It’s a Girl–Vengrai Parthasarathy

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.

About Vengrai Parthasarathy

A profile of Vengrai Parthasarathy (from Sahitya Akademi): Mr.V.V. Parthasarathy (Vengrai) the author is 88+ years old.He graduated from the Madras University and stayed on to complete his Law degree in the same Uiversity. Again in that University, he did a two-year course in International Law and Constitutional Law under late Professor C.H.Alexandrowicz. He had also done a course in Mass Communitations . Mr. Parthasarathy has had his professional career in the Public Relations, all of them in Public sectors like Indian Airlines, State Trading Corporation,Bharat Electronics and lastly in the Bharat Heavy Electricals, Hyderabad from which he retired. Over the years Mr. Parthasarathy has published several rticles in a variety pf Dailies and Periodicals, including The Hindu, The Statesman,The Hindustan Times, the Indian Express and The Indian Year Book Of International Affairs.Over a hundred of them have been embedded in the Vengrai.com Mr. Parthasarathy has published two books One titled THIRUPPAVAI published by the Ramakrishna Mission and a book titled SELECT HYMNS FROM THE DIVYA PRAPANTHAM published by the renowned Sahitya Akademi. He is now a retired Author who has settled down in USA with his two children, son VijayParthasarathy married to Hema, ( a Dentist) and daughter Rohini married to Partha Mandayam, a Computer Scientist, —besides grandchildren.

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