How the Monkey Ate My Sweets
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I was dreaming of food, of homely Bengali food. It was giving me immense pleasure to dream even though I faintly knew that it was morning and I had to reach lab by ten o’ clock. I was dreaming, as I said, when I was startled out of my beautiful dream by a loud thud.
I woke up instantly to find a bottle of water lying on the floor and some water trickling out of its cap. I wondered how on earth the bottle managed to fall from the table. It wasn’t even one of those windy days when the curtains of the room would fly so high that it would tickle my ears while I slept.
I looked at the watch, and it was six-thirty in the morning. I heaved a sigh of relief and thought I would make use of my early start. I prepared to make my early morning visit to the loo with my toothbrush in one hand. I walked towards the door of my room which was ajar. The doors of my room are usually left open to let the heavens flow through them and cleanse the evil out of our souls while we sleep. Well, fact is it is necessary to keep them open to ventilate the little room, especially on hot and dry days when it is necessary to keep the room-cooler on.
So I walked upto the door and and undid the door stopper, while my roomie slept soundly on his back. I stepped out of my room in what seemed to take an eternity, feeling as if I was taking the first baby step on the surface of the moon, cautious, circumspect.
Then I turned left towards the loo, and to my great amazement there sat a monkey, unabashed and eating sweets. For a moment I felt a laughter building up in my brain and trying vey hard to flex my cheek muscles. It stopped short. I realized those sweets were sweet brought from Bombay and they were in my room last night!
Things suddenly started going through my mind in a rush, like a supersonic train of thought. In a typical Holmesian fashion I caught the scent, and reconstructed what happened. The monkey had slowly slipped in and taken he box of sweets, then while leaving accidentally dropped the bottle, waking me up. Noticing human movement, it hurried out, like a stealthy cat.
The monkey sat there right in front of me eating the sweets like a naughty little boy would. I saw the sheets of ghee-wrapped confectionary entering into the dirt-infested cavity of the monkey’s mouth and felt an instant urge to scare it away. I charged towards it, but it charged back. I, in my wildest dreams couldn’t imagine that it would be me who would have to make the retreat. I ran into my room and latched the door behind me.
I waited patiently for a few minutes, then gathered enough courage to make another move out of my room. I had to visit the loo. I opened the door again. The monkey had left, the eating place had been left scattered with bits that it could not put into its mouth or had coughed out because they didn’t taste good. A little monkey was hovering around hoping to pick up the bits, but it flew off upstairs when it saw my huge disposition in front of it.
I went to the bathroom brushed my teeth, then decided to go back to sleep. “Enough adventure,” I thought, “ for the morning.”
The door was fastened in the fear that another one may attack. The bell rang after an hour, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t a monkey. The sweeper entered as I opened the door. I was back in a groggy state. Excitedly, he said, “Sirji, please keep your doors and windows closed. A monkey was found in the opposite room, sitting on a chair, reading a book.” There was nothing I could say in reply.
Dwaipayan Adhya
I woke up instantly to find a bottle of water lying on the floor and some water trickling out of its cap. I wondered how on earth the bottle managed to fall from the table. It wasn’t even one of those windy days when the curtains of the room would fly so high that it would tickle my ears while I slept.
I looked at the watch, and it was six-thirty in the morning. I heaved a sigh of relief and thought I would make use of my early start. I prepared to make my early morning visit to the loo with my toothbrush in one hand. I walked towards the door of my room which was ajar. The doors of my room are usually left open to let the heavens flow through them and cleanse the evil out of our souls while we sleep. Well, fact is it is necessary to keep them open to ventilate the little room, especially on hot and dry days when it is necessary to keep the room-cooler on.
So I walked upto the door and and undid the door stopper, while my roomie slept soundly on his back. I stepped out of my room in what seemed to take an eternity, feeling as if I was taking the first baby step on the surface of the moon, cautious, circumspect.
Then I turned left towards the loo, and to my great amazement there sat a monkey, unabashed and eating sweets. For a moment I felt a laughter building up in my brain and trying vey hard to flex my cheek muscles. It stopped short. I realized those sweets were sweet brought from Bombay and they were in my room last night!
Things suddenly started going through my mind in a rush, like a supersonic train of thought. In a typical Holmesian fashion I caught the scent, and reconstructed what happened. The monkey had slowly slipped in and taken he box of sweets, then while leaving accidentally dropped the bottle, waking me up. Noticing human movement, it hurried out, like a stealthy cat.
The monkey sat there right in front of me eating the sweets like a naughty little boy would. I saw the sheets of ghee-wrapped confectionary entering into the dirt-infested cavity of the monkey’s mouth and felt an instant urge to scare it away. I charged towards it, but it charged back. I, in my wildest dreams couldn’t imagine that it would be me who would have to make the retreat. I ran into my room and latched the door behind me.
I waited patiently for a few minutes, then gathered enough courage to make another move out of my room. I had to visit the loo. I opened the door again. The monkey had left, the eating place had been left scattered with bits that it could not put into its mouth or had coughed out because they didn’t taste good. A little monkey was hovering around hoping to pick up the bits, but it flew off upstairs when it saw my huge disposition in front of it.
I went to the bathroom brushed my teeth, then decided to go back to sleep. “Enough adventure,” I thought, “ for the morning.”
The door was fastened in the fear that another one may attack. The bell rang after an hour, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t a monkey. The sweeper entered as I opened the door. I was back in a groggy state. Excitedly, he said, “Sirji, please keep your doors and windows closed. A monkey was found in the opposite room, sitting on a chair, reading a book.” There was nothing I could say in reply.
Dwaipayan Adhya
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