A stroll within the park – ht weekend

At 80, Jayantrao Chowdhary is spry. No hair on the pinnacle, only a monk’s fringe. So what. Dentures. So what. No paunch. Now that’s extra to the purpose. Yoga from age 15. He can nonetheless do the padmaasan with out effort. Ask Suman to do it. Tcha! Seems wiry however she’s all aches and pains. She bore him two daughters she is going to remind him. His contribution? Simply seed and identify. That’s one ace girls have up their sleeves. However the reality stays. She will’t do the padmaasan. He can.

He tucks his shirt into his khaki shorts. Sujata the older lady says it makes him seem like one of many RSS oldies who play tenniquoits within the park. So what. His eldest uncle was an RSS man and performed a imply sport of tenniquoits. Made the household proud.

He pulls on his ankle size socks, brown canvas sneakers and he’s able to go.

Suman is studying the papers. He has stopped studying them because the hydra-horned virus arrived amidst them. Simply numbers. So many lakhs contaminated, so many 1000’s recovered, so many lots of lifeless. Suman takes these numbers very significantly and will get palpitations.

She sees him go behind the sofa in the direction of the entrance door.

‘The place are you going?’

‘My hostel room-mate would return late from his depravities and begin speaking loudly to me, waking me up. “Oh sorry. Had been you asleep,” he would say.’

‘Level taken. I’ve requested you the place you’re going after I can see you’re going for a stroll.’

Jayantrao opens the door.

Suman says, ‘One minute. I’d wish to make a superfluous level. We’re below lockdown. There’s a virus wandering exterior. It’s blind. It could’t see who’s match or unfit. As we speak’s paper says…’

‘The explanation why I haven’t learn it’s I don’t wish to know.’

Jayantrao locations one canvas-covered foot exterior the door.

‘In that case, there’s something else I’d wish to say.’

‘Make it fast.’

‘Should you deliver the virus house I’m going to mom’s.’

‘Your mom died 12 years in the past.’

‘My daughter’s.’

‘They’ve self-isolated in two rooms. Akshay research and sleeps on the terrace.’

‘I’ll isolate you on the terrace.’

‘Why? Now we have a balcony. Isolate me there.’

‘Which suggests you might be decided to deliver the virus house.’

‘No. It means it’s best to cease studying the papers and let me do my factor.’

Jayantrao permits his second canvas-covered foot to affix the primary.

‘Yesterday the police caught Dr Sharangpani. He needed to present all of them kinds of playing cards and paperwork and certificates to show he was a physician on his strategy to the hospital. You don’t have anything to point out.’

‘Besides my appearing skills. It’s not for nothing that I received all these prizes for the financial institution within the State Drama Competitions.’

‘So that you’ll ship a speech from Natasamrat and the police will allow you to go?’

‘You’ve by no means been on stage. You’ll by no means know the magic of adlibbing.’

Jayantrao disappears.

Suman folds her newspaper neatly and will get up. She’s going to want a robust cup of tea to maintain her by way of what’s coming. Trying on the pot of boiling russet-brown brew, she frowns. He’s cussed. At all times has been. Comes naturally once you’ve served at a nationalised financial institution counter for years earlier than rising to managerial ranks. Should you aren’t cussed, you’ll lookup out of your work or tea or chat the minute some idiot shopper wanders in and asks you a query. However she’s cussed too. She needed to be to disregard baleful appears from the household and refuse to ‘strive’ for a son after two daughters.

She carries her cup of sizzling tea to the sofa, picks up her cellphone and begins urgent the keys. The tea helps her to not lose her persistence when she will get an engaged tone, not a couple of times however roughly 12 instances. 13th time fortunate. She’s by way of.

‘Are your males prowling in our space?’

‘?’

‘We reside close to the outdated Prabhadevi temple.’

‘*’

‘Oh good. In that case are you able to get onto your walkie talkie or no matter you name it and inform these males what I’m going to inform you now? You understand Babrekar Marg. B-A-B-R-E-Ok-A-R. You do. Pretty. Now in the event you take the lane that shoots off northward from Bhatia Constructing… everybody is aware of the place that’s. Ask Novelty Shoppee. They’ll inform you. So in the event you go down that

lane you’ll come to a small Udyan on the left. That’s the place Vijay Membership was once. Your sister performed kho-kho there? Fancy that! Sure. They used to win trophies proper left and centre. Pity it’s lifeless. The membership I imply. So sure. Should you enter that park you’ll discover an outdated man in khaki shorts with tucked-in shirt and brown canvas sneakers strolling round like he’s in a strolling race. Oh sure. He’s effectively over 60. In fact that makes him a senior citizen. Sure in fact that

means he’s at nice danger… sure sure… I do know all the foundations. He is aware of them too. Look the person’s my husband. Don’t make me say impolite issues about him. I’m calling to ask you to arrest him. No no. Not put him behind bars. Simply put the concern of the police into him. He doesn’t consider the police truly catch folks. He thinks they only sit in jeeps and drive round making bulletins that no one understands. Sure I suppose that’s a grievance. Positive make an observation of it. However coming again to my husband, make him consider you truly cease and query people who find themselves breaking lockdown guidelines. Sure. He is aware of his means house. No he’s not touched within the head. He’s simply over-smart. Wait. Don’t disconnect. Inform your males to not be taken in by something he says. He received the very best actor trophy for his financial institution at each State Drama Competitors earlier than he retired. Oh you additionally act? That’s your Marathi manus for you. Theatre-crazy. True. The place’s the time for you as of late? You must do one thing about your responsibility hours. However now in the event you don’t get onto that walkie talkie… proper. Thanks. Sure, we Marathi folks should stick collectively. Jai Maharashtra.’

Suman sits again deeply glad. When Jayantrao struts in, chest out, she says, ‘You’re again early. Something the matter?’

‘Nothing,’ he says frowning fiercely.

He appears on the empty teacup beside her. ‘A second cup? That’s not such as you. Something the matter?’

‘Nothing,’ she says and buries her nostril in her newspaper.

Shanta Gokhale is a Marathi and English author primarily based in Mumbai whose works embody a definitive historic textual content on Marathi theatre, and novels reminiscent of Tya Varshi, which she translated into English as Crowfall. She acquired the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2015.

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