Pritam's Blog
Dr House, Er Pritam, And A Tale Of Two Love Stories
It was 3 in the morning and I sensed a fart coming up. I knew it would be a stinky one as I had stomach upset. I was at her place because I wasn’t well, but the fart wasn’t good enough a reason to wake her up. So, I went to the balcony to release myself.
And I saw this guy standing under the faint, yellow street light. He was on a video call with someone, probably his girlfriend; he was just under my balcony and I could see the image of the girl on the screen of his cellphone.
Because of the faint light, the girl wasn’t able to see the guy. He was holding his cellphone at different angles to get better lighting. But you know how faint, yellow lights play with shadows. And if it’s a cheap Chinese handset with lens just for the sake of it, you know there is no hope at all.
Yet he kept on trying. I wondered why he was not making this video call from the comforts of his home. Probably because there’s no privacy at his place. Probably he had to share his room with three other siblings/roommates. Probably he didn’t have any sibling but his parents were too interfering…
India in the 21st century… We have lots of cellphones and a culture that doesn’t respect privacy coexisting together…
He got tired after a point of time. “Yaar, nahi ho raha hai… Neend bhi aarahi hai… Do minute thik se baat kar na… Aur mujhe shanti se dekhne de…” (It’s not happening… And I am feeling sleepy too. Talk to me for two minutes and let me see your face peacefully…“)
I didn’t want to intrude anymore… I released myself and came in…
Things people do for their loved ones… if you know what I mean…
As an accidental fart came out today, I remembered that incident from 8 years ago. I wondered if that girl is still there in that guy’s life…
The one who was sleeping peacefully that night isn’t there in my life anymore…
P.S.: Farting is a natural phenomenon and there is nothing funny or otherwise about it. Rationally speaking, it has the same power of evoking memories as any other things like an old song. And if you think Dr House is sexy because he says “Everybody lies” - a well established fact, in style, my quote “Everybody farts” deserves the same superficial admiration…