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Arun Koul buckled up the belt lightly over his trousers then bent down to lace up his shoes, straightened up his shirt collar, threw the jacket over his shoulders and picked up the keys. He gave a great deal of attention to his clothes and appearance. He was conscious of the color combination he wore and this time it was a light blue shirt and cream color trousers. His leather jacket matched the dress perfectly. He went out of the door, locked up the room and walked slowly towards the hotel lobby. A few steps ahead he retraced, unlocked the room and went to the closet from where he took out the bottle of cologne spray and splashed some under his armpits. He looked at his image in the dresser mirror, combed his hair again and felt satisfied. He wanted his body odor perfect and liked to impress everybody with his clean manners and a cleaner image. He had checked in at the hotel the previous night after a seven-hour road journey from Delhi in an air conditioned coach and had a good night’s rest. Simla in April is gorgeous and it was the beginning of the spring season. The trees were dressed in fresh leaves and the flowers were in full bloom. He handed over the room key at the reception then sauntered across to the doorway leading to the restaurant where he intended to have his breakfast.
He remembered the homemade “paratha” that his mother usually served at breakfast along with some pickles or some mashed potatoes slightly spiced for taste. It would be “Aloo-puri” or “Puri-chole” at times and there was no other option ever. He desired to change the beaten track stuff that he ate most of his days and instead ordered for an English style breakfast consisting of toast and butter, marmalade, and fried eggs with thin crispy slices of bacon to be washed down with coffee fully laced with cream. There was no need to cut down on expenses as this was company account and they would take care of the bills. Having placed his order for breakfast he picked up the newspaper to learn about what happened in the world in the past 24 hours. His eyes surveyed the dining room to see who all were around, not that he would recognize anyone in this city to which he was a first time visitor. After having his breakfast he signed for the payment to be credited to his room account, left a generous tip for the waiter and walked out of the hotel ground. He noticed the slight dampness on the road that was caused with some light drizzle during the night. It was not difficult to avoid the shallow puddles but he was hardly prepared for the bad manners of people who throw banana peels around. He skidded so badly that it was difficult for him to maintain his balance and had to use both his hands to stem the impact of his fall. He did not injure himself but his hands were all muddy and the trousers showed some mud patches that looked nasty on the cream color. He swore under his breath and turned back towards the hotel gates not far away. Mall Road is a swanky place in Simla and the most desirable address. The Hotel Arun stayed in was not really a starred hotel but did imitate the concept well. The place was selected by his company, being on its panel, for his two days stay to attend a meeting with their customers who had offices on Mall Road itself, well within easy reach from the hotel gates. Arun had just placed a couple of changes in his travel bag for the two day trip besides the travel clothes that he intended to reuse on his return journey home. Back in his hotel room he undressed and opened his bag fishing out the extra pair of clothes that he could wear for the meeting. He was already getting late and had to hurry up dressing so that he could show his good manners at keeping the schedule. He tucked up the soiled clothes in a plastic bag and placed it in the drawer. The other pair of clothes he was to wear was equally a good combination of a lemon color shirt and black trousers. He discarded the idea of wearing the jacket and instead wore a light burgundy color sleeveless sweater that would go very well with the day temperatures outside. Not that he had any better choice available to him at that time. Back in the street outside he was careful to look at the road ahead and headed straight for the meeting place about 500 meters away after having ascertained the exact location from the hotel desk earlier. His mind had already accepted the change of his appearance and he was no longer conscious of his earlier ordeal. He whistled softly as he made progress towards the meeting venue. God does not favor the unlucky when they are out of His focus. The early morning rush hour at the Mall Road was palpable as all kinds of people rushed to wherever they were going. Young children wanted to avoid getting late for school and office goers rushed to avoid reprimand from the boss. The shop owners were opening their shutters for business for the day and there were tourists around who were just moving with no special appointments to keep. And all of the traffic was moving on legs as any vehicular movement was prohibited on this stretch of the road. Arun’s eyes were eagerly searching the signs that he was told to look out for to locate his destination and he was part of the process of a mass movement. After a nightlong drizzle the sky was clear and the morning sun showed brilliantly in the east. A few shopkeepers were busy propping up sunshades to prevent the sun entering their premises. Long bamboo poles were sticking out that would be covered with tarpaulin or some plastic sheet to achieve the desired results. Was it his fault or was it destiny that caught Arun Koul once again in his dress code. The bamboo pole at one of the shops close by got disengaged from the prop and hit Arun right on his shoulder but clear of his head. Though he did not suffer any injury, the nail at the end of the pole tore away the shirtsleeve leaving a cut that formed the figure of digit 7. This did not look comfortable. The sleeveless sweater did not hide the tear. Arun had no alternative but head back to the hotel. With only five minutes to go to eleven when the meeting was scheduled Arun was in his room trying to figure out what he should do to dress up himself all over again. His choice was limited and all he was left out with was the black trouser that he was already wearing and the blue shirt from his earlier encounter. He opened the plastic bag and brought out the shirt. It had crumpled and required ironing before he could even think of putting it back on. He looked around and saw nothing that could emulate a hot iron. He called the desk from his room and explained his predicament to the hotel staff. The response was positive and they would send someone to take care of his urgency. In the meantime he called the waiting hosts at the meeting asking for a half hour late start. There was no reason to let them know of his encounters and all he said was that he would be late. He hoped to keep his promise, if at all he was allowed that liberty. At half past eleven he left his hotel room dressed in a blue shirt and black trousers and this time around he discarded any idea to either wear the jacket or the sweater. He would manage the little chill that would anyway go away as the day progressed. He did not, however, forget to reapply the magical cologne on his body and was pleased that he was able to save the day for himself. He intended to buy a pair of garments after the meeting for the next day session from some good store on the Mall Road itself. It would be difficult to reuse any of the damaged clothes that he intended to dispose off nevertheless. He was sure his management would take care of his losses not that it was for any of his faults. He was now in a hurry to reach the meeting venue but equally careful not to let any untoward incident mar the day. It took him nearly fifteen minutes to get to the place and he announced himself at the reception. A portly lady acknowledged his arrival and asked him to sit in the waiting room before she could arrange the assembly. Soon an aged man dressed in khakis placed a cup of tea on the table before him, saluted and vanished as quickly. It was another fifteen minutes when the reception woman came over and disclosed that the manager was called out to a government office urgently and he would have to wait till his return. This, she said, may take at least up to an hour if not more. She offered to arrange for lunch in the lounge and asked if he had any food preferences. Arun said he would go out and look around for a place himself where he could eat and return within the hour. He realized that for some reasons things were not going as planned. When misfortune strikes it does so thrice. This time around Arun scalded his thighs. That is what exactly happens when a hot soup falls on you if you are not careful. Hot tomato soup is not what you should order if the luck has run out. Arun selected a posh looking eating joint at the Mall Road for some snack and not really a full meal. Sitting out at the office with nothing to do did not appear a pleasing idea. He was looking out for a filler for time rather than a filler for the tummy. He had in fact had a full breakfast and was not really hungry. It had occurred to him that he would pass the hour sitting out at the food outlet looking out at the tourists until it was time to go back for the meeting. And what better to do than have something that was not either heavy for the stomach or the purse. But the situation turned uncomfortable and Arun felt ashamed of going back to his hotel room for a change of clothes. Alas he had none left and nor was he willing to face the hotel staff with another mischievous grin on their face over his predicament. Should he go find himself another set of clothes at the shops close by or first go and look at the damage he had inflicted upon himself. His thighs were feeling very sore and he did not know if there was any evident burn mark. He looked at his trousers and found a red stain that looked as bad as any. The pain became unbearable and he headed for his hotel. Feeling sheepish and hiding the trouser leg with the files he was carrying he demanded his room key at the reception desk. He examined his thighs immediately upon removing the trousers in the room and to his dismay found a huge red welt on his left thigh that must have carried a few ounces of fluid inside. He went into the bathroom and poured some cold water over the wound. There was an instant relief in the pain. He should have in fact done this a long time ago when the hot soup had made the initial contact. He did not know what he could do to get rid of the welt and decided that he required seeing a doctor. He called the reception on interphone. The reception desk was very helpful to recommend a doctor a block away from the hotel. He had no alternative but to call the host asking for a cancellation of the meeting for the day on grounds of sudden indisposition. He suggested one for the next morning for which he received a confirmation call promptly agreeing to his request even before he left the room to see the doctor. At the clinic the doctor examined his burn and prescribed an ointment to be applied and asked him to take some oral medication as well. He was advised no bandages and that he should not wear any tight garments that may rub the burn area cautioning that it would otherwise open up and get infected. He returned to his hotel room and after undressing put on the loose fitting night pajamas. I have had enough for the day, thought Arun. He placed the “do not disturb” sign on his door and slipped into the bed covering himself with a clean sheet and tried to sleep off his pain. He had no visitors and no calls to attend to and decided to skip his dinner that night. He lay on the bed all through the evening applying the soothing cream to the affected area and took oral medication as prescribed. He slept early and woke up next morning to find that the watery welt had deflated and instead he had some loose fleshy cover over where the sore was. But he felt better and was now feeling hungry. He went to the washroom and had his sh*t, shave and shower, strictly in the same order as always. He called up the desk and ordered some breakfast in his room. Though it was 8 am and early, this time around he asked for “Aloo-Paratha” and a glass of hot milk remembering his mother for all the blessings she could have for him. So far as the meeting was concerned he would see what he could do with the clothes before attempting to keep his date. When down and out, take a walk in the clouds. He took time to carefully put on his clothes after applying some cream on the burn area. He wore the same dress that he had during his inbound travel from Delhi, a pair of jeans and a multicolor striped T-shirt with the jacket to ward off any early morning chill. He walked out of the hotel room and drifted towards the Town Hall from where he took the walkway leading downhill towards Annandale, the valley floor below. He saw a cloud like formation float up the hill and was soon engulfed in it. The warmth from the rising sun made the water vapor from the valley floor rise up in the form of clouds towards the higher ground. After about a half hour walk downhill in the clouds he retraced his steps coming uphill towards the hotel feeling amply refreshed. It was past 10 O’clock when he returned from his rendezvous with the clouds, called up his host for a meeting at 11 a.m. Without changing clothes he walked out of the hotel and proceeded with the meeting that concluded by evening without any requirement for continuation on the following day. He was now ready for the return journey home next day as scheduled and did not tell a soul what happened to him. He rested well in the night and took the air-conditioned coach back to Delhi using the same clothes again since he had no other option available. He decided to shop at leisure for a new dress back home. Arun Koul vowed he would get back to the city at his earliest opportunity and this time around as a tourist. Reaching home his mother looked with concern at her son who had patches of blood on his trouser leg. The sore had opened up during the travel without warning and he had not even noticed it. |
B. L. Dhar was born and educated at Srinagar. Did Master's degree in Mathematics. Took up appointment with the Civil Aviation Sector of the G.O.I. as a gazzetted officer and later joined the PSU, Airports Authority of India (AAI) from where he retired as General Manager in 2000. At present residing at Delhi with frequent visits to the US and Europe where his kith and kin reside. Has interest in writing. |
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A beautiful story! Sometimes one needs to lose oneself in the clouds to clear the mental fog. And, as a corollary, does dress matter in the final analysis?
Added By K L Chowdhury
Loved reading the story, will wait eagerly for the second part when Arun Koul returns as a Tourist. M.K.Raina
Added By M.K. Raina