Page 115 - Half Girlfriend
P. 115

‘Like whom?’

                ‘The over-educated idiots in big cities. Whenever they don’t
           understand villagers, they call them uneducated and old-fashioned.’
                I listened to her reprimand, keeping my head down. The Rani

           Sahiba’s rare loss of temper could not be taken lightly.

                ‘So why do they want to coronate me? Nothing else entertaining
           happening in Durnraon?’

                ‘They want to because the so-called government doesn’t seem to
           care.’

                I poured a glass of water and handed it to my mother.
                'Ma, I have finished college and come back. Can you not shout at

           me within the first hour of meeting me?’
                ‘Your actions deserve it, so what can I do?’

                ‘Okay, sorry. I am sorry, Ma.’
                She relented and we sat on the sofa again. I placed four more littis

           on my plate.

                ‘There’s dinner. Don’t stuff yourself with these,’ Ma said.
                ‘Sorry,’ I said, and put my plate back on the table.
                ‘Anyway, it is just a two-hour-long ceremony—the rajyabhishek

           puja and lunch. What is the problem?’

                ‘No problem at all. I’ll do it.’
                The fan in the room stopped. In seconds, sweat beads appeared on

           our foreheads. In minutes, mosquitoes hovered over us.
                ‘What happened?’ I said.

                ‘Load-shedding. Go thank your government for this,’ my mother
           said.
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