Read Online When Hari Met His Saali by Harsh Warrdhan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Harsh Warrdhan
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going to need one,’ Sharmila said with a straight face. ‘This way she can keep track of my expenses,’ she continued. ‘Man, I can’t wait to get away from this small-town mentality you know.’
Simi returned Sharmila’s one thousand rupees. Simi always thought of her as a sweet but confused girl. Sharmila had everything going for her but she was determined to be a rebel, a slut. For a moment, Simi wondered if she could be a slut.
Oh, who are you kidding. You are not even a proper woman yet, Simi.
The next person Simi tried was Shabnam at work, who told her she wished she could help her, but it was a no. Simi wondered if she should ask for an advance from Mr. Khanna. Shabnam vehemently discouraged her.
‘Last year, I asked Mr. Khanna for an advance of twenty thousand and youknow what? He asked me to go to Goa for that “travel agents conference”, you remember?’ she said in a hushed voice. ‘That’s when it all started between him and me. There was no conference in Goa. Simi, I don’t think you want to be in my position!’
‘Did you return the money to him?’ Simi asked out of curiosity and to figure out how arrangements like that worked.
‘He can’t get both, right?’ Shabnam smiled. ‘Now, he is never going to get the money back and he knows it!’
Shabnam was right; Simi didn’t want to be in her position.
‘Your mom can’t help?’ Shabnam asked as she put on some lipstick.
‘I can’t ask her. She is on a fixed income. Papa’s pension is just enough to run the house.’
Simi regretted it as soon as she said it. She didn’t like discussing her domestic situation so openly. Whatever money her mother was getting from her father’s pension was not enough. Simi had some money in her account, but she was saving it for getting an exhaust cooler installed. The summer was still months away but installing the cooler was her part of the household expenses. And this summer, she had resolved not to let her mother sleep in pressure cooker-type conditions, which was what their house was like in Nagpur’s infamous hot months.
‘Why don’t you ask your sister?
Voh toh chaap rahi hogi vaha
America
mein
?’ Shabnam casually asked Simi.
It irritated Simi no end that virtually everyone in Nagpur thought that Tia — whom they assumed was a millionaire just by the virtue of her being in America — was contributing towards Simi’s household expenses. It couldn’t have been further from the truth. Neither Simi nor her mother had a clue as to how much or how little money Tia was making. Many times she had — in the beginning — suggested an arrangement whereby she would send some money to them monthly, but her mother had refused any help from her.
She had also warned Simi against asking for any help from Tia. In fact her mother had even asked her not to speak to Tia, but in last three years she had relented. Whenever Simi and Tia talked via Skype her mother would linger in the background, just outside the view of Simi’s webcam. She would even steal a glimpse of Tia. But she was so stubborn — just like her daughter — that even after an intervention by Simi along the lines of: ‘Why can’t you forget the past and just get along?’ her mother never tried.
‘She’s the one who left us so arrogantly. She doesn’t need us and so we don’t need her!’
With no other options, Simi was seriously considering asking Tia for theten thousand rupees.
Just this once
, she thought to herself. Namit had texted her a few times already today. It was two p.m. and, after much consideration, Simi texted her sister:
Didi
, let’s Skype soon. Urgent. What time? Urgent. Luv, Simi.
And then she waited.
With the slide of the Rupee against the U.S. dollar, ten thousand divided by sixty — which was the current exchange rate — would be roughly one hundred and sixty-seven dollars. That should be peanuts for Tia. Simi prayed that her sister wouldn’t have to go to any trouble to loan her the money. She
Simi returned Sharmila’s one thousand rupees. Simi always thought of her as a sweet but confused girl. Sharmila had everything going for her but she was determined to be a rebel, a slut. For a moment, Simi wondered if she could be a slut.
Oh, who are you kidding. You are not even a proper woman yet, Simi.
The next person Simi tried was Shabnam at work, who told her she wished she could help her, but it was a no. Simi wondered if she should ask for an advance from Mr. Khanna. Shabnam vehemently discouraged her.
‘Last year, I asked Mr. Khanna for an advance of twenty thousand and youknow what? He asked me to go to Goa for that “travel agents conference”, you remember?’ she said in a hushed voice. ‘That’s when it all started between him and me. There was no conference in Goa. Simi, I don’t think you want to be in my position!’
‘Did you return the money to him?’ Simi asked out of curiosity and to figure out how arrangements like that worked.
‘He can’t get both, right?’ Shabnam smiled. ‘Now, he is never going to get the money back and he knows it!’
Shabnam was right; Simi didn’t want to be in her position.
‘Your mom can’t help?’ Shabnam asked as she put on some lipstick.
‘I can’t ask her. She is on a fixed income. Papa’s pension is just enough to run the house.’
Simi regretted it as soon as she said it. She didn’t like discussing her domestic situation so openly. Whatever money her mother was getting from her father’s pension was not enough. Simi had some money in her account, but she was saving it for getting an exhaust cooler installed. The summer was still months away but installing the cooler was her part of the household expenses. And this summer, she had resolved not to let her mother sleep in pressure cooker-type conditions, which was what their house was like in Nagpur’s infamous hot months.
‘Why don’t you ask your sister?
Voh toh chaap rahi hogi vaha
America
mein
?’ Shabnam casually asked Simi.
It irritated Simi no end that virtually everyone in Nagpur thought that Tia — whom they assumed was a millionaire just by the virtue of her being in America — was contributing towards Simi’s household expenses. It couldn’t have been further from the truth. Neither Simi nor her mother had a clue as to how much or how little money Tia was making. Many times she had — in the beginning — suggested an arrangement whereby she would send some money to them monthly, but her mother had refused any help from her.
She had also warned Simi against asking for any help from Tia. In fact her mother had even asked her not to speak to Tia, but in last three years she had relented. Whenever Simi and Tia talked via Skype her mother would linger in the background, just outside the view of Simi’s webcam. She would even steal a glimpse of Tia. But she was so stubborn — just like her daughter — that even after an intervention by Simi along the lines of: ‘Why can’t you forget the past and just get along?’ her mother never tried.
‘She’s the one who left us so arrogantly. She doesn’t need us and so we don’t need her!’
With no other options, Simi was seriously considering asking Tia for theten thousand rupees.
Just this once
, she thought to herself. Namit had texted her a few times already today. It was two p.m. and, after much consideration, Simi texted her sister:
Didi
, let’s Skype soon. Urgent. What time? Urgent. Luv, Simi.
And then she waited.
With the slide of the Rupee against the U.S. dollar, ten thousand divided by sixty — which was the current exchange rate — would be roughly one hundred and sixty-seven dollars. That should be peanuts for Tia. Simi prayed that her sister wouldn’t have to go to any trouble to loan her the money. She
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