Curtain of Courtesy
At the break of the dawn, Roopa awoke to the sound of the buzzer, and was surprised to see Sathyam at the door. Seeing the makeshift bed in the hall, he was surprised in turn, but before he could enquire from Roopa, he got the reply from Sandhya, ‘I’m happy you’ve come.’ While Roopa took the briefcase from Sathyam’s hand, Raja Rao who had joined them by then, observed her demeanor to discern her emotions, and having noticed a perceptible disappointment in her, he felt vindicated.
‘Glad I’ve come back,’ said a visibly delighted Sathyam, ‘I didn’t want to waste my time there, as they weren’t ready with their paperwork. Had I known that you were coming, I wouldn’t have gone there at all.’ Somehow Sathyam always felt Sandhya’s genuine warmth elevated his self-worth whereas Roopa’s condescending love tended to undermine his self-esteem.
‘We came as you left,’ said Raja Rao in greeting, extending his hand to Sathyam, ‘and we would be leaving by the evening.’
‘Wish you stayed for a couple of days more,’ said Sathyam in disappointment.
‘We’ve planned to spend some time with my parents before we pack off to Delhi,’ said Raja Rao.
‘When will you come to Delhi?’ said Sandhya to Sathyam, leaning on Roopa’s shoulder, ‘at least in reciprocation.’
‘Let Roopa fix the muhurtham,’ said Sathyam as he went to freshen himself.
‘I’ll wait for the call,’ said Roopa dreamily.
‘Do you really need one?’ said Raja Rao. ‘Don’t you know you’re always welcome?’
‘Oh, now I see,’ said Roopa joyously, ‘that it’s a two-way highway.’
After a while, having gone through ‘The Hindu’ in the meantime, Sathyam and Raja Rao began to chit-chat. In the kitchen however, Sandhya was assisting Roopa in the preparation of dosas and sambar for breakfast.
‘With all that clout,’ said Raja Rao, ‘it must be a heady feeling working in the department.’
‘True, it’s glamorous at the top,’ grumbled Sathyam, ‘but it’s drudgery all the way down, more so for honest folks like us. The conscientious carry the burden, and the unscrupulous walk away with the spoils.’
‘I always felt,’ commented Raja Rao, ‘there’s a striking similarity between a middle-class home and a government office. One earns for half-a-dozen that sit at home, and at the office, one works and a score gossip.’
‘If anything,’ lamented Sathyam, ‘the reservations ruined the work culture further. Seeing the way the scheduled casts and scheduled tribes s are promoted out of turn, in double-quick time, others have come to doubt the virtue of hard work. The net result is that hardly anyone works in the departments these days.’