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The conversation carried on for a couple of hours. We remembered old times. “We were so young and foolish,” he said.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hello, there! How have you been?” He replied with a slight lop-sided smile.
I replied, “I’m good. What about you?” My heart was thumping with joy. “It’s been so many years,” I thought to myself.
“Yeah, life is good. Do you know? I’m a platinum member at this most popular 5-star hotel,” he added with pride.
“Oh! Really? Umm, cool,” I replied
“What would you like to order? This is one of the best hotels, so you’ll get nothing but the best,” he added.
An hour later, I was sipping a bitter-tasting coffee. Did I forget to mention the number of packets of sugar I added? Ah! Never mind. My heart longed for good ol’ South Indian coffee. Simple, and addictive!
“It’s been so many years. You haven’t changed at all,” he said. I grimaced. Possibly the scars within have been closely wrapped with years of practiced mind control. “Happy thoughts,” so they say?
“Well, you also appear the same. Almost….” I mumbled embarrassed, hoping I won’t blush as usual in a fake attempt to return the compliment.
“I think that hurt me somewhere,” I thought to myself.
Yet, I replied, “Oh, yeah, right.”
More time passed and a chocolate tiramisu was devoured with no excitement. We bid adieu as the rains started slowly. I headed back home mulling over my thoughts.
“Everything has changed,” I thought. But, as for me, this was indeed a conversation with a stranger. A stranger I knew from my past…
I headed to my favourite local café. The bitterness of the coffee still lingered on… “I need to do something about it,” I said to myself as I deleted his number.
Image source: shutterstock
A wordsmith passionate about all the creative things in life! Artist | Beach Lover | Style Hoarder | Bookworm | Blogger Visit my blogs here: www.kashmiralad.com read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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