Skip to main content

Vanity : A short story by Smita Chanda Roy

 

It was one of those days which awaited the test of my patience. I was early more out of habit than of co-incidence and the otherwise buzzing airport wore a grim look that day. Spring was just around the corner and the wind was carrying its aroma. Having an hour to spare, I decided to visit the duty free section of the airport. I am not a shopaholic in the least but the mere thought of myself walking down the aisles of numerous counters where high end luxury brands were put up for sale gave butterflies in my stomach. I wanted to taste how it felt to be privileged. I had imagined myself wearing a Gucci or a Chanel and practiced posing in front of a mirror. In my mind, I had posed for the Vogue and had already been featured in the Forbes list of thirty most influential people in the world less than thirty years of age. Such are the pleasures of my imagination!

                    No sooner had I entered the Michael Kors counter than a lady dressed in white caught my attention. She resembled some distant relative of the queen in her attire and style. She appeared to be demure carrying a bottle of chardonnay. She seemed to have stumbled upon opulence through serendipity. I could imagine her sitting by the fireplace sipping red wine in a rainy winter evening while Mozart played on her gramophone. You could say she had an old world charm. Contrary to her appearance, her behaviour was puerile. The twinkle in her eyes when she touched the limited edition vanity purses, the elegance in her smile as she smelt the leather and the grace which emanated from her voice, soothed my soul and I found happiness just by looking at her. Her grandeur was multiplied manifold when she decided to purchase all the limited edition purses on sale. Rubies and sapphires glistened on her plum fingers and she blushed every time the sales lady complemented her on the way she would look when she styled herself with her newly bought babies.
            I admired her in silence. My desire to be a lady reached its brim within a span of just a few minutes. Her charisma hypnotised me and transported me to the land of my dreams. My reverie was interrupted by a fellow customer whose “excuse me”, teleported me back to this hell of a reality. I finally glanced at my watch. Half an hour was still left before a giant structure of aluminium and steel and what not would throw me back to my roots where I will stay buried in the mud. I decided to head out of my haven. A Murphy radio was perched at the corner of the exit door. It played a song.

“There’s a lady who’s sure

all that glitters is gold

And she is buying the stairway to heaven”

 

 

Bio:-
I am an ex-student of Swati Ma’am. A writer by choice, teacher by profession and graphic designer by sheer luck, I try and give shape to complex emotions on paper. ‘Live and let live’ is my motto in life. 


Connect with us on social media:-


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Accelerating Change to solve the water and Sanitation Crisis with Ancient Indian Technique - A write-up by Funlishian Tuhin Kanti Ghosh

  It is a well known that our Earth, despite having ¾ of its surface covered by water doesn’t have enough water for humans. The reason, also known, is that 97 percent of it is saline water which is unusable. Of the 3 percent we do have, the expanding human population wasted and polluted much of it continuously to make way for water and sanitation crisis. In the recent years we have realized this and started to work to change it. But the change is not being able to keep up with the constant damage. Hence comes the need to accelerate it. While large projects like building dams help in accelerating change, small changes collectively make a much bigger impact. For example, fixing a leaking tap wasting 500 ml of water a day may not seem much but if all millions of citizens fix their taps, then in just a day millions of litres of water and rupees will be saved. There are numerous ways in the internet for saving water that you can do.     Another way to accelerate change c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wonders of Water - A poem by Ishaan Biswas, Grade IX, Funlish Language School

To the transparent water; O’ you nature’s daughter, How are you so calm, so cold? How do you grab the world ahold? Why are you so kind, to show the way to the blind? How are you so noble? Why do you even care for the smallest cobble? O’ the guardian of life, You are why we are alive. Why do you still love us, when we create a fuss? Thus you are our precious mother, you forgive us albeit we inflict disasters one after another. Thus is our oath to your kindness, we shall always be righteous. Hence we shall conserve every loch, for our succeeding flock.
1 comment
Read more

This isn't a Feminist Mark : A poem by Anushka Jana

 However much we think, Or hate the colour pink, Can we be fearless like you? Or be as daring as you? Do you think we’ve purpose, Like delicate flowers, a simple rose? To exhibit when it’s fresh, And throw when reduced to flesh?   Will it be a sin to do? Things that most of you do, Blaming, shaming and curbing us, We wonder how many of us you did curse! And why would you do so? Because we let our ambitions grow? Because we step out of veils And look fabulous in our esteem, Or because we love ourselves And try to look out of kitchen shelves? We dream to invent remedies, To sign important treaties, Pen down novels without pen names And excel in various games. Driving cars and repairing lights And guarding streets on dark nights And to speak, to debate, We want to do things and not wait. And we didn’t sink our hearts, Neither focus only on sewing skirts, Nor on only cooking for your bunch of kids, But we tried to help ...
Post a Comment
Read more