The cool shade of the trees and the yielding soft sand were a welcome relief from the long tiring walk back from the temple high up in the hills. The absence of waves and the mellow green water did not make the riverside any less like a beach. They stripped straight away and dived into the cold but welcoming river.He felt the eyes of a girl on him as he emerged from the river. To see desire for you in a woman's eyes...
They had kept their bags under a tree near an Indian family, from the city, with a Ray Ban wearing mom constantly admonishing her two little kids to stay out of the water. She spoke in English but in a lazy drawling sort of way. The hour of the day and the hypnotizing river was making him feel the same. The kids were having a whale of a time with their 'didi', someone akin to an Au pair. Didi literally means elder sister but like bhaiyya (elder brother) the term is overused on anyone elder to you, but not too old ! The didi kept stealing glances at him and he enjoyed this flirtation of the eyes which was becoming a rarity in today's modern world. Though enjoyable he sometimes wished that Indian women be more direct and declare their intent in a more straight forward manner. Her heavy hair was tied loosely in a bun and her wet salwar kameez now clung seductively accentuating her body. Playing with the children in the water she seemed to be one of them and it seemed to make her more lovely. Probably, a girl from a small village gone to work for the rich in the city.
The kids just refused to leave the water despite the girl's frequent pleas. But it looked like she was as interested in splashing about as they were. As the minutes slipped by, he drifted off to slumber. The sun was warming his legs when he opened his eyes again and the family was getting ready to leave. His thoughts returned to her and her life in the city. Did she have a room of her own or did she sleep with the kids? Did she see her parents often or did she have any at all? Idle questions with no relevant answers...
She lingered on the wheatish river sand and was the last to leave. She didn't look in his direction as they made thier way back up to the road. The beautiful wierd imaginings of the male mind says with sure conviction that every girl who look twice in their direction are hopelessly in love with them. But maybe love cannot be invited at all. It comes on its own time, in forms we never recognize until long after...
His friend soon remarked that they had forgotten to take the little girl's shoes.
"The maid is going to get thrashed for that", the friend chuckled.
He noticed the cute little pink slippers in front of them and smiled thinking of the impending fury of the rich woman who would no doubt be very attached to these little slippers. Silly of the didi to have missed that right under her nose.
Soon she came back, but with light steps and a neutral face , no sign of having even got a scolding. .She swooped down on the sandals in one fluid motion and for the first and last time looked into his eyes and smiled.
They had kept their bags under a tree near an Indian family, from the city, with a Ray Ban wearing mom constantly admonishing her two little kids to stay out of the water. She spoke in English but in a lazy drawling sort of way. The hour of the day and the hypnotizing river was making him feel the same. The kids were having a whale of a time with their 'didi', someone akin to an Au pair. Didi literally means elder sister but like bhaiyya (elder brother) the term is overused on anyone elder to you, but not too old ! The didi kept stealing glances at him and he enjoyed this flirtation of the eyes which was becoming a rarity in today's modern world. Though enjoyable he sometimes wished that Indian women be more direct and declare their intent in a more straight forward manner. Her heavy hair was tied loosely in a bun and her wet salwar kameez now clung seductively accentuating her body. Playing with the children in the water she seemed to be one of them and it seemed to make her more lovely. Probably, a girl from a small village gone to work for the rich in the city.
The kids just refused to leave the water despite the girl's frequent pleas. But it looked like she was as interested in splashing about as they were. As the minutes slipped by, he drifted off to slumber. The sun was warming his legs when he opened his eyes again and the family was getting ready to leave. His thoughts returned to her and her life in the city. Did she have a room of her own or did she sleep with the kids? Did she see her parents often or did she have any at all? Idle questions with no relevant answers...
She lingered on the wheatish river sand and was the last to leave. She didn't look in his direction as they made thier way back up to the road. The beautiful wierd imaginings of the male mind says with sure conviction that every girl who look twice in their direction are hopelessly in love with them. But maybe love cannot be invited at all. It comes on its own time, in forms we never recognize until long after...
His friend soon remarked that they had forgotten to take the little girl's shoes.
"The maid is going to get thrashed for that", the friend chuckled.
He noticed the cute little pink slippers in front of them and smiled thinking of the impending fury of the rich woman who would no doubt be very attached to these little slippers. Silly of the didi to have missed that right under her nose.
Soon she came back, but with light steps and a neutral face , no sign of having even got a scolding. .She swooped down on the sandals in one fluid motion and for the first and last time looked into his eyes and smiled.
lovely description of the innocent flirting..!!
ReplyDeletelove surely comes uninvited..!!
Aww...that is so cute!YOU are so cute (ok I'm not sure if you were aiming for cute when u wrote this but whatever)!I love your description of her. I mean the only time women ever come to know of the thoughts that run through a man's mind when he sees a woman are through romance books(mostly written by women)and movies (of doubtful accuracy). So reading first-hand your description of what goes through a man's mind when he sees a woman is strangely nice.:)
ReplyDeleteCute ending there! She knew just what she was doing.
ReplyDeleteLovely description of the didi and children playing the river. That kind of flirting is rare these days. Loved it.
Jai
you can cut that tension with a knife! ahh how joyous the mystery wandering eyes...great read man
ReplyDeleteSneha, Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteHmm Jeeves have i just betrayed the whole male race by exposing what goes on in our heads when we meet gals? eeeekkkkk ! what have i done ???? :D
ReplyDeleteJai, I really can't be sure if the protagonists were flirting . But since most of you think so , maybe they were. i always trust a woman's judgement on this one !
ReplyDeleteNikko, Thanks dude, beautifully put, the joyous mystery... might use that in my next story ;)
ReplyDeleteTrust me, Pan. They were definitely flirting.
ReplyDeleteJai
Ahh, I love these connections. Nice write-up!. Ended with a smile eh? :D
ReplyDeleteOh, that was some good reading. Wonderfully written !
ReplyDeleteI loved the description of the naive eye flirting !
p.s.- blogrolled you !
yes gal these meetings are what makes the world go round or square or whatever way you see it ;)
ReplyDeletebutterfly, thank you ! much appreciated :)
ReplyDelete