac..
Thanks Jac.. Howz ur finger Jac???

@ Keshi..
Yup.. i guess life's like that too.. :)

@ Starry Nights..
Yes.. it IS sad.. prostitutes have been a part of our social system since time itself.. prob they wud remain to be one.. But the saddest part is the conditions in which they exist, sumtimes the torture they have to endure, women being kidnapped and forced into this institution, children who are trapped in this horrific act.. the list is just endless

I hope my post made you think so that when anytime in your course of life u meet this woman, u wudnt judge her for wat she has becum.. n any man who approach her cud put himself in her shoes and atleast not hurt her...

:)

..Me

Ranga, The Raja said...

"A walk in the Rain"...
Best baby of yours!!! :)

Not coz of the way the story is told as it is there in other posts also, but the theme chosen by...

i really thought it is one of those non-real happy story abt all the goodies in life when i started reading... but it is a real nice piece of work!!!

AJ ! Serendipity !!! said...

Wow. Such a captivating tale. From her perspective. Beautiful ending too ...

insane freak said...

hmmm...
beautifully written, i must say.

love the use and play of rain in the entire piece, poignant, symbolic, yet simply the backdrop?

"Someone had once told her that your world eventually becomes a reflection of yourself." ... how i agree wit that...

n Prostitution, cud b a necessity, a compulsion or simply a choice?
its such a deep rooted social existence, that nw, if uprooted wud leav possibly too many ppl unemployed, n ostrasized.

i wonder, is it such a moral issue?
(if taken up by choice?)

Aditi said...

Very well written, beautiful and touching. One can almost feel her pain and when she detaches and grows numb.
"Someone had once told her that your world eventually becomes a reflection of yourself."
I love these lines of course

Rohan Shah said...

this time i am not first and i have read the whole post before commenting i swear.. and yes i hav got internet here.... yipeeee

hey rose, u write beautifully, i get the feel of reading a novel, may b its too streched a remark on my part even then i would say that i could infact imagine somelady with the innocent looks of christina ricci while reading ur post... amazing job,

and u make me feel jealous and an even more wasteful blogger then i actually m ;-(

Sam!! said...

Nice post n besides a nice blog:)

Thnx for visiting my blog n ur words there.

Hope to see u around:)

Takecare

starry said...

Rose what u said is true, we should not judge the person because we do not know the circumstance that brought her to this.

faith said...

my my.. good write up but a sad story..

so lets *smile* now..

മര്‍ത്ത്യന്‍ said...

Well written rose.

The plot was more familiar but I would give an A+ for the presentation.

What ever be the plot old or new, it is all in the presentation and I guess you have done a great job

Marthyan

Sunita said...

Beautifully written.
Thanks for dropping by my place :)

Shriedhar said...

u write in a very special way. for once i felt like reading a chapter of sm novel.



~cheers

shweta said...

u noe when do we frighten ourselves most ...when we turn over the pages nd luk back ....rarely can we laugh on it ...becuz we grudge so much ...smetimes ur thots r the most suffocating things in the world
nd sometimes it just sets u free from the fetters of worldly understanding ...
from the fetters where things get circumscribed by circumstances ...
nd thts the most beautiful period ...
nice post....
shwets

Russell CJ Duffy said...

nice style of writing and with an emotional content too.
rich and creamy and thouroughly enjoyable.
nice stuff rose.

Ships said...

Hey Rose...
Lovely piece of writing girl!

Was caught wid work.. cudnt catch up much at the bloggin front..

Love the way u knit ur words into these amazing blogs...

U r a fabulous writer..

I bow to thee! ;)
Keep scribblin on ur blog more frequently! Sayonara.

Anshuman said...

hmm... left me pondering .. everytime I come across such a scenario, whether its in a book or article or real life, my perspective of life changes by a wee little bit ... and I guess these li'l changes do add up in the long run..

Ekta said...

hey wow!
This was awesome!
Nearly got goose pimples reading it...
sad story which is a reality for many little girls today!
Beautifully written

Junius said...

nice da :-)
reminded me of some old memories...thanks

shikha said...

Well written Rose....Somehow..I thought of the movie Chameli when i read this one...

You do have a way with words dear!

Rose said...

@ Ranga Raja..
Thanx for ador'n my 'Baby'.. ;)

@ Me..
:))))

@ Ajay..
Happy dat u got a glimpse of her perspective.. :)

@ Richie..
Im creating an entire new post to reply to ur comment... ~wicked grin~ ;)

@ Aditi..
"when she detaches and grows numb".. ya. i wonder if there is anything to live for once you have lost ur spirit..

@ Rohan..
Thanx for the very FLAAAAATERING comment!! Gud that i finally made u realise ur true worth.. haha ;)

@ Samrina..
Hope to see ya arnd too.. :)

@ Faith..
Im smiling from ear to ear.. :)))

@ Marthyan..
Yippppeee!!! I got an A+.. I wud like to thank my doggie who has been forevr wagging her tail.. I wud like to thank Google for making this peanut brain slowly n gradually grow.. And above all Bill Gates who, thru MS-word, is the guiding force behind my grammar and spelling.. ~wink~
Thanx a ton!

:)

..Me

Praveen Damodhar said...

Wow.... Had the feel of reading a novel... Great work...

~*. D E E P A .* ~ said...

reminds me of the movie : " Chandni bar "

~*. D E E P A .* ~ said...

the first memory i have - a bald ugly doll ... i used to wail everytime i saw it !

loved ur previous post

cheers

P.S : it'll take me a post to describe my memories .. hence i stopped w/ the one liner

tc

Anonymous said...

BEAUTIFUL!!!!

IM n Awe.

Rai said...

Hey, I love rain. Very Well written. And thanks for the comment at my blog(MySpace). My personal blog is however, Confluence.... keep writing.

Rai said...

Hey, I love rain. Very Well written. And thanks for the comment at my blog(MySpace). My personal blog is however, Confluence.... keep writing.

alice said...

sad.... :(

alice said...

but well writen..

Shekhar said...

Wonderful post.

ketki said...

Really a touching story man!!!!!
:)

Layfield said...

Err... what's with the ":) ..Me" at the end of every comment?

[begin technical]
There is no such thing as two dots(..). You must be using the three recurring dots instead(...) known as the ellipsis and used to indicate a breif quiet period
[end technical]

Nirwa Mehta said...

Hey!

That was real nice work.. Beautifully written!! Loved it! I am going and reading all your posts!! :-)

Nirwa

anup.777 said...

a sad story ... the charecter is stuck in a rut ... she wants out ... feels what she's doing is wrong ... and yet is doing it out of some desparation ... hopes that the rain washes away the grime from her life ....

that's what i felt .... really sad ... but well written Rose!

Anand said...

Hey rose!
Lovely post...very sad but true!
very well written

passerby55 said...

The rain was no alien to her, nor was the rain to the expressions of her heart....

so symbolic a line...nature is less an alien...

"It seemed like a stranger was staring back at her from inside the mirror"......very well narrated.

The fresh feel of rain, with a struggle to exist in this WORLD...where everythign is beauti ful in theory........but practically "Ok. I’ll take 300"

good post...

Karin said...

Sad, reflecting her despair. Nobody should be judged before one understands the circumstances which were the driving force!
Beautifully written!!

Anu said...

Touching! I hoped she would turn back and walk away, but the poor girl had to survive:(

hope and love said...

wow..!!
u r very talented..! great post..
iv added u to my favs..

Wanderer said...

nice story... reminded me of Chameli, the movie...kareena in the red sari,getting drenched in the rain and 'looking' for that someone...
But I liked your story better! Esp the description of the rain ... very graphical- made me imagine that whole scene. And from dream to reality....Nice! :)

Gulam Hasan said...

Very well written luks like a bollywood film

Sameera said...

hey rose,,,first of all thanks for stopping by my blog and for that awesome comment...

ur post is really well written..like someone said u have a way with words..


the start of this just reminded me of the famous eagles song "lyin eyes"..

good post here..keep em coming!

ജെയിംസ് ബ്രൈറ്റ് said...

That was really a very painful experience..!

tanvi said...

Beautiful piece it tugs one's heartstrings. you must try your hand at fiction writing your stories depict emotions so well. I have become your fan.
*rain*

Talha Masood said...

reminds me of my sainnter :)

very nice!

KP said...

Rain

Like Tin angels falling down
Mesmerising Reflections
Of some old dried up forgotten town

Thanx for passing by my blog Rose
Do we know each other?

Prash said...

Bravo ! ! !

A nice post

Bravo ! ! !

Sachin said...

Hey Rose, I love the rain and you've captured the essence of it all beautifully. The beauty, the sense of longing, the misery, the gloom and the whole gamut of it. This piece of work touched my heart in some way. Made me feel helpless to think about the scores of young women who live life as you have sketched out here. And the fact that they are in no position to resist!

Keep blogging!!!

milieu said...

I will also have to say WOW!
That was a difficult topic to write about but you did it well.

Invincible said...

the 74 comments here are a testimony to how beautifully you've written this post.

Girl, you are an amazing writer.
Keep them coming !

d4u said...

Rains send us to dream land but you gave it a touch of reality in this post. Painful yet amazing...

jac said...

no post ????

Anonymous said...

wow!!! i dont have anything different to add to what everyone else has already said... :P but i am going to say it any way...

1) amazing writer... ive only read this blog of yours... but i like the way you portray your thoughts, and how you pay attention to the details... the words come alive in this blog.

2) you have a way with words, and i liked the way you dealt with the issue of prostitution... seemed almost like an art movie on paper... (which, btw, is a compliment... i know some people HATE art movies with a passion...) so simple, thought-provoking and touching.

well done.

Rose said...

@ Sunita..

Welcome to my World..

@ Shriedhar..

WOW!! Thats a gr8 compliment from u Gaaru.. Thanks!! :D

@ Anna..

Is dat so? I felt when u luk back the only things dat u rem are the good things and how u overcame the bad times.. But u r rite abt the thoughts.. :)

@ Cociane Jesus..

Glad u enjoyed it.. :)

@ Ships..

OMG!!! Im on top of the world...~grin~.. Glad dat u r back.. Was lukn forward..

@ Anshuman..

Made me feel gud that my post made u think.. We tend to lend a blind eye to the world arnd us.. And Yes.. every cue we get from the world, every encounter contributes to how we perceive life.. :)

@ Ekta..

Hi Ekta.. Welcome to my blog.. :)

@ Endeavour me..

Thanks da.. ~grin~

mathew said...

That was touching piece of writing!!

But guess once they enter the profession the person gets detached from any emotional fixations and ultimately looks at it from just a livelyhood prespective and all ethical considerations takes a back seat.
Learning to live with it is the worst thing they do......

But its very hard to get out of it once you are imbibed into such a lifestyle..
Still easier for us to comment on it from a third person's prespective..For them its a different ball game altogether..

mathew said...

That was touching piece of writing!!

But guess once they enter the profession the person gets detached from any emotional fixations and ultimately looks at it from just a livelyhood prespective and all ethical considerations takes a back seat.
Learning to live with it is the worst thing they do......

But its very hard to get out of it once you are imbibed into such a lifestyle..
Still easier for us to comment on it from a third person's prespective..For them its a different ball game altogether..

srijithunni said...

A nice writeup. A mixture of nature`s beauty and harsh human reality. It is very difficult to rejoice when one has sold off one`s soul, but nature is the ultimate healer, and your story has touched that aspect beautifully.
Do write more, and thanks for visiting my blog too.
With Best Regards, for your NGO work.
Srijith Unni.

priya said...

its beautifully written

Pritika Gupta said...

hats off

pophabhi said...

Very nice post, Rose. I've been a bit late in visiting your blog abode.
Similar thoughts has been raised many times - a recent malayalam 'art' movie 'Oridam' tries to capture similar images. Your interlinking of the social concern with the rain has been beautiful!

amtonio said...

Nice piece, very well written !

Priti said...

what a description...
work of art...
beautiful and awe-aspiring...

Anonymous said...

7WDTfX You have a talant! Write more!

Anonymous said...

Wot9U1 The best blog you have!