Bitter Sermons
After getting off the train, Vibhav reached the guest house. It was getting dark. Putting the bag in the cupboard, he went for a bath. Putting on casuals after bath got mobile in his hand. . Smile surfaced on his face remembering the incidents at time of departure from home in the morning.
"I've got your bag ready. Three pants, five shirts, pyjamas have been put down. The shaving kit is placed in a side pocket. Towels, bathing clothes are placed side up."
He had to go but Kanika was preparing.
"Oh Darling, all the things are in this bag na. Do not bother much, I will take care of myself." He replied looking at the mobile, but Kanika was speaking non-stop while working.
"Don't forget to take BP's pill every day. I have put a strap in small pocket in the front ..."
"Come on, I am not a kid. You do one thing, record the audio of what you have to say. I will save it in the a folder and will name it name ‘Bitter Sermon’. I will listen them whenever I feel lonely and missing you."
"With whom are you engaged in this mobile. No matter how many screens you touch, the real touch feeling will never come out from it." Kanika said while showing mild anger.
He jolted the mobile and laughed. The guest house did not have a dining arrangement but there was a nice restaurant next to it. He took lunch there and returned back to his room. He fell asleep surfing on mobile.
In the middle of the night, he broke down with restlessness. His chest was aching with a burning sensation. He saw time in mobile. It was 1.00 AM.
He tried to sleep again but it did not work. He then tried to engage himself with mobile but it did work either. He went down where the watchman was on duty, "Brother, will you get ENO? There is a lot of Burning sensation in my stomach."
"No sir. Please take plenty of water. The market will be open late in the morning then only it will be possible to get something."
He went back and lay on the bed but comfort was far away. Gradually the intensity of pain was increasing with time. He remembered Kanika's half-heard words. 'BP pill .. in the front pocket ..'.
He opened the zipper of the front pocket of the bag. There were five pouches of ENO and one strap of BP pill.
Then there was laughter in pain "All the troubles eradicated if you listen to ‘Bitter Sermon’s" attentively.
********
Next story
Same Same
Shyamali, the trained babysitter of the village, had just started making dough, that an elderly man came there with a young woman accompanying him to her house. He started pleading her husband to send Shyamali to his house. His younger daughter-in-law’s delivery was due. Shyamali's husband asked
"There is a midwife in your caste too."
"She has gone out for some work."
"I don't have any problem but this is lunch time and she is cooking meal for us '
"I have brought the elder son's daughter-in-law to cook."
"But what will people say. A Pandit and a Dalit."
"Shyamali raised voice from inside. Send your daughter-in-law here."
As soon as she reached inside, she said,
"In this world, God has created two castes. Male and Female. Our caste and pain is same. "
Shyamali walked in, veiling behind the old man wearing that woman's clothes.
From behind, a woman was feeding the children of another woman, on the other hand, a woman was helping in delivering of a woman who gave birth to a female child.
