Cheeniya And His Alter Ego

nandinimithun · Oct 29, 2017

Cheeniya said: ↑

Cheeniya was sitting alone staring at the computer screen and running his hands aimlessly through his bald head. ‘What could have gone wrong?’ he muttered under his breath. There was a sound of someone approaching. He looked up and saw his alter ego in the mirror. He grimaced and muttered ‘He is here again’

‘Yes, I am here again’ responded the alter ego. “I have told you a hundred times that you are woefully lacking in the skill to read the mind of people’

‘I don’t want you to come here early in the morning and shoot your mouth aimlessly’ cheeniya replied in a wounded tone.

‘Why are you getting angry with me as if I am responsible for this mess?’ asked the alter ego.

‘Do you have to come here early in the morning and irritate me? Is not a man entitled for his peace and privacy?’ wailed cheeniya

‘I have not come here to cause you any mental anguish. On the contrary, I have come here to help you out of your trouble. But before that, can you tell me the cause for your present anguish?’ asked the alter ego.

‘You are the all-knowing like the Almighty. Why do you ask me?’

‘Ok. Your latest thread posted two days back has got only four feedbacks and that’s bothering you. Isn’t it?’ asked the alter ego.

‘Nothing can escape the notice of this terrible fellow. Not even my innermost feelings!’ thought cheeniya and felt even more miserable.

‘Be sensible cheeniya. You can’t blame the people for not responding to the muck you write’ said the alter ego in a direct attack.

‘It’s not muck. It’s soulful rendering of my aging process’

‘Who is interested in your aging process?’ shouted the alter ego adding ‘everyone goes bald and have a white beard at your age. You talk of it as if you have performed a miracle!’

‘I did not mean it to sound like a miracle. I just wanted people to know how such changes in our physiology should be approached. I mean how joyfully!’

‘Joyfully? You don’t give me that impression’ retorted the alter ego.

‘How does one communicate his feeling of joy? By grinning from ear to ear?’ cheeniya asked angrily. It was obvious that the dialogue with his alter ego was getting on his nerves.

‘Listen’, said the alter ego. ‘It is alright if you write about yourself once or twice. The problem with you is that if people showed appreciation for your approach to a certain subject, you get stuck with it’

‘I don’t write a long serial about any subject. Even about my growing old, this is only my third or fourth’, lamented cheeniya.

‘Third or fourth? Come on cheeniya! Grow old! Of course, I can’t even say that to you for you have grown old enough. The problem with you is that when you find a particular topic gets popular with readers, you get stuck to it like a fly in honey! It happened with your lizard series too in the past’ the alter ego pointed out.

‘As a writer, is it not my duty to give the readers what they want from me?’ asked cheeniya in a wounded tone.

‘Who told you that they wanted a serial on your growing old? Or for that matter, on the lizards that frequent your home? Show variety old man! For another six months, don’t talk of your bald hair and white beard. Remember, you got a knocked for calling a white beard as gray? I could not control my laughter!’ The alter ego started laughing uncontrollably.

‘Listen’, he continued, ’Give yourself a break. What I mean is give your readers a break!’ he chuckled and disappeared from the mirror.

‘
Click to expand...

A light hearted and good conversation....
Enjoyed reading this post...

Cheeniya · Oct 30, 2017

@nandinimithun
Thank you for coming in and expressing appreciation. Though it may look one to one chat, you too can join in anytime!
Sri

Iravati · Oct 31, 2017

Alt-Ira: Where are they?
Alt-Sri: Who?
At-Ira: They ..
Alt-Sri: Oh, they are busy
Alt-Ira: Busy? Two idle ramblers busy with what?
Alt-Sri: Ira was jumping about some upcoming event ...
Alt-Ira: She always jumps and cartwheels, tell me something new.
Alt-Sri: No, she said this was the event!
Alt-Ira: She always says that this is the event and this is the picture.
Alt-Sri: That too.
Alt-Ira: Where are they?
Alt-Sri: No clue, I heard she was trying to fly and he was trying to dance.
Alt-Ira: They never tone down on their adventures, eh.
Alt-Sri: No, if only they sought sense in their rambling, they would have made good use of their writing.
Alt-Ira: But, still, where are those crackpots?
Alt-Sri: I saw them hurrying with cloaks and sticks towards the woods.
Alt-Ira: Hmm, Happy Halloween!
Alt-Sri: You too.

Cheeniya · Nov 2, 2017

Alt-Sri: Why is she always on one leg?
Alt-Ira: Because she has forgotten to walk. She keeps running all the time.
Alt-Sri: I must ask her to see the movie 'Walk, don't run'
Alt-Ira: She will not be interested in such titles. Is the movie about the advantages of walking?
Alt-Sri: No no! There is more of running than walking in it.
Alt-Ira: See Cheeniya firmly on both leg! He seems to be well grounded.
Alt-Sri: He has to be so. He is a Senile Rambler
Alt-Ira: She has made him thrice her size!
Alt-Sri: It's probably because he calls himself an aging Santa Claus
Alt-Ira: She has made her sleeves skintight but has given him something that looks like a rice bag
Alt-Sri: He deserves it. He talks all the time about his liberal proportions. He is even proud of it. He keeps humming Fats Domino's songs
Alt-Ira: Well endowed people always appear to be a happy lot
Alt-Sri: At least my man is!

Iravati · Nov 5, 2017

Alt-Sri: Where are they?
Alt-Ira: In Giza, Egypt.
Alt-Sri: What are they doing there?
Alt-Ira: A mysterious void was discovered in the Great Pyramid. The ramblers took off to the pyramids.
Alt-Sri: But their minds are already "void", why do they need more void.
Alt-Ira: They seem to be fascinated by this mysterious void.
Alt-Sri: Who is that new character?
Alt-Ira: That is Shikkee, or Shikar, on whom they rode.
Alt-Sri: I see only one donkey. You are talking as if donkey and alt-donkey.
Alt-Ira: Ira calls him "Shikkee" and Sri calls him "Shikar".
Alt-Sri: Doesn't the donkey get confused?
Alt-Ira: The donkey is disposed to their antics. How confused can it get when it hatched out of their writing.
Alt-Sri: I see donkey's legs but where are their legs?
Alt-Ira: You complained of one dancing leg and two running legs, so she discarded legs, as in, concealed those legs in those sloping dunes.
Alt-Sri: My hair looks frizzed.
Alt-Ira: She collapsed you from a rice bag to a skintight outfit. You should be happy about that. And, here you are complaining about hair.
Alt-Sri: My jeans is too tight. I am developing rashes. Can she draw them comfortable next time?
Alt-Ira: She gave you clothes unlike that hipster lizard. Be happy about that.
Alt-Sri: Do they have to ramble all the way?
Alt-Ira: That is their style of celebration of life that keeps them going.

Cheeniya · Nov 10, 2017

Alt-Sri: When you say the ramblers took off to the pyramids, do you mean they have gone there to fill the mysterious void in them?
Alt-Ira: They did not specify the purpose of their visit. Maybe they are on some such mission
Alt-Sri: Younger people always try to fill the void, but an old man learns to live with it. This man has several unfilled voids.
Alt-Ira: You mean to say that the voids give him all the aura?
Alt-Sri: He is very proud of his voids. He says all his nonsense is filled to the brim with voids.
Alt-Ira: I wonder what are they really trying to convey by voids but they both seem to be keen to make their void larger and larger
Alt-Sri: That has probably made them to take a trip to Egypt to see how the void in the Great Pyramid is filled. They have great regard for the passion of the Pharos for the void
Alt-Ira: True. All their nonsense has indeed made them go in pursuit of the Pyramidal void
Alt-Sri: Pusalar, the great Tamil Saint, put the void in his heart to best use
Alt-Ira: Our guys are no saints. They are just raving mad!
Alt-Sri: That's what they aim to be. If you say they are raving mad, they may have reached their Mission!

Iravati · Nov 12, 2017

Alt-Sri: What is your Ira doing?
Alt-Ira: She has gone berserk with her smoothie mania.
Alt-Sri: All her smoothies are yellow-ish in colour.
Alt-Ira: She is trying something different today.
Alt-Sri: Golden yellow, chrome yellow, lemon yellow?
Alt-Ira: She just said, very different.
Alt-Sri: Then it must be 'Raving Mad Yellow'.
Alt-Ira: Or 'Void Yellow'. Here she comes.
Alt-Sri: What's that?
Ira: Strawberry and pomegranate and dates. That's my ultimato shake.
Alt-Sri: But there's no tomato in there.
Alt-Ira: Don't give her ideas.
Ira: I need to hurry away to fetch more fruits and vegetables and colours for my smoothies.

Cheeniya · Nov 19, 2017

Alt-Sri: I have often noticed that the frame is a lot better than the picture
Alt-Ira: I understand what you mean. Even the way she has photographed that liquid makes it very appetising
Alt-Sri: Her versatility amazes me. From Halloween to the Pyramids to some nameless concoction!
Alt-Ira: I can't tell you how difficult it is to be her alt-ego. I have to keep moving at the speed of light to keep pase with her thought process!
Alt-Sri: I can understand your problem.
Alt-Ira: How is it with your man?
Alt-Sri: Oh, he hardly moves these days. He looks like a fully drunk zombie!
Alt-Ira: Don't tell me! I have a lot of regard for him.
Alt-Sri: You mean for his age? Older madcaps are more fun to watch than the younger ones!
Alt-Ira: What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy?
Alt-Sri: You have put it very well. Your own?
Alt-Ira answers that question with an inscrutable smile!

Iravati · Dec 21, 2017

Alt-Sri: Where are we?

Alt-Ira: I have no clue. In some mad sketch of hers ..

Alt-Sri: It is cold and she drew us with no jackets. Does she expect us to grit our teeth and make ourselves feel warm in this icy weather? Why didn't she send us to Mauritius or Singapore where the weather is balmy and I can belt out. In this weather, my lips are frozen sealed. I can barely talk. Do you see those trees? Is it even a tree? That looks like a cross-pollination between a pagoda and a pyramid. How could a tree look like that? Why does she not beam us into a sketch where I am eating rasgolla and watching cartoons and laughing out loud. Does it never cross her mind to give me a suitable role in her sketches? Why are you silent? What is wrong with you? Why are you buried halfway down? Why are you acting out now? Are you eating snow?

Alt-Ira: That is her upside down way of casting me to convey that she is out for Christmas and will be back next year.

Alt-Sri: Ask her to draw a jumper for me and then leave ..hello! are you around ..is anyone around (clicking teeth).

Happy Holidays! More on my return.

PushpavalliSrinivasan · Dec 21, 2017

Alt- PS
It is too cruel of her to leave you in the midst of a cold desert without a jacket or sweater and going for a holiday till the break of the new year nearly for ten days. Don't worry. Being a long time friend I'll arrange to drop a jacket through a unmanned drone as I am staying indoors afraid of catching cold in the horrible winter cold weather.
PS

A drone by PushpavalliSrinivasan posted Dec 21, 2017 at 7:33 AM