IT’S A GIRL
Vengrai Parthasarathy
Jagan finished his bath in seven minutes flat; not his usual half hour, which included sixteen minutes of off-key yodeling. But he took his own sweet time in choosing his favorite T-shirt to set off his blue denim trousers.. Once he finished fluffing up his hair in a carefully careless fashion he was ready to go. And, he went– went in his Red-Indian motor bike, tearing through the traffic as though there was no tomorrow. He reached the Vridhi Maternity Home, luckily in one piece.
The waiting room was a big hall with benches lined up against three walls adorned with red triangles and family limitation slogans, one of which said ” Let’s Have Two, the First and the Last”. There was a bunch of people of different ages, shapes and genders and all of them had expectancy writ large on their faces. Jagan looked around and there was a vacant seat next to an elderly lady who was clutching a plastic bag. She seemed to be in the throes of some nameless anxiety . There was in another row – a middle aged man with a noticeable belly and a rolled up brolly. He was mumbling some prayers to himself opening his eyes now and then to see whether the world around him was still there..
Every time there was a wail or a whimper from inside the wards, the old lady’s ears would perk up alike a Spaniel’s. She seemed eager to speak to someone, anyone at all to relieve her anxiety. Jagan was the one whom she asked “Is this your first?”. Jagan nodded his head which could have meant yes or no.or both or neither; and he quickly looked away wanting to avoid further inquisitions.
After a wait of fifteen crawling minutes, a shapely nurse in starched uniform came shuffling through the swing door and every one crowded around her. “Sita behen, you have a grandson. Both are doing well” she announced and before the old lady could ask any supplementary questions she disappeared. Sita behen, now all happy tears , got busy distributing chunks of jaggery all round.. Visibly happy, she queried of Jagan “When will they let me see the baby?”, handing him a piece of the sweet. .Jagan shrugged his shoulders and said ”May be they will call you”. After a while, the lady said in a commiserating tone to Jagan ,”Don’t worry, Beta, everything will be all right. Is this your first one? Jagan grimaced , not deigning to answer the question
The waiting ladies soon formed a sort of kinship sharing among themselves the relative merits of boys versus girls, with the girls getting more vociferous advocates. The old man with the umbrella was in a sort of conversation between one person.. Then, an old gargoyle of a nurse came out and people crowded around her. Jagan went, but before anyone could talk she asked “Has any of you brought the cosmetic set for Anjali?
A bored-looking lady in blue produced a small packet from out of a blue bag and went back to her siesta, looking least concerned. .”Not unlikely but very likely a sister-in-law, I bet” said Jagan to himself and hoisted a cigarette to his mouth but he threw it away on seeing ‘No Smoking’ sign..
He paced up and down the hall like a caged lion, looking at his watch now and then mechanically. Then he went out to take in some fresh air and a few puffs and hurried back not wanting to be away too long. Time seemed to have come to a stop. The young nurse came again, looked around and disappeared soon leaving everyone with anxious questions at the tip of their tongues..
At last, another nurse came. She was young and scrumptious. . A soft smile spread over her face on seeing Jagan. The starch in her uniform had wilted but her eyes sparkled.. Wordless smiles were exchanged and before anyone could ask her questions, Jagan took her arm and headed toward the door in a big hurry.
“Hurry ”, he said smilingly to his heart throb , “I’ll give you exactly half an hour to doll up after reaching home. I don’t want to be late for the movie.
“No problem”, said off-duty Sujatha as she slid up the pillion and hugged Jagan, rather closely around the waist, as he revved up the engine.. And, off they went into the Blue Horizon, which was the name of the movie they had planned to see.