One rainy night at Venkatapuram - Part 1

At 11:30 in the night I Pressed the Lift Button. The railing see through doors of the lift opened. After entering it I directed it to the cellar. Slowly and slowly the lift started moving down. The heavy rain looks like has not stopped at as it was quiet wet everywhere with the water flowing from terrace to all the floors. I was headed towards nearby Kirana shop to have a cigarette puff. This is my usual daily habit of relaxing and also I consider this to be one of the (in fact just one) daily exercises that I can give to my already bulky body with flab jutting out from my sides pushing the stretched T-shirt (Double XL) after a day of – Fevicol ki masboot jod to a chair- mentally exhausting and Physically relaxing (but back spraining) software job.

As the lift crossed 6^th floor through the railing door of the lift, very unclearly through the foggy atmosphere on the balcony of one of the flats I could see a vague lady figure standing out. It was as if she had a head bath and just came out to get her hair dry. It was strange though - who would have head bath and come out to dry hair, that too at this rainy hour?? As I had moved to this apartment complex very recently, I hardly knew anyone. Hence with out putting too much of stress on my brain went ahead with the flow of the lift. Now the lift crossed the 4^th floor. Outside someone just moved somewhat swiftly from left to right. It was difficult to digest what I just saw. It was the same lady who was there in the 6^th floor. Even if I were to think if she was playing running around, there was hardly anybody else apart from her. At this hour what was the fun I couldn’t understand.

In the ground floor again the same lady was standing to board the lift. This time she was staring at me directly. With mixed feelings – Little fear and little Shyness – I too looked at her. The face was half visible with the other half covered by her flowing brownish hair. Initially her skin seemed very fair but on deeper look I felt there was something in that color. It was as if the skin was half burnt and the fairness being the result of that. The eyes of her as if dug up in between the crater caused by the walls of her nose, cheeks and eyebrows. She also had grayish circles circling her eyes. Those eyes were searching something in my face. I do not know whether it was the proximity of the distance between her and me or my nostrils being over sensitive, I felt suffocated with the emanating stink from her that smelt like that of a dead body.

The lift stopped with a thud at the cellar. The watchman’s dog always slept beside the lift. As I kept my foot out opening the doors it looked at me and started barking instantly so loudly that it caught me unprepared. Usually fearful of dogs- because of the lesson learnt to never play with your friend’s pet even if it’s just a puppy after I was pierced 11 times round my bulging tummy as soft as a dough cake from a rabbit teethed sneering animal doctor, after the puppy dug its teeth onto my right leg. After barking continuously for few minutes the watch man’s dog ran away as if it suddenly realized the presence of my bulky frightening( to say the least) figure. I could not fathom whether the dog that hardly ever made its presence felt was barking at me or something else behind me. Was there really something behind me?????