Thursday, July 1, 2010

Battle of the sexes

‘E’ walked into the room, hesitantly. She wasn’t sure of her new environment. It seemed intimidating and a bit scary. She looked around hoping someone would catch her eye, but none seemed to notice her there. Everyone sat in groups and she felt she wouldn’t fit in. She noticed a boy sitting by himself, reading a book. She approached him tentatively and sat down beside him. He seemed not to see her, but she felt better in his company. As days passed, she made new friends, but spent most of her time by the side of the boy she knew as ‘N’ – who still seemed to be unaware of her existence.

Every morning she would eagerly wait for his arrival. Her eyes would light up when he walked in and she would leave everything, just to wish him. On some days she would touch him lightly on his hand or break into a beautiful smile, but without even acknowledging her, he would walk away. Undeterred she continued to lavish all her attention on him. She made it a practice to be by the door when he left for the day and made sure he never left anything behind. His seemingly impolite and distant attitude didn’t faze her.
A few months later, on her birthday she waited impatiently for him to arrive. She was dressed in her finest and wanted him to notice her; wanted him to wish her. As soon as he walked in, she walked up to him and said quietly – It’s my B’day today. How do I look? He looked her up and down and walked right into the room, mumbling something. Those around her, who knew the occasion, wished her, but it just wasn’t the same. She was heart-broken. She had had enough. That day when he left for the day, she didn’t even look up from her work. She had other friends…she didn’t need him!!

The next day when N walked in, he knew something was different…he just didn’t know what it was. N felt lonely at lunch and realized that E used to give him company every day. As days passed he missed her constant chatter, missed her fond greetings and goodbyes. He realized he felt “sad” at the loss. The next morning when he walked into the room, he zoned in on E and walked right up to her and wished her “good morning”. She looked up…but continued to give N the cold shoulder. All day, he spent as much time as possible by her side, sometimes just sitting beside her, but trying to make his presence felt. As he got up to leave for the day, he made sure to wave “goodbye”. Suddenly E felt that all was right with the world again…just as he was about to leave, E ran up to him, gave N a big hug and kiss and N hugged right back. She stood, waving; till his stroller disappeared out the school gate…she couldn’t wait to see him again tomorrow.

In her own way, 3year old E had learnt a life lesson. The only way to get a man’s attention is to ignore him…


23 comments:

Mythili Kannan said...

Jakkiyum Chankarannum ennum marinnilla allae :D

bincy mathew said...

YA!!! that is exactly we have to do sometimes to get attention, but i also know,what i do to my husband, to tame him he will do that to me also, it is like saying, you tame me,i tame you....

Hayaah said...

ha ha... how cute is that!

I guess with me things work not this way nor that.

Woe is Me O_O

Anonymous said...

i c ur sons inspiration shining thru n thru in dis..so cute n true!!! :D

Anonymous said...

Loved it Lakshmi!! - Ruby

Anonymous said...

As always, very interesting and a great read!!Loved the new look of the page...very refreshing and very my type!!:)) - Andleeb

Laxmi Gopa said...

@Ruby and Andleeb - I felt this one lacked soul...didn't feel the same satisfaction i felt when I wrote the other posts...was just a" ho...hum" post...

Laxmi Gopa said...

BTW, it isnt fiction...although I could work on my story telling...the N is my son and the E is his NOW best frnd...:) I was rooting for the girl and was so impressed with her for ignoring this horrible snob of a guy!!

Anonymous said...

WHAT?????????Really....at first I thought it was u and ur hubby but now I will read this again...its ssoooooo cuteeeee!! - Andleeb

Laxmi Gopa said...

it was cute...she is such a cutie..i used to fondly call her Nikhil's wife...every morn she would run up to him, hug him, whisper something in his ear, and hold his hand...and he would look like a bored husband and walk away.

Anonymous said...

Oh wow for ur inspiration behind this I was wondering who the toddlers were:) This will be a sweet thing to show Nikhil when he grows up:) - Ruby

Anonymous said...

U r going international.. my labmates want to subscribe.
Either we are that bored or you are that interesting. Okie.. We are bored but your blog is the best cure.
-delighted readers from across the pond.
PS: men suk :P - Nazia

Laxmi Gopa said...

@bincy - My hubby follows the silent treatment...I can't do it. I need to talk it out. But now I have a rule-if he adopts the "Silent" treatment, the fight is null and void and we start again..:)

Laxmi Gopa said...

@Nazia-Well...ur lab mates r bored...cuz this post was lacking something. Anyway, glad for the readers. :)) and yes...Men suck-sometimes...:P

Laxmi Gopa said...

@Mythili - Chankaran orikallum maarilla..:)

Laxmi Gopa said...

@Shaeema - well then try the cold shoulder...it works on most occasion... you know the rule about coveting the one thing you can't have.:)

Laxmi Gopa said...

@Maria - When I realised that Nikhil was going to be nice to her, I was silently rooting for her to get what she wants...

Tara Mathew said...

Babe, not everything needs a lot of soul..some need to be simple and cute (like this) but the effect it gives is profoundly moving because all of us have experienced this somewhere in life (sometimes multiple times) but haven't given much thought to it afterwards...this one is for those memories!!! Thanks Lakshmi (and Nikhil) for transporting me back to my childhood/teenage years.

Laxmi Gopa said...

Thanks Tara...its true. We have all gone through this...and I hope Changu also learnt a lesson from this.:)

Btw, our chat gave me another idea for a story...lets see it is comes out the way I want it to.

Vinita Apte said...

Congratulations!!! you have won the Caption Contest on my Blog....

Laxmi Gopa said...

Thanks LP...feeling very good about it

Indian Khana said...

Ahh E learned so fast..am still trying to learn tht :)

Laxmi Gopa said...

@Priti - Girls are more on top of things these days...they are street smart as soon as they are born..:)

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