The New Confessions

The car screeched to a halt. Unexpectedly the traffic came to a stand still, he sat calmly at the steering wheel, tapping his fingers to the rhythm of the music from Radio Mirchi, his favourite FM channel. He looked to his right, suddenly a woman walked up to the door of his red Maruti Swift. She was a pretty indeed. She was peeking through the window glass and gesturing something, he thought to be vulgar. Sudden cry releases from his mouth, “Radhikaaaaa, (he stretches the ‘a’ too long) what are you doing here on the street at this time of the evening?” The woman pressed her nose against the glass and raised her eyebrows as if in a question.

Instantly the glass came down, and the girl poured her face in, now much closer to him and said. “Babu (sir) did you say something”, she gave a smile unknown in the prestigious society - was his presumption. Surprise and anger mingled in his mind, he felt lost at this moment.

The woman gave a loud laugh, expressed her thought in a peculiar manner, “Babu I can spend some time with you. What do you say?” She extended her arm and touched his elbow.

“Don’t play the fool on the street. For God’s sake, Radhika, please come in, I’m on my way back home”.

A quizzing look from the pretty woman was a befitting answer. She was dressed like a village belle of the north. Midi length floral skirt laced with yellow zari ribbon at the hem and another girdle of the same zari, a few inches higher. Her blouse length ran well below her waistline, with small slits on either side. Sleeves ran below the elbow and the end lined with thin contrast fabric border. Her dupatta crossed her neck in the front and both ends hanging at the back, brushing her buttocks over the skirt cover. Her footwear was the typical jooti (slip-on), mustard colour, embroidered in gold and red thread.

The car sat at the same place, and catching up with time, he scanned her face. Observation - A bubbly face, cheeks gave a full look. For once he thought she was not Radhika from her make-up. She had applied cheap white powder on her face, cheeks made to look rosy; the lipstick ran out of the lip line like a spill. Forehead wore a bindi like the gypsy and her hair combed back, plaited with colourful tassels, the hanging end she had carefully drawn and spread on her bulging chest to give a sexy look. She was chewing paan, like a cow at work, chewing away the cud. The red paan juice, shamelessly, coming down from the side of the mouth. She moved her tongue in her mouth in such a manner trying hard to keep the fluid back with a sudden gulp. Closing her lips tightly, she set them apart with a noise “bah’ coming out like a routine shot.

He was now in two minds. He said to himself, “This cheap street woman can’t be my Radhika”.

Before he could dip into further analysis, a sudden honk from behind was enough to make him aware to advance.

He was in a hurry to reach home, be with Radhika and feel assured his thoughts had not lured him. A momentary afterthought - “Is there any truth that there is a replica of each and every individual on this earth?”

“I’m straying. Facts will fall into place once I’m back home,” a consoling thought making an intrusion.

He had an important meeting to attend to. He drove straight for the meeting and was back on the driving seat after an hour.

“Only a quarter of an hour and I’ll be back home”.

He rang the door bell. A couple of minutes, and, Radhika was there to greet him with her enchanting smile. He carried a lost look that let Radhika interrupt the silent atmosphere.”Pronoy, have you lost your regular smile somewhere?”

“I was just thinking …” the rest of the words got lost as he moved quickly to his room.

After shower, he was there at the table waiting for dinner. The doorbell rang. He got to his feet, gently opened the door. A delivery boy stood there with a packet in his hand. “Madam had ordered for food”. He handed the packet and the bill. Pronoy dragged his feet back, placed the packet on the table and paid the bill.

“Who was there?” asked Radhika in her usual tone.

“The delivery boy”, replied Pronoy. Thoughts brewing in his mind …why hadn’t Radhika cooked dinner? ... It made him think of her absence from home at the time he saw the woman out there.

Radhika doing most of the chatter at the dinner table, and Pronoy lost in his thoughts and doubt.

Bedtime was calling and both of them landed in bed. After a pause Pronoy said, “Radhika where had you been in the evening?”

“I was very much at home,” was the instant reply.

“But ...” He faltered with his speech.

“You want to tell me something”, said Radhika, getting closer to him.

He sat up on the bed, mustered courage and told her, “I saw your duplicate today, on the streets. She was a cheap woman. Surprising, she looked like you and for a few minutes I was taken to believe it was you. How can my Radhika be there? This question stomped me. It was my fault to bring in such a thought in my mind. After all, surprises can pounce at any time and thoughts may go wrong also”. Soon he described the woman and her attire and tried to sweep away this thought with a loud laugh.

Radhika moved closer to him, she buried her face in his chest and an inaudible tone spoke up. “I want to confess something”.

An amazed “whaaat?” ran out of Pronoy’s mouth.

“You met me on the street. I was doing a scene for a documentary film by Harish”.

Pronoy’s agitated look followed by a shower of words. “Harish! You know I hate him”.

Before he could advance further, Radhika cut short his speech. “Pronoy, you know I love acting. Last week I met Harish in the market. He told about his venture and I requested him for this role. He made sure I made it clear to you before jumping into it. I knew you would co-operate with me. This was special for me because this film is related to AIDS Awareness and Social Stigma. Doing something for a social cause has always topped my list. We were shooting for a scene on the busy street and then … you land up before me, I was lost for a moment. But my make-up and acting left you guessing. Isn’t it?”

“That Harish, I’ll kill him if he proposes to my wife again as he did in his college days”.

“Calm down. Before new confessions come up …” she left the sentence unfinished. She let him sink in her and he covered her cheeks with kisses and the silence of the room was broken with sounds of satisfaction.