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| Sunday, 5 September 2004 |
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Short story The Imprint by Manel Weerasekere. "Stop dandifying and go child. You're late, said her-Mother. "I know Mother, but I have to dress properly," she replied nonchalantly. "Then you should have got up early. You sleep till late, then spend hours and hours getting ready and then get late to go to office. Didn't you say that you signed below the red line yesterday too?" "Yes, Mother I did. But my Boss knows that I come by bus. "Oh you're exasperating! I wonder how they tolerate you. In our younger days we never took things for granted. Remember, duty comes first." "Oh don't worry Mother, I normally put on a sweet smile and walk past the Boss." He doesn't say anything," said Kalyani applying powder to her face. "Your attitudes are all wrong child." "Stop lecturing Mother. Don't you want your daughter to look smart?" Mother heaved a sigh, Kalyani draped a beautiful cotton saree round her tiny waist. She arranged the pleats and pinned them neatly and turned around in front of the mirror admiring herself. She applied a deep vermilion lipstick on her lovely lips and some mascara on her eyelids. She poured a generous quantity of perfume on to her palm and dabbed round her throat and behind her ears. "Oh you smell like a funeral house! I can't stick that smell," said her Mother annoyingly. The daughter only grinned. Values "What is the world coming to now?" said the Mother to herself. "How the world has changed! No values! No respect for anybody or anything. My mother would get up from her grave if she only knows how I have brought up her grand daughter. Where have I gone wrong? I did my best didn't I? I tried to inculcate the good qualities that were instilled into us when we were young. I feel frustrated when I see my daughter behaving so negligently. She doesn't take anything seriously. Is it the generation gap that is to be blamed. Though I don't understand, this must be the modern trend" mused the Mother sadly. "Mother, Mother, oh now you're dreaming", said Kalyani impatiently. The Mother came back to earth with a start. "I'm off Mother darling, take care of yourself. Don't overdo things. I might get late to come back. So don't worry if I'm late. Ok?" she said bending down in front of her Mother. "Have you taken everything? Do you have change for the bus? Where's your umbrella? Did you put it in your bag?" "Yes, Yes, Yes. Do stop fussing Mother. I'm not a small child, I'm an adult now." "Take care when boarding the bus. Don't get into crowded buses." "Then I'll have to hire a bus. Oh Ma, you don't know what bus travelling is like." "I don't know why you have to wear such high heels. Why can't you wear sensible shoes to office?" "There started again! Close the gate, will you?"So saying she hurried off, with her handbag slung over one shoulder. Watched The Mother watched her adoringly. She was definitely a delightful sight. Pretty face full of mischief, lovely black hair, a good figure and nice manners, she was indeed a beautiful girl. The Mother was justified in her pride of her one and only child. Everything is not lost after all, the Mother said to herself. She never leaves home without worshipping me. I know I worry too much. In a way I mustn't grumble. Let her enjoy life while she can. I must warn her though to be careful of stray characters. She's only a child though tall and well figured. The Mother set about her household chores forgetting the daughter for a moment. In the meantime Kalyani hurried to the bus halt. As usual it was overflowing with people, mostly office crowd and school going children. Bus after bus came and went, loading and unloading numerous passengers. She noticed a smart well dressed man in the queue, a few passengers ahead of her. She noticed him looking at his wristwatch anxiously every now and then. Oh another casualty of oversleeping, she thought to herself with amusement. Just then the 120 bus to Pettah halted at the head of the queue. The conductor got off and started issuing tickets. He had a lordly manner as if he owned the bus as well as the passengers. "Bring change. Bring change. Either bring change or stand out of the queue. Don't jump the queue, do you hear?" He shouted at the top of his voice. The people tried to get in as best they could. Their one aim was to get going, so they ignored his harsh words and tried to maintain order at whatever cost. With a lot of inconvenience Kalyani managed to get on the bus. The seats were all occupied, but there was a little space for standing passengers. She held onto the seat close to her while cursing her high heels. She knew she had to punish her poor feet for about an hour or so unless she was lucky enough to get a seat later on. I must get up early tomorrow, she thought, Mother is right after all. But will I do that? It's only wishful thinking. Smart man She saw the well dressed smart man standing a little in front of her. She looked at him again, critically this time for want of something better to do. He was wearing a spotlessly clean, well starched white shirt and a pair of black trousers. On his wrist was an expensive wristwatch. His hair was neatly combed. With one hand he was hanging on to the pole above and held a briefcase in the other. The driver released the brakes at last and with a blaring of hornsstarted the bus. Kalyani heaved a sigh of relief. It was difficult to maintain her balance with the erratic movement of the bus. She saw the young man swaying like a sack of potatoes in front of her. She hid a smile. By now the roads were very busy. The driver drove unmercifully, without any regard for the passengers. It was quite a feat driving the bus amidst all the vehicles and the pedestrians who crossed the road at all places. Every little while somebody rang the bell, so the driver applied the brakes so gustily that the standing passengers had to hold onto the seats for dear life. People got on and off making the journey more tedious. Kalyani kept glancing at her watch every now and then. The bus was crawling amidst the throng but the hands of her wrist watch raced through without encountering any obstacle. Oh dear, this is three times in a row that I'll be signing below the red line.Tomorrow I'll definitely get up early, she said to herself. The bus passed 'Vilasitha Nivasa' and approached High Level Road. Just a few more halts she consoled herself. The bus stopped at the Weaving Mill halt to pick up another passenger. He was moving as the limbs didn't belong to him. He was drunk like a fish. He got onto the footboard but before he could get in the driver started moving forward. He started scolding the driver in words that cannot be written here. "Get off the bus you dirty old man. Drunk so early in the morning," yelled the driver. "Why should I? Who says I'm drunk? Who says? Come on, let me see who accused me. I'm ready to challenge anybody," he yelled. "Please get down Uncle, there are people travelling to their offices. They'll get late." "Uncle? Uncle? How did I become your Uncle You....? By now the passengers were getting restless. "Get down, Get down," said a number of passengers. "Either you get down or I'll stop the bus here," said the driver in a determined voice. At last the drunken man got down unsteadily. The bus started off again. There was a little stretch of road ahead miraculously free of traffic. The driver slammed his foot on the accelerator. The bus literally flew. It ploughed forward with horn blaring. The few passengers standing found it difficult to maintain their balance, especially Kalyani. Her high heels made it even more difficult to keep on standing. Kalyani was thankful that the bus wasn't crawling. The young man was standing directly in front of her with no other passengers in between. Suddenly a dog ran across the road from nowhere. The driver pressed his foot to the brakes. The brakes screeched. People groaned. Kalyani was thrown forward so violently from her perch that she plummeted forward and banged on the smart young man who was standing a few feet away. When the driver released the brakes she was once again thrown back and miraculously she regained her former position. The driver yelled angrily at the dog. Fortunately nobody was hurt. Composure Everybody regained their balance and the bus moved forward once again. When Kalyani regained her breath she looked at the man again. To her horror she saw the imprint of her two red lips on the back of the immaculate white shirt the young man was wearing. Her horror turned to amusement. She controlled her mirth with difficulty. Her lips were moving to have a good laugh, which she controlled instantly. She surreptiously looked around to see whether anybody else had noticed. There were two young women, maybe office workers themselves, seated just behind the young man. Kalyani noticed them looking at each other and trying to suppress their laughter. Kalyani was scared to look at the others. The man was blissfully ignorant of what had happened. He rang the bell and got off at the next halt. The imprint of the red lips were very noticeable on the white shirt. The people inside the bus who had been controlling their mirth all this time burst into laughter. Kalyani did not try to suppress her laughter anymore. She exploded with very loud guffaws. The driver drove on regardless. The bus conductor had however witnessed the whole incident. 'You left your lips on his shirt miss. Poor man! He'll get it properly from his wife when gets home," he said. The bus ploughed ahead amidst loud laughter. |
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