1. This is Sri Rama das. He lives inside my washing machine.
My washing machine was repaired many times, whenever it had refused to
wash. But when refusing to wash became a habit, the service engineer told,
“now, it’s not the problem of the washing machine. It’s your problem. You
have an attitudinal problem. You have to allow the machine to retire, since
it’s long due. Forcing him to wash again, if brought under the consideration
of any just court of law, they may find it a punishable offence.” I was quiet
undecided on the matter, as I am on many other matters. Whatever it’s, my
washing machine retired on its own, and had been lying there in one of the
corners of my dining room. (it has only four corners, of course, but these days
the corners lost its sharpness, and it’s almost cornerless). Rama das on one of
these days entered on a rent-free agreement to start staying inside the
washing machine, till a time he on his own decided otherwise, or he shifted
the place of his residence to a predators stomach. It was a one-sided
agreement.
I used to hear his jubilation in the night, while having my late dinners. Often
he ventures out to catch some flies, ( I too have been doing the same job since
long) and provide them a peaceful place of residence inside his balloon
stomach. Nowadays, after catching a stomachful of flies he comes to take
rest to a place under my wash basin where enough water drips down from my
leaking water tap. “Hey Ramadas” I asked him one day, “Why do you come
and lie here under my wash basin? “ I am” he told, “taking sun bath.” “Sun
bath?” “Which Sun? Which bath?” I bewildered. He rolled his eyes twice over
and winked at me. Then focused his eyes on the electric bulb hung above us,
covered by cobweb pieces, and blackened with smoke deposits. “That’s
enough a Sun” he told me; and asked me “For You?. LOL.
Rama das, after his paroxysmal laughter subsided, beckoned me. I went near
him. He caught me by my hair, and pulled down my head and brought my ear
near his mouth, and..........................................
..................and whispered, Hey Babz.....be calm........lay down with me on this
golden beach.......have enough Sun.
Ohhoo.............I screamed.....................Rama das..........Which golden
beach?..................Which Sun? Rama das....Shed some more light.....
