Reflections

It’s been a week after she came to Calcutta, when one morning she came across an advertisement in the newspaper, ’Wanted a smart and intelligent lady to be in charge of our whole sales department. Should have some know-how about fabric colours and the latest designs. Walk in to our office with a self-written application” The office building was in a crowded street. By the time she reached that building in her light yellow silk saree and white hand bag, it was eleven o’clock. It was huge building with seven floors, which had more than two hundred rooms and great many verandhas. There were elevators and a group of people in front of each of them-fat merchants, office goers clutching their leather bags and the like. She couldn’t find a single woman there and had lost a great part of her courage by that time. She felt that she shouldn’t have ignored her husband’s opinion and come for that job. Spotting a peon near by, she asked him: ”On which floor is the textile company?” “Must be on the ...

My name amazed her a great deal “A Sanskrit name?”   “Yeah”   “Is it Sanskrit that you speak?”   “No”   “Then, why the name?”   “Malayalam as a language is very much akin to Sanskrit”   “Still, can there be a name like the Lotus King?”   The Lotus King?! I was embarrassed, yet I told her; “We worship the lotus”   She looked a little reticent. I saw that she was trying hard to tell me something, so I urged her to speak. She then asked me how we came to worship the lotus   “I don’t know”   “Does Obrion say anything?”   “I don’t know”   She grew even more shy. A faint red from her bare neck crept to her face “What do the petals of the lotus signify?”   “I don’t know”   “And the sepals?”   I was getting bored. Our conversation was beginning to sound more like an interview to me. I replied without much interest   “I have no idea”   “I’ll make a move” There was a smile of misc...