Character Sketch -Day 3 (Word Count : 768)

Day Three: Be bold.

Focus Word - Bold

Song Prompt - Bold as Love by: Jimi Hendrix

Anger, he smiles,
towering in shiny metallic purple armour
Queen Jealousy, envy waits behind him
Her fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground

Blue are the life-giving waters taken for granted,
They quietly understand
Once happy turquoise armies lay opposite ready,
But wonder why the fight is on
But they're all bold as love, yeah, they're all bold as love
Yeah, they're all bold as love
Just ask the axis

My red is so confident that he flashes trophies of war,
and ribbons of euphoria
Orange is young, full of daring,
But very unsteady for the first go round
My yellow in this case is not so mellow
In fact I'm trying to say it's frightened like me
And all these emotions of mine keep holding me from, eh,
Giving my life to a rainbow like you

But, I'm eh, yeah, I'm bold as love
Yeah, yeah
Well I'm bold, bold as love (hear me talking, girl)
I'm bold as love
Just ask the axis (he knows everything)
Yeah,
yeah,
yeah!

I remember that day as yesterday. It was a usual day at the college.  Usual toiling classes and those unfathomable case studies. I was sitting there trying to solve the assignment provided to us. I do not remember the reason, but there was strange restlessness min me. It was like the whole air was shouting with the some unsaid expectation. I had a premonition that something was going to happen. I knew it and I was nervous.

We used to have a placement in charge. She was an amazing persona, dripping confidence in every action and word. We lesser immortals need time to process the information and take time to choose but Mrs. Harrison was like a force of wind. She listened, decided and we people used to fly like autumn leaves in the wind. That day, she swished in the room with some papers in her hand. “I have good news for you marketing students. As you all know, we have signed and MoU with the University of Paris recently. You know what this means? This means”, she spoke excitedly,” that you have an opportunity to go to Student Exchange Program with this prestigious university. But due to the constraints, there will be only one person selected for the exchange.” Murmurs ran through the whole classroom.

“But, but we do not have much time for decision. You have to give me your names till tomorrow. This will be a big opportunity for you student as it will give you a good exposure.”

I sat quietly throughout the announcement. It did not concern me. This was meant for the students who can easily adjust to the people. I have never spoken an extra word in my life. Sometimes I did not understand why I selected Marketing as a field. But I had always hoped MBA will transform me like a fairy Godmother. I might be the topper but I always blended in background. Suddenly Mrs. Harrison said, “I will see your application Trisha? You are one of our gems and it will be our pleasure to help you out.” I could just nod yes to that “whirlpool” and I was blown away with it.

And that was how I applied. It would be wrong to deny that I was not nervous or excited. My heart was soaring like the wind. I knew there was going to be the competition in the interview to be conducted but I was fairly confident of my success. And that happened too-I was successful and selected for the student exchange program. I was thrumming with hopes.

This student exchange program was supposed to be my first flight to the world of my dreams.

When I informed Apu and my mom, nobody could believe that I wanted to or I would be able to survive the Paris. My shyness, my introvert nature, my dismal French- none of the attributes recommended for the student exchange program. But my love for life had made me bold. The chance to visit Paris, enjoy unhindered three months in the renowned University of Paris and above all, lure to explore the freedom and my courage-overrode every inhibition of mine.

I arrived in Paris with stars in my eyes. I had no intention of being the most popular student in the campus. I just wanted to ferret out the self-sufficient Trisha- the Trisha whose life had been upturned by the death of her father when she was twelve. I came to the student exchange program to capture the city of Paris in my memory; instead I have discovered a whole new world of emotions and sensations in its embrace.

Here, I found that I could easily overcome my shyness and speak to new people. In the city of Paris, I understood the importance of fashion. Here I glimpsed the colours swirling around me. I had always known that there was a girl chained in my heart who was everything – bold, outrageous, loving, and daring – but she was always bounded by the chains of my shyness and inhibition. Paris helped me release that rainbow of emotions of imprisoned girl. This student exchange program did not change me but it made me more outgoing version of myself. Paris helped me defeat the enemy of self-consciousness and made me a real Manager.

My thoughts of Paris cannot be complete without the mention of Ishaan who was there with me at every step. Today, I am again here in an unknown country, with unknown people to find that Trisha again – but this time, I will never lose her anytime, for anyone, I promised myself.

Character sketch - Day 2 ( Word Count- 618 days)

Character Sketch Day 2:- 

Focus Word - Demand

Song Prompt - Army of Me by: Bjork

Stand up
You've got to manage
I won't sympathize
Anymore

And if you complain once more
You'll meet an army of me

You're alright
There's nothing wrong
Self sufficiency please!
And get to work

And if you complain once more
You'll meet an army of me

You're on your own now
We won't save you
Your rescue squad
Is too exhausted

And if you complain once more
You'll meet an army of me

Everyday in my life, I have got someone to stand beside me. My father expired when I was young. But I was not alone, never alone. I had my mother who was more of a confidante rather than mother. She was always there for me- throughout the thicks and thins of life. Then, there was Apu. I met her in second class when I was five years old. Now I am twenty eight and she is still there. And how can I forget Ishaan. He was there when I was alone in France.

But now in this Slaughter Creek, I am so alone. I am sitting in this cafe trying to soak in the beauty of this place but still peace is eluding me. There is a crowd of people milling around me. But for the first time, I am feeling alone. Its not that I cannot bear seclusion; it’s just that I am feeling abandoned. It seems that I am distanced from all both emotionally and physically as well.

I know what everyone is saying about me back home. “Trisha must have done something wrong, that is why her fiancée slapped her. He must have been disciplining her for some transgressions. Else why will such a nice guy try to hurt a woman.”  Whatever reasons I may give for my journey to this Welsh country, but my heart knows the real reason for my journey. I was tired of the taunts of the society-aunts. I was sick of being pitied by looks and words. I was worn out of finding words to explain that my engagement was a sham.

I suffered initially thinking that all will be fine. I kept on wondering what I was doing wrong. But the slap in the party was the last straw. I realized that nothing could justify his actions. For him, I will always be dirt beneath his feet. He may be a wealthy prince but money cannot compensate for all those humiliations I suffered. I understood that this relationship was doomed. I might not have been ready, but life had made its demand and given me a choice. I had two options- first was to marry him and push my life in the ditch. Other was to call off that engagement and bear the consequences. I understood that if I took the decision of breaking off, nobody will believe me. After all, my fiancée Vishesh was the biggest business tycoon. When I, in spite of being the victim, was unable to believe that he had raised his hand to me – and that too in public; how can I expect others to believe. Two days before my marriage, I was still in limbo. I was moving through a haze. There was a cloud of decision looming before my eyes but I was ashamed of confessing my problems.

But somehow Apu came to know about Vishesh’s behavior. She came storming into my house and actually shook me. Her words are still echoing in mind, “Trisha, wake up. What the hell do you think are you doing to yourself? Stop being a martyr and take life in your hands. You might believe that you are too weak. But you are not. You are self-sufficient and strong enough to fight of this. You might think that we won’t accept. But it is the matter of your whole life. You cannot sacrifice your life for everyone else’s opinion.” Her tears were sufficient to jolt me back to life. I realized what I had lost during six months of my relation- my identity, my happiness, my dreams- everything was dust. In order to become the perfect wife for Vishesh, I had somewhere forgotten who Trisha was.

Character sketch -day 1( Word Count: 586 )

A note about the entries under character challenge:- 


These entries are written for "The Character Sketch Challenge". This means for next 20 days, you will come to know Trisha Malhotra and Ishaan Verma through the eyes of the musical prompts, provided to me. So, welcome to the world of Trisha and Ishaan.


P.S.- Trisha Malhotra and Ishaan Verma are the fictitious characters whose stories are yet to be discovered.

Word Count: 594

Dear Apu

You must be wondering why I am writing this mail when I can call you. And don't worry, I remember it's  morning in India. But as usual, it is important for me to channelize the storm brewing inside me. And obviously, this way you won't interrupt me in between. So here I am, trying to share confidences.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a big day for me- my first day for work in Slaughter Creek. I should be excited for the new responsibilities. I should be terrified for my adventures of being in Wales for the first time. I should be thrilled to visit a place like Slaughter Creek. I should be worried about saying hello in Welsh. But, no. I would be defying my name if I started behaving normally. And also I promised you to let me know what I am thinking before going to sleep. So, with sleep miles away from  me, I am writing to you.

Let me confess something first. My fiancée has not yet left me. He still haunts me in my dreams. I have left my country, my family and you behind to start over again but he followed me in my dreams here as well. As if his insults back home were not enough, I just woke up feeling the sting of his slap on my face again. The pain and confusion of betrayal again assaulted me. It was the same dream. We were standing in the party and he was droning on as usual about how incapable I was for him. And suddenly he got angry for not looking as pretty as his cousin and slapped me. He would have punched me also but I woke. At least, now I was able to protect myself. 

But I still did not cry. I was hoping, may be this time tears will wash away that memory. May be this time I will be able to shout and rage. But no, my eyes were still dry and those screams were still lodged in my throat. I still stood their like a zombie.

What a pitiful creature I have become! I have lost my identity, my confidence for that slime. I tried so much, Apu. And now I wonder will I find someone again? I might have lacked the good fortune of having been loved  greatly, but does that mean I would be doomed to be undesired and unwanted, forever.

That is the actual reason I am here at Slaughter Creek for. I crossed oceans to come to this place which no one has heard of. Once I discovered myself in Paris. Here, I want to rediscover that Trisha who has been lost somewhere- Trisha who used to laugh at every small thing, Trisha who never cared for world's opinion and Trisha who would no have her fiancée take advantage of her. I want to find her again.

And I want to be freed of these wretched dreams! I don' know how to absolve myself of this termite of hatred. He might have treated me like his slave but now, I am here. I do not want that pain to cloud my future.  May be I should consult a doctor, a shrink, to take some counseling. Or may be I should let you kick my butt after reading this utter nonsense. But, I know you are my best friend. You will still love me.

Now I should go off to sleep. Dream or no dream, I have work to start. So good night.

Love

Trisha

Mirror

I wrote this poem as an experiment to understand the poetic form of "Double Etheree" better. It is not my best work but I am sure one day I will be able to write it perfectly.  

Mirror

Once,

I saw

her, aching

with the pain of

separation, with

tears falling from her eyes

and smile miles away from her.

But still she was not dejected.

She wanted to compromise with grief,

so that happiness can blossom again,

so that love can conquer her heart yet again.

Committed, to fight for herself again,

she dried her tears and stood to leave.

I wanted to wish her luck,

But was scared to see

her face, reflecting,

my pain, my vow

in mirror

standing

there.

Beyond!

Beyond






Strip


away

all that you 

find offensive

my religion, caste,

race,gender and color.

Beyond these masks there exists

a flame so bright, a soul so pure

God's shadow, His creation at best.

Open your eyes and see me for what I am.