Skip to main content

Snippet from Aftertaste- of a Half-lived Life

From the story, The Curious Mr. Rakshit....

"Of late, observing the young couple in the opposite flat had become his favourite pastime. 

He would wait till they woke up around nine in the morning. As an early riser who woke up with the sun, he couldn’t fathom how they slept in so late. “Taking advantage of work-from-home”, he thought slyly. “Lazy no-gooders!”

He had discovered other facets of their lives too, peeping from his window every now and then.

The wife would argue with her husband every now and then. Obviously, he couldn’t hear what they quarrelled about, but he saw her pointing fingers at him and walking around agitated. The husband didn’t react much usually. Sometimes though, Mr. Rakshit observed him talk back defiantly to his wife. It satisfied him that the man refused to be cowed down. What was a man without a spine, huh?

He would hide behind the curtain and see this drama being played out. His own life was plain vanilla compared to all this melodrama. His wife and he never fought, at least never violently. They just sulked with one other when angry, and later carried on with their usual lives. 

He hated confrontations and arguments. Even with his children, he would expect complete obedience and discipline in the house. They had grown up well because of his strict discipline and routine, Mr. Rakshit would often pat himself on the back.

Now what were these two up to? He followed them with his eyes to spy them kissing in the ante-room!

The old man felt suddenly prickly and uncomfortable. Strange people! Throwing things at each other one moment, and kissing half an hour later. Weird, he thought. 

Thank God his own marriage was much more stable than this frivolous one. He shared a steady equation with his wife. She nagged him, he listened silently and usually gave in. Not that she could bulldoze him to do something he disliked, he thought quite pleased with himself. In his house, his word was law.

“You are still standing there? Didn’t I ask you to go for your bath?” His wife’s voice suddenly made him jump.

Bath finished quickly, Mr. Rakshit perched himself at the window once again. From his vantage point, he could watch his prey without getting noticed. 

Those two were having breakfast now, he snorted to himself. At 12 in the afternoon! What anarchy, what indiscipline! If he had a chance, he would teach them a thing or two about leading a regimented life."

So, what happens to the curious old man? Does he find happiness in his own life? Or does his voyeurism lead to his downfall?

To find out, get this book:



Aftertaste- of a Half-lived Life, by Barnali Roy, soon to be available in Starmark and Bahrisons Kolkata, now on Amazon online.

Aftertaste- of a Half-lived Life

#newbookalert #contemporaryfiction #interestingread #shortstories 



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

All We Imagine as Light- Lyricism on Celluloid

When an Indian film makes it the prestigious Cannes film festival, the world sits up and takes notice! And the lovely ladies swinging on the stage is a recent memory that brings a sense of pride. I had the good fortune to catch this film on screen recently. A review of such work is unnecessary, but still am bursting to say a few words. Right from the scintillating background score, to the events that unfold like pages fluttering in an open book, to the effortless performances, it's a masterpiece all right! The first half romances Mumbai- in the rains, at night, in the bazaars, in dingy rooms, in the local trains. Image source: Wikipedia  The second half shows what light truly is, brilliant sunshine, crashing waves and salty air in a small coastal village in Maharashtra. You can feel the taste of salt, the breeze in your hair and the touch of sand under your feet, the cinematography is so real. Payal Kapadia masters the art of holding back, of showing beauty in the mundane. The hosp...

Guru Dutt - Legacy of an Overlooked Genius

"Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaae to Kya Hai:" This heartfelt anguish was literally personified by film maker and actor extraordinaire - Guru Dutt, whose birth centenary happens to be tomorrow (July 9).  Maestro or Failed Genius? All his life, he strove to depict his vision, his dreams on celluloid. Yet, even as he strove for success, for renown, he was a bit of a recluse, a black sheep himself. It was as if he wanted to challenge the language of popular cinema by being within the format, from the inside. His women had brains, taxi drivers and masseurs were philosophers, sex workers pined for spiritual ecstasy, and friendships blossomed between unlikely people. Common people on the street spoke wiser logic than academics or high-nosed editors. The topics of the films may seem dated now, but the eternal truths voiced in them remain relevant.   His films were distinctly different from other popular Hindi films. They had all the commercial elements of song, dance, comedy, romanc...

All Work and No Life - Off Runs the Wife!

The recent ramblings of some elderly gentlemen (one a company founder, another a CEO) on how much we many hours we should be working, are symptomatic of all that is kaput with corporate India. The reason we have so few cases of innovators and path-breakers. The reason why Nadella and Pichai shine overseas. The reason start-ups and entrepreneurial attempts fail faster than you can say 1,2,3. These guys have got all the mathematics wrong!  Machismo and Hot Air I find these announcements to be glaring examples of the inherent tendencies of machismo, bullying, slavery, high-handedness privileged males in our country are used to.  At home, when raja beta works, rest of the family keeps quiet. When he needs food, wifey supplies it. Shhh, raja beta is sleeping, don't make noise. Don't irritate him, get him a cup of hot tea/coffee, quick, he's tired from working all day. You get the drift? The whole ecosystem in the workplace is designed to reward the raja beta slaving away rather ...