Suruchi Dinshaw - Part 2

Choti Diwali finally dawned bright and clear and although there was a hint of chill in the air, Suruchi jumped around excitedly in just her thin cotton salwar kameez prompting Mrs. Dinshaw to exclaim “That girl will be the life of me! Go put on something warmer girl, before you catch pneumonia’. Mindless of her mom’s comments, Suruchi checked her watch impatiently by the minute. ‘Why aren’t they here yet!!’, she complained aloud. “Arre beta, Rohit’s bus doesn’t arrive until 9 and Kartik must already be on that auto from the Cantt station”, Mr. Dinshaw offered as he set down his cuppa and glasses.

When the two boys arrived, no one knew exactly, but the racket at the Dinshaw household reached such alarming proportions within minutes that the neighbors were nearly prompted to dial 100. “Oh My God Kartik, you’re as tall as a giraffe!!!!!!” “Hey sis, come give a hug to your guru!” “Suruchi! you look…so different kiddo!” yadda yadda.

When they finally settled down to Mrs. Dinshaw’s mouth watering puris and aaloo bhaji, everyone was still chattering like a pack of mynas. Rohit and Kartik both had only 3 days off and there were groans of disappointment all around as this info leaked out. “But I had made soooo many plans! You guys are horrid” pouted Suruchi like a sulking schoolgirl.

The first day passed by in a blur as everyone wanted to know everything about everyone else. By the time they retired for the night, there was still so much left unspoken. Mrs. Dinshaw woke her three kids early on Diwali day and prodded them to take the customary oil bath. Squeals of laughter rang around as the three teased each other and the Dinshaw parents smiled proudly at their brood. ‘We are really lucky to get such good kids’, each thought secretly, afraid yet to say it aloud cause you see ‘Khud ka nazar lag sakta hain!’

After the last of the anars had been burnt and the sweets had till no one could possibly stuff any more, the 3 siblings sat in Suruchi’s room for a long nights chat. Kartik told them about ‘Muthu’, the office joker, his bawdy boss ‘Mr. Batliwala’ and finally, rather shyly about ‘Gauri’, the girl in the ‘DSF team’. They had been seeing each other for 3 months now – Suruchi and Rohit roared with shock on hearing this – and hushhhhh, they were totally forbidden from mentioning any of this to mom and dad. Rohit’s and Suruchis news paled in front of this for obviously Kartik was serious about this girl! They grilled him nonstop for 2 whole hours, until they knew almost everything there was to know about Gauri and couldn’t wait to meet her! She seemed perfect for their quiet older brother.

Exhausted by the day’s events and the energy expended, the three fell asleep on Suruchi’s double bed and before you could say ‘rustambaghroad’, faint snores punctuated the air. Suruchi dreamt of Gauri and Kartik playing on ‘Chowpatty Beach’ and oddly enough felt it all so real when Kartik hugged Gauri close to him. She dreamt some intimate scenes after that which when she awoke seemed weird and disturbingly odd. Suruchi was a bit quiet and pre-occupied the next day and didn’t seem to enjoy Rohit’s loud stories quite as much.

As happened the previous night, they ended up playing scrabble nostalgically and after chatting awhile promptly fell asleep in Suruchi’s room again. Suruchi was a bit nervous and tense as the lights went off. She wasn’t sure why, but a cold fear tugged at her heart. The guys were soon fast asleep while Suruchi drifted in and out of nameless dreams. At one time, she was falling off a cliff, when a pair of hands reached out and pulled her back and hugged her close. She felt secure and calm. Then weirdly a snake slid inside her pyjama top, its cold feel on her skin jolting her awake. For a few seconds after she awoke, Suruchi struggled to get a foothold in the real life. She opened her eyes and breathed deep. The snake was still inching its way up her belly and all her senses were taut with fear. From the time that Suruchi could remember she had been terrified of anything remotely reptile. The thought of something slithery and scaly inside her dress made her want to scream her lungs out. But what if that startled the animal – are reptiles even animals? – and it decided to strike? Paralyzed with fright, Suruchi held her breath for as long as she could. After what seemed like a million years, she took a lungful of air. The snake was still on her, but not moving any longer. Alert now, she suddenly sensed the snakes ‘fingers’ moving. Waitaminute!!!!!!!!!! Were those really fingers? For a hellhole of a second Suruchi felt like someone had just punched her right in the middle of her solar plexus. The snake was a hand, and it belonged to Kartik, sleeping beside her. Her older brother Kartik who she adored so much; Kartik who was in love with the pretty Gauri; Kartik the moral policeman; Kartik, who they all loved and trusted so much. Suruchi couldn’t comprehend what was going on. She thought she might be losing her mind. She dared not do anything for fear that he would know she knew. Might he just be dreaming of Gauri next to him? She listened keenly in the silence of the night to the breath next to hers and knew he was awake. Her pulse quickened and breathing became labored. Now he would know that she was awake too. At that point Suruchi lost consciousness.

... to be continued