Life and times of a restaurant reviewer
4 hours ago
He could see the grey ridges coated with mud and dung turning inevitably towards him through his blood-laced eyelashes. He watched on in horror, unable to move. His limbs were arranged awkwardly around him surrendering to the inescapable. His immovable body seemed to be welcoming the end, pleading almost to end it.
He closed his eyes, waiting; gathering the last threads into the closing knot. His mind was a haze as memories blurred past his consciousness, each distinct - all elusive. He remembered a broken tricycle and a boy sobbing over it. He could see himself crouching in corner, one desolate wheel in his hand sniggering silently - A cluster of people gathered around the underground tank. A girl's lifeless body, distended with water, drenched in diluted blood beside the opening. He was part of the crowd, the scratches under his sleeves still fresh and hurting - The mute beggar who crawled on his belly. His bowl thrown a ten metre distance from him, the coins strewn like silver dots in the street. He looked at the bowl, his eyes as mute as his tongue. He had brought back the bowl with all its coins. The beggar had managed to prop himself on his side and touch his forehead with his street worn hand - The Lagoon. Wine and women spilt liberally around him. Ugly. And tempting. There was money. Huge wads of it. Some loose notes sticking out. One bleary-eyed tried sneaking some. He remembered blood on his eyes like now - The bars in the little cell that he shared with the small time thief. His gaolers had had some fun with the lad in the evening. He lay panting heavily beside him. His trousers were freshly died crimson. He grasped his hand and put it on his throat, "Please, please..". He felt his hands tighten around him. The boy had stopped whimpering. They had inexplicably let him out the next day. He was making his way to a street he barely remembered. He was nearly there. Blank. He was sprawling on the road. The tyres passed swiftly over him . The execution was expert. The crowds gathered once agan. When they parted there was another figure on the ground beside him. The beggar blessed him one last time and left, his bowl clattering as it razed the ground.
Pic: martien van asseldonk , flickr
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Chronicwriter said...
just imagining how the feeling of a man before his death would be..
good to see you back..
i liked the line you used to end the post.. touched..
www.chronicwriter.com
April 3, 2009 10:08 PM
santoshi said...
Welcome back Farah, its good to see you blogging again.
April 3, 2009 10:22 PM
Swetha Padakandla said...
hey. tht was nice.
way of expressing was too gud!
first time here
like the blog and the template is very cool!
cheers
swetha
April 3, 2009 10:41 PM
Priya Joyce said...
that touched me yaar.
nice to see ya bakk afer so long.
:)
April 4, 2009 3:23 AM
joiedevivre said...
yeh tumne kyu likha mein samajh nai pai???
April 4, 2009 3:31 AM
Mayz said...
welcome back...good to c u bloggin again
April 4, 2009 3:45 AM
HP said...
ISKO bolte hain back with a bang. awesome !
April 4, 2009 4:35 AM
oo7 said...
that was painFul...
April 4, 2009 6:18 AM
Think Tank said...
@chriz...yeah i was trying to imagine 2...koi fayda nahi
@santoshi :)
April 4, 2009 7:37 AM
Think Tank said...
@ priya yeah feelin gr8 2 ..though i seem to have lost touch with blogging :(
@neha i'll tell u wen i figure out ;)
April 4, 2009 7:41 AM
Think Tank said...
@sweta ..thanks...all credit 4 d template goes 2 sid
@mayz gud 2 c u here :)
April 4, 2009 7:44 AM
Think Tank said...
@heer ..mere ko to whimper type ka laga
@07 ..aah the 1st one 2 say dat
April 4, 2009 7:45 AM
Leo said...
good to see u back! and a nice post already on ur return!
WB farah!
April 4, 2009 8:42 AM
Arv said...
Hi Farah,
this is a powerful post that captures some really strong emotions....
well written... loved it...
take care and have a nice Sunday... cheers...
April 4, 2009 11:03 AM
Hobo ........ ........ ........ said...
Welcome ! Welcome ! Welcome !
April 4, 2009 10:09 PM
Shrav said...
amazing post!!
nice to see you back, btw, I knew you only as think tank till now!
Now I got to know your name, Farah!! :)
April 4, 2009 11:19 PM
the poet manque said...
hey welcome back
gr8 comebak
u caught some really diffrent emotions
April 5, 2009 1:08 AM
Think Tank said...
@leo and gud 2 see u here ..any idea wats up with our other poet ..sid i mean? i've been tryin 2 mail him but he seems 2 hav gone off the net
@arv CHEERIO
April 5, 2009 6:25 AM
Think Tank said...
@hobo ..thanx thanx thanx :)))))
@shrav... nice name i've got na ;)
April 5, 2009 6:27 AM
Think Tank said...
@satya..thanx
April 5, 2009 6:30 AM
Jagjit said...
You are back with a bang. Good. Nice story here with vivid imagery. Keep it up. Cheers!
April 5, 2009 8:12 AM
HP said...
tum uncha sunti ho ?
April 5, 2009 9:15 AM
future mantra said...
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April 5, 2009 12:23 PM
NE~ISM said...
HEY Ms. Farah! Glad to see you back!!
You have some really great description in your Post! You rock at writing.... I need to take notes!
April 5, 2009 4:06 PM
Femin Susan said...
Touching.
Welcome back.
Thanks for visiting my blog and your kind comment feel free to visit again.
Cheers!
April 5, 2009 7:31 PM
Keshi said...
WB TT! :)
Glad to hv ya bak.
Keshi.
April 5, 2009 10:02 PM
Lash said...
good to be back! nice.
April 6, 2009 1:36 AM
Pranay said...
I must confess...I read it twice and still not sure if I got it...:P. I must be growing dumb...coz all others seem to have got it. :D
Amazing description though..almost poetic.
April 6, 2009 8:35 AM
Urv said...
Need I say that its superbly written?
Welcome back girl.. U were missed..
I just have one confusion.. Why did he end up in jail.. Was it the money?
April 6, 2009 8:57 AM
Think Tank said...
@neism..thanx
@susan will do :)
April 6, 2009 8:41 PM
Think Tank said...
@ keshi n gud 2 c u here
@abhilash thanx..sply after the last post ;)
April 6, 2009 8:42 PM
Think Tank said...
@pranay ..chill i don't get it eitther
@urv he killed that gal dear ..the one at the casino who tried 2 get his money
April 6, 2009 8:43 PM
Awais said...
Intense and well-written!
April 7, 2009 1:39 AM
Parikshith Kumar said...
Soulfully written!
Good one!
April 7, 2009 3:52 AM
Pranay said...
Easy for you to say!! Mind writing the real sequence for me and others tooo embarassed to ask? :P
April 7, 2009 12:19 PM
Think Tank said...
@awais ..thanx
@parikshith thanx ..n hi :)
April 8, 2009 8:02 PM
Think Tank said...
@pranay ..nah ... if Miss India had a Miss laziness title i would definitely go for it ;)
April 8, 2009 8:07 PM
Stupidosaur said...
Beautiful post.
I didn't understand anything.
Except that it was all things groteque.
Could you explaiin the story in layman's flow and language?
Or validate what this layreptile understood?
A guy being crushed by vehicles.
Life flasing before his eyes in final moments.
Which was like this-he was basically evil.
Bully as a kid.
Murdered a girl. (Cause of which I failed to understand).
So put to jail.
There he did some more good/evil deed, of killing (evil part); of killing a suffering person (good part); of killing a suffering person who may not have wanted to die, inpite of the suffering, and may have looked forward to life hoping that the suffering would one day end (evil part); of killing the person merely because of his irritating whimpering (really evil part).
But since police (what the heck are gaolers?) feared a scandal on their hands or something, they released this evil guy, but not before making him dazed or disabled or both so that he would quickly meet an accident on the road.
People love entertainment, and often have very sick taste in entertainment. Or maybe they like to wish well for the departed souls. Or maybe just like an 'exciting' diversion out of their own miserable lives. So they gathered whenever there was a dead body in the story.
And who the heck is this beggar person? Is he just a part of props or the background? Or plays a central part in the story?
Is he same as the evil protagonist? At one point I thought so, but does not seem to tally out throughout the story. Are ther two beggars in the story or one? And whats with the wads of money?
( I guess since I am blogging from my new internet connection, I got a bit carried away in commenting ;))
April 18, 2009 12:59 PM