Ananya looked outside the window. The other tall buildings of the society were abuzz with activities. The strong gaze of the sun peering through the structures fell directly on the pink bedsheet of her bed. She had slumbered through the hourly chimes of the clock and now it chimed ten times. Leaning against the headrest she eyed it quizzically and leisurely acknowledged that it is ten o’ clock on a lazy Saturday. She could feel the lingering sensations of the blissful inactivity, comforting her body. She got up slowly and sat gingerly on the extended window sill of her flat and kept on yawning and wondering about this charming idleness. She thought about her name Ananya. Once a unique name but now quite common. Should she add another ‘a’ to it like Ananya. How silly! She shrugged it off and became aware of her immediate surroundings. The unwholesome sight of wrinkled bedsheet with battery charger, water bottle and office bag occupying every corner of the bed gave her a feeling of uneasiness and she wished she had a magic wand which could organise the room at once. Her magic wand’s time of coming to her flat was in the evening and till then she thought she should better close her eyes. The perennial fatigue in her body prevented her from shifting from her place. The hunger which was slowly creeping in her reminded her of the milk packet which ought to be hanging precariously on the handle of the main door. She opened the door to get the milk when the heavenly smell of food wafting from neighbour’s house entered her nostrils. The torture made her hunger pangs grow stronger. She checked the leftover food of last night in her fridge and felt repulsed. Ananya was so much in love with this ever helpful but non interfering approach of neighbours in Mumbai. But on days like these she wished that they treat her as their guinea pig and try all their recipes on her. She was warming the food when the milk kept on the other burner curdled up. That was enough for her now. She duly covered the lid and wrote an instruction on sticker note for her maid Lalita who was suppose to cook dinner for her to make paneer out of the milk. The stale smell of food gave her a headache. She took a quick shower and pulled out a non ironed T shirt and Jeans from the pile and checked herself out in the mirror. She was looking way off the mark but except your own reflection nobody cares in Mumbai.
Ananya hurried to the nearby mall to grab a quick steaming hot coffee and something to munch on. Dunkin donuts, Starbucks, Barista, Spicy corns all beckoned her. A sea of outlets but nothing that excited her. She has had everything too much and too many times. She sat on a corner sofa with a latte in her hand and closed her eyes. She pictured the aroma of fresh food of her mother, the hug and warmth of her body. Her home sweet home buzzing with activities. The smell of agarbatti (incense stick), the squeaky clean home and her mother’s regular oiling of her hair on Saturday’s. Her eyes welled up. Ananya knew how to cook and had always organised her things well at home. But staying alone in a city, having a job, managing things all alone, buying grocery, maid tantrums left her with lot of things at hand and doing all these things along with facebook was tough. There were far too many interesting things she wanted to do in her life apart from this regular job but whatever time was left after her office work she was busy running the errands. Some how she wondered that she can keep on sitting in the same position for the whole weekend without getting bored. She was thinking whether she was progressing or degenerating. Her chain of thoughts was broken by a phone call. It was her colleague who was on the other side. He was clearly very much interested in her and she knew he must be having some great weekend outing planned out for her. She was too lazy to plan anything for the weekend and clearly avoided the call as she needed time to think how to refuse him. With a grocery list and pile of things lying at home to do she was in no mood of recreation. The fun-loving colleague HE knew was not the same on weekends and Ananya needed a break from her office on weekends which included him too. She planned to spend the entire afternoon sitting on that sofa as she wanted to enter the house post the arrival of her cleaning maid. She took out her phone and switched off the internet data. The scrolling of facebook caused her mind to go numb and forget the important things she had planned out for the weekend. She laughed at herself in her mind when she started noting down those important things to do in the mobile memo. Giving clothes for iron, going to parlour, buying grocery, visiting a close relative (which she postponed to next weekend) and buying veggies. She made a mental note that next time she will visit home she will definitely learn how to buy vegetables from her mother. Her maid was always quick to point out that she bought the most undesirable lot from the vegetables. She was earning a little more than a lakh per month but yes she needs to learn how to buy vegetables. She was lost in making these notes when a light pat on her shoulders made her head turn. A long lost friend was standing there along with his wife who was visibly very excited to spot her in the café. He had been her facebook friend but barely interacted. They had been neighbours and were in the same school for four years until he passed out from class twelfth. She endearingly used to call him bhaiya ( term used for someone considered to be like elder brother ) who was three years her senior. Taking granted the anonymity of Mumbai can go horribly wrong sometimes and this was that moment for Ananya. She knew she looked haggard and worn out and the kind of clothes she was wearing did not indicate from any angle that she was earning enough to maintain herself reasonably well. She thought his wife must be comparing her present looks with those of facebook and surely will have something to discuss with her husband, afterwards. She particularly was feeling embarrassed in front of his wife whom she wanted to tell that she is a high flying smart girl and not the kind she is looking now. His wife looked beautiful, impeccably dressed in smart casuals and looked fresh and chirpy. They sat down along with her to have a quick chat. She observed the clear charm his wife exuded and was herself quite an achiever. She felt a pang of jealousy. She always felt that towards everyone whom she thought were a notch above her. Ananya was jealous and charmed by her at the same time. The conversation ended on a happy note. While leaving, his wife smiled and said “It would be nice to have you for lunch tomorrow at our place, I hope nothing is keeping you busy...It would be an absolute delight to catch up with you a little more…I love cooking and would really like to try something new”. Ananya could not believe what she heard just now. She was invited to have a home cooked meal for lunch tomorrow and with people whom she was loving to chat with. She immediately said YES lest his wife changes her mind. She thanked God thousand times...had she asked for more she would have got that also today. When they left she checked her phone and switched on her internet data, there was a missed call from the same office colleague and a message on whatsapp group that they all are planning to meet for lunch at this swanky new restaurant in Bandra and then planning to catch up evening show of stand up comedian. She politely refused with an inane smile plastered on her face. She had some lovely lunch lined up tomorrow with some lovely people.
