‘Like whom?’
‘The over-educated idiots in big cities. Whenever they don’t
understand villagers, they call them uneducated and old-fashioned.’
I listened to her reprimand, keeping my head down. The Rani
Sahiba’s rare loss of temper could not be taken lightly.
‘So why do they want to coronate me? Nothing else entertaining
happening in Durnraon?’
‘They want to because the so-called government doesn’t seem to
care.’
I poured a glass of water and handed it to my mother.
'Ma, I have finished college and come back. Can you not shout at
me within the first hour of meeting me?’
‘Your actions deserve it, so what can I do?’
‘Okay, sorry. I am sorry, Ma.’
She relented and we sat on the sofa again. I placed four more littis
on my plate.
‘There’s dinner. Don’t stuff yourself with these,’ Ma said.
‘Sorry,’ I said, and put my plate back on the table.
‘Anyway, it is just a two-hour-long ceremony—the rajyabhishek
puja and lunch. What is the problem?’
‘No problem at all. I’ll do it.’
The fan in the room stopped. In seconds, sweat beads appeared on
our foreheads. In minutes, mosquitoes hovered over us.
‘What happened?’ I said.
‘Load-shedding. Go thank your government for this,’ my mother
said.
ff
(ff)
#1