Ananya looked at me, shocked. She tuned into the mood on the dining table.
‘I’ll leave now.’ She picked up her bag.
Mr Punnu stood up after Ananya left the house. He sniffed hard. He peeped
into my room. ‘Chicken?’ he frowned.
I didn’t respond. Beer bottles lay on the bedside table.
‘Ladies?’ he said.
‘She works in HLL,’ I said, having no clue why I had to mention her corporate
status.
‘Chicken, beer, lady friends – what is going on here?’ he said.
Fun, I wanted to say but didn’t. Those three things are what men live for
anyway.
Everyone kept quiet. I wondered who had sneaked. My flatmates were no
friend material, but somehow I didn’t expect them to be suck schmucks. Maybe
the watchman did it.
‘I didn’t expect this from you boys,’ Punnu said in a heavy Tamil accent.
‘It’s my fault. I brought the chicken and beer for my girlfriend,’ I said.
‘Girlfriend?’ Punnu said as if I spoke in pure Sanskrit.
‘She is my batch-mate. A nice girl,’ I said.
Mr Punnu didn’t seem impressed.
‘She’s Tamil Brahmin,’ I said.
‘And you?’
‘Punjabi,’ I said and my head hung low a little by default.
‘How is she a nice girl if she is roaming around with you?’ Mr Punnu asked.
He had a valid point. I decided to change the topic. ‘Mr Punnu, this is not a
boarding school. We are all professionals and what we do in our own home...’
Mr Punnu banged his fist on the table. ‘This is my home,’ he pointed out.
‘Yes, but you have leased it to us. Technically, we have a right to not let you
into the property.’
nora
(Nora)
#1