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Smitha was concerned. In fact she was deeply concerned. The ever increasing grey strands of hair gave her no peace of mind. She was afraid her friends would classify her old very soon. It is high time she paid a visit to her beauty parlour, she felt. Smitha had a mind of her own. She was quick to put into effect her thoughts. She walked into ‘Reva’ the busy beauty parlour on the Duncan Road. It was 12.00 noon. She was already late by half an hour even by her own standards. Though the office functions in the morning from 9.30 to 5.30 in the evening, she had made it a practice to report at the office at 11.30 AM every day. She was a senior officer of the dreaded OWD, Organisation for Welfare and Development. OWD was all pervasive with its arms extended throughout the state.
OWD was established on 1st September 1953 when Kadukka State was carved out of Kudagu. After the people of Kudagu threw out the Greek and gained independence in the year 1940 the idea had been in the air for very long and it assumed formal shape only in 1953. The functions of OWD had been the subject of great debate. It was finally resolved that OWD will be responsible for all welfare and development activities in the state and that its Head Quarters will be in the capital, Kadukka City with branches in all the villages and towns. It was also resolved that any project or any business proposal or even any matter of significance in Kadukka State will have to be vetted by OWD. Nothing escaped its long arm. Nothing took place in the state without its sanction or approval. In the preamble it had been specifically stated that the objective of the OWD is to scuttle everything that came before it. The people of Kadukka jumped with joy and were proud when OWD set a world record for applications, schemes and proposals turned away or rejected in its first year. It was a stupendous achievement. Unparalleled. OWD was staffed by brilliant men and women who were recruited after an elaborate selection process that culminated with a final assessment in obstinacy followed by a rigorous interview where the candidate’s ability to procrastinate indefinitely was the sole criterion for success.
With her Ph.D in both English and Kadu, the native language and first rank in ML (Master of Law) Smitha had been recruited by the OWD as they found in her a great ability to exceed its avowed objective.
The receptionist at Reva received Smitha courteously.
“Good afternoon Ma’m. What can we do for you?”
“My hair is in a mess. It needs henna badly. Will you be able to help me out?”
“Of course we will. But you will have to wait for half an hour. The girls are all busy.”
Suddenly it struck Smitha that full scale henna takes at least two hours and that she will not be able to attend the office if she underwent the beauty treatment. She was a good soul and was particular that the office should not miss her any day. Indeed, very conscientious.
“I cannot wait for long. I have a busy schedule at the office. I’ll be happy if you’ll hand me the paste. I’ll carry it to the office and then take it home. I’ll apply the paste on my hair in the evening.”
“No. We don’t do such a thing. It tarnishes our reputation.”
“Maya, have I ever sought such a favour before. I’ve been your regular customer for the past nine years. Please, for God’s sake, for once.”
The beautician was stunned. It was the strangest request she had ever faced. But Smitha had been an excellent customer in all the past nine years.
“Okay, as you please. But we’ve no containers.”
“That’s no problem.” Smitha had always been resourceful. She came up with a winner. She quickly emptied her lunch box into the waste bin. She smartly cleaned the box herself and handed it over to Maya. The beautician suppressing the laughter filled the lunch box.
“That’s one hundred and fifty Rupees.”
The moment Smitha handed her the money Maya ran into the ante room where she let out her laughter loudly.
Smitha, in the meantime smartly proceeded to the office. She had quite a lot of things to attend to at the office. There were a number of people to be turned away. Applications and proposals to be rejected or kept pending without any salvation were mounting. Her bosses at the OWD were proud of their senior officer. Smitha went on with her job of annihilation.
“Oh! It’s 4.00 PM. The henna paste’s in the lunch box.” Smitha was worried that if she delayed any further the paste’ll go waste. She gathered her belongings and quickly walked out of the office passing the people she still had to turn away.
At home, Smitha started hennaing her hair. She was very careful. She treated each grey strand with respect. It was a special treatment those girls at Reva had no time for. Three hours, it took. Smitha was happy that all her hair had finally turned black. Unfortunately there was a big problem on hand. Half the henna paste was still there in the lunch box.
“My,” she thought, “So much money going waste.”
The decision was instant. “Let the face, hands and the feet too have the henna.”
Smitha was happy that at last the lunch box was wiped clean of the henna paste.
Nandan, who reached home, after a tiring day at the project office, in the evening, had the shock of his life. Smitha was all smiles when she opened the door for him. She was black all over.
******************
OWD was established on 1st September 1953 when Kadukka State was carved out of Kudagu. After the people of Kudagu threw out the Greek and gained independence in the year 1940 the idea had been in the air for very long and it assumed formal shape only in 1953. The functions of OWD had been the subject of great debate. It was finally resolved that OWD will be responsible for all welfare and development activities in the state and that its Head Quarters will be in the capital, Kadukka City with branches in all the villages and towns. It was also resolved that any project or any business proposal or even any matter of significance in Kadukka State will have to be vetted by OWD. Nothing escaped its long arm. Nothing took place in the state without its sanction or approval. In the preamble it had been specifically stated that the objective of the OWD is to scuttle everything that came before it. The people of Kadukka jumped with joy and were proud when OWD set a world record for applications, schemes and proposals turned away or rejected in its first year. It was a stupendous achievement. Unparalleled. OWD was staffed by brilliant men and women who were recruited after an elaborate selection process that culminated with a final assessment in obstinacy followed by a rigorous interview where the candidate’s ability to procrastinate indefinitely was the sole criterion for success.
With her Ph.D in both English and Kadu, the native language and first rank in ML (Master of Law) Smitha had been recruited by the OWD as they found in her a great ability to exceed its avowed objective.
The receptionist at Reva received Smitha courteously.
“Good afternoon Ma’m. What can we do for you?”
“My hair is in a mess. It needs henna badly. Will you be able to help me out?”
“Of course we will. But you will have to wait for half an hour. The girls are all busy.”
Suddenly it struck Smitha that full scale henna takes at least two hours and that she will not be able to attend the office if she underwent the beauty treatment. She was a good soul and was particular that the office should not miss her any day. Indeed, very conscientious.
“I cannot wait for long. I have a busy schedule at the office. I’ll be happy if you’ll hand me the paste. I’ll carry it to the office and then take it home. I’ll apply the paste on my hair in the evening.”
“No. We don’t do such a thing. It tarnishes our reputation.”
“Maya, have I ever sought such a favour before. I’ve been your regular customer for the past nine years. Please, for God’s sake, for once.”
The beautician was stunned. It was the strangest request she had ever faced. But Smitha had been an excellent customer in all the past nine years.
“Okay, as you please. But we’ve no containers.”
“That’s no problem.” Smitha had always been resourceful. She came up with a winner. She quickly emptied her lunch box into the waste bin. She smartly cleaned the box herself and handed it over to Maya. The beautician suppressing the laughter filled the lunch box.
“That’s one hundred and fifty Rupees.”
The moment Smitha handed her the money Maya ran into the ante room where she let out her laughter loudly.
Smitha, in the meantime smartly proceeded to the office. She had quite a lot of things to attend to at the office. There were a number of people to be turned away. Applications and proposals to be rejected or kept pending without any salvation were mounting. Her bosses at the OWD were proud of their senior officer. Smitha went on with her job of annihilation.
“Oh! It’s 4.00 PM. The henna paste’s in the lunch box.” Smitha was worried that if she delayed any further the paste’ll go waste. She gathered her belongings and quickly walked out of the office passing the people she still had to turn away.
At home, Smitha started hennaing her hair. She was very careful. She treated each grey strand with respect. It was a special treatment those girls at Reva had no time for. Three hours, it took. Smitha was happy that all her hair had finally turned black. Unfortunately there was a big problem on hand. Half the henna paste was still there in the lunch box.
“My,” she thought, “So much money going waste.”
The decision was instant. “Let the face, hands and the feet too have the henna.”
Smitha was happy that at last the lunch box was wiped clean of the henna paste.
Nandan, who reached home, after a tiring day at the project office, in the evening, had the shock of his life. Smitha was all smiles when she opened the door for him. She was black all over.
******************
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