Fantasy Pursuit of an Artist (Completed)

[Bhaiya Ji95]

“So beautiful rangoli...,” Paresh turned towards Ghosh babu. “Your wife is indeed a creative lady.”

Ghosh babu simply smiled at this. “How’s your work going? Hope rats didn’t spoil your sleep last night. The room was closed for many years so... Do use rat killer or rat bait.” He cleverly avoided talking about his wife’s rangoli.

“Sure sir... Please come... Let’s have a tea”, Paresh.

Ghosh babu followed him to his room. His was large single room on the ground floor. Paresh’s parents used to live in the room before they died in a car accident. Despite being nicely ventilated with huge windows, the room seems to produce uneasy vibes. Of course, the old, dull paint of the wall and the cloudy atmosphere outside might be causing this, Ghosh babu thought.

“So, you don’t go for work today... not feeling well?” Paresh asked as he lighted burner and put on tea vessel. At one corner, he had created his minimal kitchen.

“Yeah... little headache...” Gosh babu rubbed his closed eyes; completely unhappy with the status of the room. He was surprised to see the room in exactly same position as it was when he handed the room to Paresh. The old wooden furniture of his parents scattered across the room had not even moved an inch; nor did Paresh cared to sweep the floor clean. So silly is this guy! He thought. Can’t he even arrange the furniture along a wall?

Paresh handed him a cup of tea and took chair next to him.

“So all artist lives like this only?” Goshbabu rolled his eyes all over room once again.

Paresh simply laughed. “Extremely sorry, sir. But I am so busy with my work that I didn’t get time. I am literally haunted by the work I am currently doing. The painting has lots of potential sir and If I do it well it will change my fortune. Come, let me show you.” He walked towards the canvas stand.

“Ummm... you make good tea, Paresh. Why don’t you start tea shop?”

Paresh stood calm; unable to decide what to talk ahead.

“I know my words will offend you but really... a tea shop is not cheap business at all as many people think of it. Do you even know how much chai tapari wala on the corner earns?” Ghoshbabu was sitting at the chair only.

“Please sir... I will be happy if you have a look ...” He insisted Ghoshbabu to come and see his work.
Ghosh babu stood up unwillingly and walked to the easel on which the portrait was fixated. A ridiculous smile appeared at the corner of his lips. “Oh… a lady painting... likes tons of them at internet.” He nodded.

“It’s not complete yet. In fact I have just started working on it; but still, isn’t it beautiful sir?” Paresh was so excited. “The beautiful lady walking in the deep jungle in quest of something meaningful; something she cannot care enough of.”

“Haha...”, Ghosh babu laughed out. “I know.... I know... watching a beautiful lady facing away from you is exciting. Maybe because you can then leisurely observe her? Anyway, I agree that such pictures will naturally catch people’s attention. But aren’t there tons of alike already on the internet? Why will somebody pay you for this? And even if he pays, how much?” Ghosh babu continued, “How much time does it take you to complete such a picture?”

“Well I have planned to...,” Paresh stumbled, “I will finish it before Basant Panchami.”

“You know... at our institute we also provide traning for graphics softwares like CorelDraw, Photoshop, 3D-Max. I don’t teach them. Huh… In fact I hate these drawing and painting... and for that matter any form of art you name it. It’s been my observation that, students admitting for such courses are either weak in studies and seeking for alternatives; or are lured by glamorous advertisement of lucrative career opportunity after acquiring the said skills. Being in the training field for more than a decade, I know very well not more than 10% of these students get the job sooner or later; that too, not very well paid ones. I always try to persuade students and parents clearly putting this entire scenario before them. But some of them are, you know, too stubborn,” Ghoshbabu laughed sarcastically, “My suggestion for them has always been to go for career oriented courses, something they can start making handsome money out of, right after the completion of course. And in fact there are options, too many of them. Go for programming or accounting courses which are highly in demand and secure you a corporate job; if that’s not your cup of tea, hotel management is not bad option. But for god’s sake, don’t spend your precious money and time behind these bullshit activities in the name of Passion”.

Paresh’s face turned pale, he surely was poked by Ghosh babu’s harsh talk. But he patiently defended his point, “I respect you for your experience sir. And with nice intentions of yours to make your students economically strong, I can’t say you are wrong altogether.  But money is not everything, right? You also need something meaningful in your life.”

“So… drawing is something you count in the meaningful things? Good luck… Mr. Paresh...” saying this Ghoshbabu left with irritated face.

Paresh did not think of stopping him and picked up the brush to resume his work.

------

It was 11 in the morning and Divya was already done with her morning work. Ghoshbabu had left to Basanti early in the morning to compensate for the leave he had taken last day and Deepesh had gone to college. Divya put on the TV and threw herself into sofa. Her hands kept surfing the channel; unable to decide what to see. And how could she decide? The new tenant has not only occupied the ground floor but Divya’s mind too; although her anxiety towards his presence reduced to a large extent. In the morning while she was returning from the gate after leaving Deepesh to college bus, Paresh was standing at the door of his room… sipping tea. As their eyes met, he smiled like a gentleman. But Divya kept her face plain and walked the stairs as if she didn’t notice him.

But however smart she played, she couldn’t fool herself. Mere her ignorance towards him wasn’t enough. More you ignore somebody or try to avoid somebody; more you keep thinking of him. And she was experiencing the same. Just when she closed the door she noticed she is still thinking of him. “I suspect even Deepesh is not comfortable in his presence. I perfectly remember when he came to our house first time, Deepesh was hiding behind the curtain all the time. And yesterday when Paresh called for him, he preferred standing in the balcony to going downstair and have chat with him. In any case, it’s not even couple of days passed his arrival and he will not be leaving soon. So we better cope up with Paresh’s presence.” She thought.
 
So strange is human mind… as somebody has correctly pointed out, even a second’s time slot is enough to change one’s perspective in 180 degree. As soon as her mind accepted Paresh's entry in their life as a tenant, she felt ashamed for her cheap behavior with him. “However that guy would be Divya, you could have just smiled to keep his honour. That would have also cleared the awkwardness off your mind!” she thought to herself. Suddenly she started realizing sheer truth in her husband’s words – 'this much of anxiety is not good.'

“The next time I meet him, I will act little humane,” she decided. With this she felt surprisingly relieved. Soon she stumbled across a Bollywood song channel and she laid on the sofa enjoying TV.

Awesome.. This update too is very good to read. Your mind works magically.     Waiting eagerly for your upcoming updates. Please post in short intervals. Don't keep us; your faithful readers, waiting too long. 

All the best.