PINK SHAWL AND PSYCHO ANALYSIS (First Episode) by Sushi

sushi · Sep 13, 2011

Friends, let me just warn you. This is going to be a little long story and will be told in parts. let me also tell you, before the final episode, readers will be given a chance to use their imagination too.. Now to the long long Pink Shawl...
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[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]PINK SHAWL AND PSYCHO ANALYSIS[/FONT]

“ Radha, have you packed everything? Did you take the medicine doctor prescribed for the cold – Delhi will be cold and you have to take your sweater and shawl "

Smiling and pleased at the concern shown by Ramnathan, her husband, radha again started packing. If , left to her she would have refused this training which was made a essential condition for her promotion as manager by her organisation. It was not only the training which was made essentaial but the final psycho analysis test which was bothering her too much.

The new Director (personnel ) who had taken over recently wanted only competent employees as managers and hence the training and psycho analysis test after the trainining. Infact, the written examination and group discussion as selection for the post of managers was itself made so tough that only 10 had qualified from 487 who had appeared for the same.

As this was a prestigious promotion and not only that the training was to be impaired by a premier B School at Delhi which cost the organization a lot and hence all the candidates were given strict regulations as for the attendance and it was clearly intimated that if anyone who leaves the training in the middle would have to refund the money spent on them for their training and residential accommodation in the campus itself. They were given a choice either to accept the training or excuse themselves from the promotional stream.

Infact Radha when she heard about the training had decided to excuse herself even though she was the only female candidate who had qualified for the managers post. But when she came and told Ramanathan about her decision, he admonished her and said ‘ Radha, you have come upto this and one month’t training will just pass ina jiffy. Moreover, your promotion means increase in pay and we can complete the EMI for this flat earlier by prepayment and think about having a kid too”
Upto now Ramnathan was not keen on having a kid always giving the excuse of EMI for the flat and unless they are stabilized it is not advisable to have a kid . A Kid should come to comfortable home was always his choice reply whenever she broached the subject of having a kid.

All said and done, finally Radha mentally prepared herself for the training and after giving so many instructions about house hold chores and where the provisions are kept extra, her packing started and come to this final stage.

She took out her warm clothes which were kept in the corner as after their honeymoon three years back at OOty, there was never need for warm clothing in Chennai. She removed the bundle of warm clothes and her eyes fell on the Pink Kashmir shawl. Seeiog the shawl, her thoughts started rewinding back to her college days and Swaminthan. She did not want to think about him but her thoughts were not under her control and the olden days started winding back in her mind.
It was in her second year at Podar College that she met Swaminathan. He was doing his final year B.Com and was a very bright student. Even though both of them had been in the same college from more than a year, she met him only in the second year that too when both of them participated in a debate. Even though she was quite popular participating in all the activities of the college, she had never met him only because of the reason that Swaminathan was an introvert and kept to him self and his chosen friends. He being from not an affluent family , very rarely used to visit college canteen where everyone frequented and arranged for attendance with the Peon of the college who always used to be available in the canteen and never ever paid for anything he took. The students who were short in their attendance had only to buy him something and their attendance was increased.

But Swaminathan was a sincere student who lived in a chawl in Matunga which was very near the college. A chawl is tenement which had normally one bed room and one kitchen and a small balcony and common toilets and to be used by all the occupants of that floor. Mornings would be mad rush time and in order to have a clean toilet and bathroom , he used to get up very early in the morning and this facilitated his studies too and made him come top in the college.

Even though he was quite reluctant to participate in the debate , his professor made him participate as the subject was on commerce and the prize money was quite good. On the debate day, Radha came in a beautiful salwar kameez and as she always used to grab the prizes for any contest whether it was debate/ or dance or karnatic music she was confident she will be the winner as always.

The debate started and after the preliminary rounds as expected Radha and Swaminathan were the two who reached the final stage for first prize. First Radha was called and she confidentally finished her speech and then came Swaminathan and he enthralled the whole auditorium with his speech and naturally won the first prize.

Radha was shell shocked as she had never experienced any defeat so far and even when her name was announced for 2nd prize, she just took the prize bowed to the crowd and just ran to the garden outside the college campus By that time tears had started rolling from chubby cheeks and even Swaminathan noticed the same when his name was announced for the First Prize which consisted of a pink shawl and a prize money of Rs. 2000/-. He accepted the prize money while the chielf guest honoured him by spreading the shawl on him. Everyone cheered and applauded but he himself was surprised to feel not happiness but a tinge of sorrow . The beautiful eyes of radha filled with tears just haunted him and his eyes went in search of Radha in the auditorium and how was he to find her as she had run to the garden to cry out.

He went home and gave the money to his mother as he had lost his father when he was very young and his mother was bringing him up by doin some tailoring work and some odd jobs like cooking during some festivals in the temple and in some rich households. For his mother that amount was like a treasure found as she had not to worry for the fees for his sixth semester. Though he gave the money to her , he just kept the shawl in his bag only and did not mention that to her at all. He was not a person to hide anything from his mother but this time he did not even understood at that moment why he was hiding that shawl.

The whole night he could not sleep as the face and particularly the tear filled big eyes of Radha haunted him. By morning he started even feeling guilty about winning the first prize. He started feeling responsible for making Radha unhappy and somehow wished that she should be made happy but how he did not know at all. Full night as he did not sleep, morning he got up late and hence had to face the mad rush of other occupants and somehow managed his morning chores and rushed to the college with the pink shawl tugged safely in his bag. When he reached the college, he just went to the notice board which had all the details about the winners of the debate and he came to know which division she was in.

(To be Continued )