Chameleon

The story was written long back, when I roamed around the streets of Kolkata to meet people of various types and professions.

 

Probably you have met them a number of times in the busy streets of Central Kolkata.

They are a group of young women, involved into an interesting business in those crowded and congested footpaths of Esplanade. They occupy a large area of the footpath when several of them sitting in rows and spreading across old newspapers or plastic sheets to display their selling items. They are small to medium size stones of different colours and shapes. Some of them keep their uninterrupted campaigns on to attract the moving people, “Come on Babu. Come to us. Take our ‘wonder’ stones to your homes. They are very cheap. These stones can cut glasses and be very handy for you. Come on Babu. You will never get a chance like this.” By accent and attire you can easily make out the women hail from the adjacent state Bihar.

I was attracted by the last words of that crude marketing campaign. Glass cutting stones? So far I knew only diamonds can cut glasses. Where from these roadside ‘wonder’ stones appear with the same unique property of diamonds?

Esplanade is a typical hunting ground of the footpath-vendors.  Moving through the footpaths at the time of evening becomes extremely challenging because that’s when people of the world hit the place in phenomenal number. You may easily feel dizzy and deaf as those vendors shout crazily in front of your ears to catch hold of their customers. Many a time they physically drag people to their stalls. They sell everything on the road, starting from flashy clothes to foreign condoms, pirated CDs to pornographic magazines, Chinese toys to computer games and herbal medicines to holy talismans. You need to bargain like a bull fighter or you will be the world’s worst loser.

You can never feel Kolkata’s heart so vibrant and spirited the way you feel here, I bate.

On that day, the stone selling girls were encircled by a thick crowd. I peeped through the black and grey heads and saw something absolutely stunning. There were heaps of those magic stones and the girls were displaying their glass cutting power to the surrounding people. They took out glasses of different thicknesses and cut them smoothly with their stones. And the price they were asking for their stones was amazing. ‘Smaller ones five rupees, bigger ten only’ was shouting their tireless campaigner in full swing.

The stones were multi-coloured and ordinary looking. I suspected their colour not to be a natural one, most likely coated with artificial paints. One young man made a funny comment in the crowd, ‘Hey, are they selling smuggled diamonds?’ His companion slapped on his back head to respond immediately, ‘My sweet bokachoda, who will give you diamond in ten rupees?’

One of the stone vendors struck me instantaneously.

She must be in her early-twenties, strikingly healthful, dressed in jazzy kurta salwar with an eye-catching make up. She had the allure that can easily pick her up in a crowd. And she was selling those stones like hot cakes.

Additionally she carried a thick paste of vermilion on her forehead and a small malnourished and half naked male child on her lap. The child was restless and nagging. This girl was off and on handing over the child to her skinny middle aged companion sitting beside her to maximize her attention and activity into her business. The child was not happy with the lean thin woman and transferred back to the girl after few minutes. Probably the child was hungry and rubbing his restless face constantly against her bosom. The girl was simultaneously supplying small pieces of biscuits and michhri (a kind of sweet) to feed the child. The skinny woman took him once again from her when he became little pacified. I was surprised to see the extra-ordinary calibre of the girl to manage the roaring business and restless child at the same time.

I discovered one more unique feature of the girl that strongly supplemented her crowd pulling USP. Whenever she was leaning forward to sell her items her perfectly round big breasts became prominently visualized through her low cut kamiz. She seemed to be without a bra inside. That made her deadly assets more lovable by the standing public. They were actually caught into the ‘booby’ trap to buy in turn her stones. What a terrific business strategy?

Once the girl got up from her place to fetch some more stones from her neighbouring friends. Her friends were calling her Chandra. I remembered the name. Chandra. Good.

Gradually I neared Chandra and knelt down before her to have a close look at those magic stones. The old man beside me fixed his lusty eyes for long on her breath taking globes. ‘Hey Babu, what are you looking for? Don’t block the place like this.’ Chandra barked at him, ‘Either buy stones or get lost. Don’t waste my time’. The old man got back his senses, bought immediately two ten rupees stones and almost ran away from that place. The thin woman rolled over the ground on bursting laughter, though Chandra was still fuming, ‘Snapless filthy old haggard, I feel like kicking on his dirty crotch’

I took a small piece of glass to do a self- demonstration. To my utter surprise the glass was cut smoothly. Chandra did not pay much attention at me. She was displaying the magic power of her stones to a well-to-do middle aged man who was equally stuck to Chandra’s bold bust line. He purchased stones of different colours and shapes worth of two hundred rupees. God knows what he would do with so many stones. Fantasizing Chandra?

‘Where from you get these stones?’ I asked Chandra looking straight to her eyes.

‘Why? What the hell you do with that information? Buy my stones if you like them. Otherwise don’t make me sick during business time’ I got the answer in the same speed she was selling her stones. Very swift and very straight.

I bought two stones from and left the crowd silently.

But don’t know why I couldn’t easily forget that busty barby beauty of the street and felt strong desire to meet her once again.

After that I met those stone sellers several times in the same place, but could not locate Chandra among them. The girl was completely vanished from her titillating trade.

I was a regular movie-goer of Saheb Para, especially after the busy office hours. I enjoyed spending some exciting time with those scintillating Hollywood celebrities. One evening I visited Lighthouse to watch my favourite Sylvester Stallone’s latest blockbuster. I was late and the show was houseful. I was looking around for those black marketers to manage a ticket from them in higher price. Suddenly I heard somebody whispering at my back. I turned around and recognized her at a glance. Chandra.

‘Babu, you need a ticket? I take eight rupees for a four rupee ticket. No bargain please’

I was looking at her while taking out my wallet to pay the price of the ticket. She put on a cheesy sari and sleeveless blouse without a trace of the previous gorgeous make up or vermilion of the stone seller. She took out the ‘valuable’ ticket from her blouse after exposing her braless big breasts quite a bit to give me a momentary jerk. I gave her the money and asked,

‘Your name is Chandra, right? I saw you selling stones on the road. Now you are black-marketing movie-tickets here?’

Chandra looked at me as if she met a dreadful ghost. She immediately snatched the money from my hand and without saying a word disappeared into the dense Chowrangi crowd as fast as she could. Probably she never thought someone like me could recognize her by her name in a totally different business place.

To be honest, I could find it difficult to forget Chandra. It was not only the physical part but something more embedded in her character that made her irresistible to me. I often strolled around Chowrangi and Saheb Para after my office in the evening, sometimes did some shopping in the mall or watched movies in the theatres, with my unfazed urge to meet her again.

Next time I discovered her in the Free School Street when returning after watching an evening show in Jamuna. I like to walk by Free School Street. It has a different charm in the evening because of its strong cosmopolitan character.

She was standing under the darker shade of a street side restaurant. I recognized her once again at the first sight. Chandra.

I was astonished to see abrupt changes in her entire outfit this time - tight body hugging jeans and sleeve less T-shirt with an unbuttoned cheap leather jacket over it.  Her face was heavily decorated. Her big breasts were almost bursting and bulging out of her thin T shirt because she wore a very tight and visible bra. People passing by could not help giving her a meaningful and wishful look. I observed the same confidence and ‘care a damn’ attitude in her just like the day I saw her first time selling glass-cutting stones in the streets.

The way she stood exposing her assets and roving her eyes around it is not difficult to know her objective. She is once again back to the street business but not for selling glass cutting stones this time but something much more desirable and sensual for a man.

I approached her slowly. She saw me and gave me a seducing look.

‘Hi, Chandra? You are here? All well?’ I smiled and asked casually.

Her facial expression rapidly changed. ‘My name is not Chandra’ I got her usual straight forward reply

“Then what’s your name?”

 

‘That’s none of your business’ She answered turning her face aside to ignore me.

‘So you left black marketing in cinema halls. And your glass cutting stones? Left that business too?’ I was suddenly feeling desperate to cross her.

‘Who the hell are you?’ Chandra yelled so harsh that I felt embarrassed with the chance to get easily noticed by the people around. ‘What the hell are you looking for? Why the hell are you so much after me?’

Her three ‘hells’ made the hell out of me. People already started looking at us. I never thought she can become so irritated and hostile at my simple query.

‘I was asking because I saw you doing those things before’ I tried to calm her down. ‘I purchased your stones. You also gave me ticket in the cinema hall’

She didn’t seem to be very happy with my answers but fortunately didn’t make any more fiery response.

‘Let’s go to a good place where we can have something and talk’ I proposed.

‘I am not going with you anywhere. Go to hell’ Chandra immediately moved out of the place, crossed the road on a run and started walking fast after reaching the opposite side of the footpath.

 

‘So what will be your next, Chandra?’ I was dying to ask her but just missed the luck by chance.

 

Reviews

[Marie]

So who is this mystery woman "Chandra"? A very colourful piece.

[Allie]

Very interesting, the prospects of this man to woo this women kept me reading on. Good job.

[Leslie Philibert]

Had a quick look, and noticed that as ever Sugata writes very well, I look forward to having a second look when I`ve more time. Good writing.

[Coyote Poetry]

I enjoyed this tale. Some woman can appear many times in a life. They desire privacy and are always busy with their life. I like the many chance meeting. I hope to read more. Is there more story for the mystery of the young woman Chandra? Thank you for sharing the outstanding story.
Coyote

[joshua deathdealer]

I really liked the journey that this story and all your stories take me on. The flow was pretty much flawless. This read like a short movie in my mind. Excellent work.

[Ama May Cooper]

I bate??
Perhaps i am just unfamiliar with the word but i can't help but think this is an error.

An interesting and exciting tale, filled with a beautiful sense and wisdom of a country i have never visited. I loved it. It makes me want to go there and feel the bustle of the market, the different vibes in different places.

To meet your girl and show her a better time, help her out in some way if she would allow it of course.
Such a firey temperment.
Your characters feel so real.. i hope you add mroe to this it feels like you cut it short before nesscary , like there is a real story in this tale that needs to be told but it was left out.
Nice work.

[Manpreet]

As usual great worK!!

[Ramya]

Good flow and a different plot...like it!

[Pritesh]

Very long written.i really like it and very well written.keep writing.

[Kuhr Gred]

wow.. so long.. but anyway.. i like it. made me laugh.. thanks for sharing
- kuhr Gred