Bollywood, Facts and Fiction, Issues in India, Ooty, P U Krishnan, Short Stories

A suspense thriller!

The hero is a gang leader. Good-looking but made to look like a ruffian. Good hearted but short tempered. He picks up a quarrel with every Tom, Dick and Harry, but people liked him because he raises his voice against injustice, unmindful of the consequences. He ekes out a living by doing odd jobs.

The heroine is a charming teenager, a final year student in a prestigious college. Not very studious, she leads a happy-go-lucky life. She is the much pampered daughter of a rich arrogant man.

A tailor-made occasion presented itself when the heroine was on a shopping spree on the eve of Deepavali. It was a crowded day and an opportunity for the petty thieves to carry out their jobs without much effort. Our heroine was one of the victims that evening. Her handbag was snatched away by one of the rowdies. Our hero appeared from nowhere and chased the robber and without much effort got back the bag and handed it over to that lady. “You have to be careful madam. These guys roam the streets on a day like this”, the hero advised her but , to his surprise and anger, she said, “I know you guys…..don’t act smart”. His response was equally strong, “shut-up, you bitch…your dad is a filthy robber”.

Then, they became closer and closer and, in due course, full-fledged lovers, spending their spare time in parks and beaches.

You are getting ready for the climax, expecting the papa’s girl’s elopement with the hero who has dozens of friends well equipped to face any threat from papa’s henchmen.

On you march, get set; the climax is on the screen. The hero is all set for the final show but the heroine has not appeared as yet, though secret arrangements had been made for her to reach the spot on time. We heave a sigh of relief when the taxi cab arranged by them reaches the spot, late by ten minutes. But, instead of the heroine, it was the girl’s father who got down from the car. What surprised everybody was the fact that he was all smiles when he opened the rear door of the car. The ones who got down were the hero’s father and mother, followed by the heroine herself.

Everything went off well. After the function, the girl’s father said in a hushed voice, “Thank god, it is a bonanza to me…..I could manage with a few thousands, instead of the anticipated 15 to 20 lakh rupees”. [He was rich and arrogant but a miser too!]

Author: P U Krishnan

First things first. I am one of those retired chaps who are young at heart. I watch cricket matches and jump for joy when Tendulkar scores yet another century. I read newspapers and books too, though I am not crazy about them. I think I have a mind free from hatred and I owe it to the wonders of nature and music. I scribble something now and then and call myself a writer! Though I have settled in Ooty, a lovely hill station in Tamil Nadu—I must emphasize the fact that I was born and brought up in Tellicherry in North Kerala and studied in the good old Government Brennen College. Of and on, my mind goes back to my ancestral house at Tiruvangad in Tellicherry in front of an ancient Sri Ram temple. I am indebted to this wonderful place which inculcated in me a love for cricket and literature. But all said and done, I am an Indian first.

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