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In Memoriam, Us

*

“It’s nice, you know, it’s nice…”


“What?”


“You know, this…I mean, it just struck me we’re doing the Western consumeristic mumbo-jumbo, you know, and encouraging market capitalism, but still, it’s nice, this, this mall-hopping thing…”


“Uhn?”


“Yeah! It’s being together!”

*

“Oooh, oooh, oooooh! I want them, I want them, I want them!”


“What, where, how!”


“Those boots! See them, the big, black ones? I sooo want them!”


“But didn’t you already buy a pair before the Freshers’? Though they were sandals, but still, I don’t think your Pappa will be too happy about it…”


“True…but I want them so much! And, and I want the sandals too and those wedges!”


“Isn’t that a bit too much?”


“It is…but I sooo want to buy something!”


“Hmm…so buy one na.”


“But I dunna have money na! I’ll have to take it out and then…”


“Haan, who bhi hai…well, I can chip in! You have some, I’ll put in what I have and then you can buy at least one. Sounds good?”


“Good!”

*

“I think the wedges look super-duper cool on me!”


“Sure do, darl!”


“Yayie! Yayie, yayie, yayie! Me is happy!”


“Hehehe! So am I. What next now?”


“Do you wanna go to the bookstore?”


“Ah, well, no, I don’t think so…”


“Let’s just go and see, hmm? It’ll be nice, let’s go!”


“Okay, okay…”

*

“Am I mistaken or are we really in a bookstore?”


“We are. Why?”


“Well, what’s with all these CDs and accessories and stuff then?”


“Ah well, they cash in on everything, don’t they?”


“Yeah, and I can’t also find the book which Poppy was talking about. I think it was this…”


“Um, darling?”


“Yeah?”


“It’s really quite visible when you bend down like this.”


“Oh, um, yeah…thanks!”

*

“Oh god, there’re so many of them! Look at that entire pile, so friggin’ many of them!”


“Yes, isn’t it surprising? Almost as if there was a fever on with everybody wanting to write and be all so my-story-best-story about it.”


“Yeah, and most of it is bull!”


“Well, it at least makes you feel glad there’re people like V to champion literature’s hold on literature!”


“Oh, don’t be mean!”


“No, seriously, I think all of us have a noble duty towards literature; nay, not just to literature, but to culture, to humanity, to save it from the fell hands of scurvy hacks who do demean the beauty of art…”


“Anubhav?”


“Yeah?”


“Shut up.”

*

“Looks like it’s going to rain and rain very hard.”


“Hmmm…”


“What hmm? Jaldi karke finish this nahi toh we’ll get drenched with all the stuff!”


“Yes, Ma’am! We’ll do chattu-pana and go back and then come, right?”


“Yeah, I think so.”


“Hmm…”


“Hmm…today was nice, wasn’t it?”


“Lovely. Very, very good in fact!”


“Hmm…and the bookstore was nice too!”


“Yes, I think we should do more stuff like that, y’know, check out bookstores more often. It’s so much fun with you!”


“So is buying shoes with you! I like my wedges, I so like them!”


“Hehe! Yeah…we should do this sort of thing more, in spite of the capitalist claptrap.”


“Totally should!”


“Hmm…chalo, ho gayi khatam. Baarish bhi shuru ho gayi. Chalain?”


“Ji, chaliye.”

Yeh chiraag bujh rahe hain,

Mere saath jalte jalte…