The masks we wear

If you remember the movie The Mask, there was a prof in the movie who authors the book “The masks we wear”. I really wish I cud read that book sometime. I am a very bad judge of people. I dont realise until it is too late that a person isnt what he/she seems to be. But after having had a few bad experiences, I have come to the conclusion that people wear masks. People are not always what they seem to be. It is, I believe, not a negative thought, but a very logical one.

The meaning of the word “idealism” does not exist anymore. There was a time when u could read about such people in books. Maybe seen em in a movie or two. And they were supposed to be huge inspirations for people to draw from. But I guess that never really happened. We no longer think in those terms. There is no idealist in life, neither is he in books or movies for that matter. The new in-word is co-operation. I know am taking off lines from Ayn Rand. But my intention was not that. People, I believe have come to a stage where they can exist under any condition. They can smile and bear with things, which they really dont like. They can gel with people whom they actually hate. When the quesion is that of survival, anything goes. The worst part is that, they expect you to do the same.

Am no idealist. Am too lazy to be one. But one person I try not to be, is a hypocrite. Believe me, its a very hard job. But people around you expect you to be one. Primarily because, almost everyone is a hypocrite today. I dont know how people can shake hands with each other when they were swearing at each other just the other day. From leaders to corporate heads. From neighbours to colleagues. I cannot but laugh at the irony of the situation. And I find it hard to follow the trend. If I dont like someone, I dont like someone. I would rather consciously avoid that person in a social situation than put on a false smile. But I guess it is becoming harder and harder, especially since you are considered immature if you do not put up such a front.

So we are forced to wear certain masks. The others, we don them ourselves. There are so many inhibitions in our society that being yourself is the toughest thing to be. The sweet gentlemen next door could really be a pervert. The nice lady colleague could actually be a vamp at home. I guess am really not good at giving you examples. But am sure you are gettin the drift. But where does all this lead us to? Do we stop trusting people around us and completely turn paranoid? Thats when the real people tell you thats its not really that bad a place, this world. Every now you meet someone who is really nice, really well-intentioned and so honest that they make you feel all is well with this world. These people have become a rare breed. But they do exist.

They are the beautiful masks on this not so beautiful world.

Money – I

It was just another Sunday afternoon and the Mehta’s were doing what they usually do on a Sunday afternoon. Mr.Mehta was watching the news on TV. He was a bank manager and spent his Sunday’s watching TV. Mrs.Mehta was in the kitchen, doing something. She was one of those women who spent most of their day in the kitchen, though no one knew what she did there all day. Their daughter, Sameera or “Sammy” as she called herself was on the phone. One could see from the worn cable that this was not just a past time, but her life line. The last Mehta, Sunil was on the computer reading things that were way beyond his age. A typical family on a typical Sunday afternoon.

The bell rang and all four of them paused for a second and continued as if nothing had happened. The bell rang again and Mr.Mehta reluctantly walked up to the door and opened it to find a perfect stranger. He was dressed casually in a cotton shirt and khaki’s. He wore a cap low over his head and a pair of shades covered his eyes. He carried a black duffel bag in his right hand. He also noticed a black van with a few antennas on its roof parked outside his gate. Mr.Mehta had never seen this man before and stood there expecting the stranger to say something. Since the stranger did not seem to be interested in speaking up, Mr.Mehta was contemplating what to do.

“Who is at the door, Rajesh?” It was Mrs.Mehta. Mr.Mehta turned towards the kitchen and back at the stranger to find a gun at his face. For a second he was not sure if it was really a barrel he was staring at. But it was one and a strange thought came to his mind. He had never been pointed at with a gun in his life before and that was overtaken in a second by panic. He found himself taking a step backward and beads of sweat were already forming on his forehead. The man pointed for him to move inside the house and he obeyed meekly. The man came in and locked the door behind his back.

“Who the hell is it at this time…..?” Mr.Mehta saw his wife’s face turn white as she walked into the living room.

“Don’t open your mouths.” Even though it was just a whisper, the voice reverberated through their heads. He pointed to the couch. They sat down. The news was still on. He picked up the phone and listened for a minute.

“Ask your daughter to cut the phone right now and come downstairs.” He gave Mr.Mehta the phone. After about five minutes, Sammy walked down the stairs and gave out a loud shriek. She froze mid scream as the gun turned towards her. In a minute she was on the couch next to her parents.

“Mr.Mehta, go and bring your son here. If you want to be a hero, you can be one without your wife and daughter. I want you back here in 2 minutes with your son.”

In 2 minutes all four Mehtas were on the couch in their living room on a Sunday afternoon, along with a stranger and a gun.

He picked up the remote and flipped through some channels with the gun still pointed at them. He stopped at a channel that was playing the news.
“…is a noted business man who has 4 shops in the city. The one at Rajaji street was the biggest and the most famous. Mr.Kapur, the Assistant Commissioner, earlier told a reporter that about 25 lakhs worth of jewelry and 12 lakhs in cash was missing. This is the third such robbery this month. We will keep you posted on developments.”

The news reader moved on to another article and he changed the channel to one playing a movie.

“Listen carefully. I will be here tomorrow morning. I do not want any heroics from any of you. If you listen to everything I say I will not harm you in anyway. In addition I will throw in a lakh of rupees when I leave. But if you decide to do something stupid, I will not hesitate to kill you.”

He sat down on the chair opposite to the couch. He still had a gun in one hand and the bag in the other. He had not let go of the bag since he came in. He placed the bag now at his feet and adjusted it so that he could sense its presence at all times. He threw the remote to Sunil, which he failed to catch. He bent down to pick it up and noticed something shining on the bag.

“You can watch anything you want. Just don’t talk.”

Two hours had passed and nobody had spoken a word.

“Do you have anything to eat?”

“I had made dhaal earlier. I can make roti’s.”

“Go on, make some for everybody. I am sure all of us are hungry.” He pointed to Mr.Mehta and said, “You can help her in the kitchen. But remember, your kids are closer to the gun than you are.”

Mr.Mehta nodded and they slowly got up and walked to the kitchen.

“What do we do now?” he whispered.

“Make roti’s, I guess.”

“Don’t be a smart ass.”

“Why did you let him in? You are such a budhu.”

“He had a gun in hand, what do you expect me to do?”

“Let’s not fight now. The kids are out there. We should get this done quickly, before they get too scared.”

“You are right. What do you want me to do?”

“Get that aata from the shelf. And get some salt.”

She made the dough and started rolling out roti’s. He was on the stove making the roti’s.

“Wait, I have an idea.” She whispered.

“No, Sumi. We are not risking anything.”

“No, no. Just listen to me. I have some rat poison in here. Why don’t we add some to the dhaal we serve him? ”

“Are you stupid? What if one of us ends up eating it?”

“Listen Rajesh. This could be the lottery ticket we had always wanted. With this guy dead, we would have all the money and the jewelry. Nobody would ever suspect us. We could get rich beyond our dream. If we have to take a risk, we should.”

“You are insane. We are not going to do anything like that. You want to kill a man? What had happened to you?”

“What have we ever got out of that bank job of yours? And he is a robber. I am sure the police will shoot him if they get a chance. We are only doing them a favor.”

“You are just insane.”

To be continued…