The Actor

He came back late at night.

She was shocked after seeing him hurt with a grisly black eye and one-sided awfully swollen face.

‘What happened? How did you get all these?’ She panicked.

‘Cops!’ He replied with lot of difficulties.

He was caught by the cops earlier but never beaten up so badly.

‘Why didn’t you visit a hospital?’

‘You know how shabbily they treat us in the hospital. Now stop you nuisance talks and get me some warm water and salt.’

She hurried up.

She was dying to ask him about his today’s income but couldn’t accumulate the courage.

His income had gone down drastically over the last couple of months. ‘Competition has been becoming fierce.’ He had explained to her. ‘There are new artists joining. They are smarter and professionally better prepared.’

‘Go to bed and look after the children.’ He told her after getting the water and salt. ‘I need some good time to get rid of this ugly swelling otherwise tomorrow will be a totally fruitless day. The children have their schools as well.’

When the swelling subsided considerably it was past three in the morning. His woman and children were dead in sleep on the bed. He kept gazing at them for quite some time. His eyes were soon  filled in tears.

There was no job for an inept like him. So he created his own job.

He became an instantaneous street-entertainer in the disguise of a transgender.

It was his unique style of frequent claps, swift swivelling of waist and bust-line, prompt pouting of the lips and rounding of the eyes on slightest provocation and bringing off and on sensuality in the usual hoarse and husky voice of a transgender that made him quite popular in the mid of the busy red-signal among those driving the cars. 

  

He had teamed up with one of their local groups who lifted money from the waiting cars of the red-signals.

The transgender didn’t impose any doubt on him so long. His acting was perfect and impeccable. They only knew he had a family to feed so couldn’t stay with the transgender groups.

They have such odd, exceptional members in their commune.

But today he was caught red-handed.

Ramu, the local tea-vendor from whom he had loaned around thousand bucks around a month back for the treatment of his wife exposed his truth. 

The transgender bashed him up and threatened to kill him if he is seen again in their place lifting money from the car-goers.

He somehow made a hasty escape to save his life.

It's now the time to find out a new place for the business.

New place means starting once again from the scratch, framing series of negotiations with the local cops and goons for sharing of the hard-earned money and making arrangements for the protection from those aggressive and horny drivers who find maximum pleasure in mating with the transgender.

His wife didn’t know about all these. She only knew her husband dances and entertains in the street under the make-up and garments of a woman.

His children knew that their father works with a drama company who performs but not in the theatres.

They had not an iota of idea what he exactly does to lift money in the street.

He had no mind to tell them.

And he had no other option to change his way of earning. 

He couldn’t dance neither sing

God has given him only one skill. Act like a transgender.

 

He refused to close his eyes that night.

His restless mind was slowly getting ready to start afresh in a new place and with new people.

Actors must not stop.

And the family must be kept alive and moving in life.

 

His show must be on.   

 

 

Reviews

[Leslie Philibert]

I like Sugata`s work, especially the background which he presents excellently. Like this too, it could use ( I think) longer paragraphs, this is perhaps too one lined