SHE - Episode 9

varalotti · Jun 23, 2007

Dear All,
I can see the disappointment; well I can almost touch that. It is so glaring. But don't lose heart. My heroine is good; but not infallible. She is sincere but not flawless.
The story is taking a cliched turn, is another charge. The story has to, at times. I will have to drive down the beaten path first before going into uncharted territories.
Nor can I fully stray into new lands. We writers have known to our chagrin, many times, that when we foray into new territories, we are abandoned by our readers and condemned by our critics.
I see that SHE 9 has not caught up with you. Like all the politicians and cine-stars I blame the release of Shivaji for this. ha ha.

regards,

mythili · Jun 25, 2007

my my.. no clue how the story is going to turn around..

Shal is smart enough to known Jaggi inside out in these 2 years.. so its hard to assume he is playing games at her..
at the same time, he would have taken the money in some other pretext and then used it had the gift been for someone else.
anyway, have to wait and see.
But if he indeed was fraud, it was good that shal did not tie the knot with him (although the notorious live in set up could be considered worse by some)

We have learned that at the end of the day, beauty and brains (or whatever!)are not enough..

Its just not enough in life to be #1 at everything.. there is more to life and the succesful people are those who balance different aspects really well.

That is the lesson we absorb from this story.

varalotti · Jun 25, 2007

Dear Chitra,
I am still waiting for "more later".
I wanted to hear the "I told you so" words from our gracious ILites. That was the reason I steered the story to a very familiar ground. But it is too early to predict right now.
Of course I am not changing the story now. I have written up to 14 Episodes (they are in a first draft stage) and I cant change the story line.
Thanks for what you have written and what you are going to write in the "more later" series.
regards,

varalotti · Jun 25, 2007

Dear Kamla,

True your FB has two sides like that of a coin. And I love both the sides. While one side brings out your beautiful mind the other, your candour and courage.
While it is my pleasure to accept your words of praise it will be my duty to at least attempt to answer your "not so nice ones" about the story.

First, Jaggi is not embezzling her money. If you read the story carefully you will find that he has deposited the money back into shal's account and that too within two days. In fact what aroused Shal's doubts is the speed with which the money was deposited.

Secondly, I am not suggesting as of now, that Jaggi is bad. And never have I hinted that he is a moron. He is in fact very intelligent.

Thirdly, however headstrong a person may be, at the end of the day emotions rule the roost. After the divorce Shalini was all alone. She was contemplating a permanent relationship but was not sure. Then came Jaggi's live-in proposal. She did not accept. It was not her ex's marriage that infuriated her; but ex-father-in-law's stinging words. By hitting directly at her self-worth they aroused the primordial urge in any woman to spite the person who insulted her. That made the Bard to write the lines I love to quote quite often.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. In the moment of her great fury, she might have lost her head for a while.

Fourthly, relationship with Jaggi is not the rut. There is a flexibility about the relationship. Unlike her marriage with Rishi, there is an active relationship, a healthy partnership in work, not to mention the passionate sex on the side. Shalini, I should say, did make a good choice. We will soon find out why it turned out to be bad, if at all it did.

I am grateful for your appreciation of my style. I did not want to take chances with SHE. So I have it edited by a very senior writer-friend of mine. The friend comments on the story-line but leaves it to me. And takes the responsibility of correcting my grammar mistakes and refining my expressions. The fruit salad variety that you appreciated in the 3rd, 4th episode is my friend's making. So I dedicate your words of praise to my friend.

Dont pin too much hopes on Jaggi or for that matter on me! Let's see what next Thursday will bring to us!
Thanks once again,
Love,

chitrajan · Jun 25, 2007

Dear Jr. Sri,

I am indeed honoured!!

To elaborate, it is very clear that this relationship is not a dead end for Shalini. She has to explore different aspects while within this relationship and also the different aspects of Jaggi which are emerging.

While the shock at seeing the huge transaction was well narrated, the fact that it was paid back in a few days was not highlighted and therefore has not registered in the minds of the readers. I am sure many of them would have gone back to re-read the episode again. But, still I dont understand the idea of Jaggi using the add on card -- Surely he would also be maintaining a few cards on his own, unless this is a ruse to attract Shalini's attention towards a break up?

But as you have said, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and our heroine is the not the one to take things lying down now!!! Lets hope that the next few weeks will bring more excitement to the story as well as Shalini's life.

varalotti · Jun 25, 2007

I know most of you are quite upset with what's happening to Shalini. Let Shalini think about ways of getting solace; for us we have our religion.
Please do visit the Your Religion II thread and then come back here with renewed energy.
Here's the link:

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/w...r-religion-money-lamentations-accountant.html

regards,

Tamildownunder · Jun 25, 2007

Dear varalotti,

I have posted this poem in Indian poems section based on your character Shalini SHE-Episode 9. It is in good humour and I hope you will enjoy.

தங்கச் சிலை ஒன்று கண்டேன்

தங்குமா என்னுடன் என்ற வினவினேன்

தங்கினால் என்னுடன்

தாங்குவேன் தங்கத் தாம்பாளத்தில் எனறேன்

தாங்கு தாங்கு என்ற நீ தாங்கினாலும்

தொங்கு தொங்கு என்று தொங்கினாலும்

தொங்கும் தாலி இல்லாமல் உன்னுடன்

தங்கினால் தாங்காது இந்த சமூகம் எனறும்

தொங்கும் தாலி இன்றி உன்னுடன் வாழ

வரலொட்டியின் கதாபாத்திரம் இல்லை நான்

தங்கச் சிலை சொன்னது

Regards,

TDU

varalotti · Jun 25, 2007

Dear TDU,
Whatever you said about London and live-in is very true. But we should also note that in many cases of legally constituted marriages the same thing happens - yes there are courts, the law and all. But what can a woman do in a foreign country do against such injustice?

You might not have forgotten the novel and the movie 47 Naatkal by K.Balachandar. In that movie the man comes to India marries a woman and takes her to the US as his wife. But unknown to his 'wife' he is already married and is living with his rich wife, the doctor there. That was a traditionally celebrated marriages. We all know that there are many such instances.

TDU, the villany belongs to the person and not to the living arrangement. There are hundreds of villains who are using the institution of marriage to exploit women. At least in a live-in relationship there is an easy exit route. The woman can simply run away. Whereas in a marriage she is caught.

You know the actress Srividya. She married a person called George. And though the marriage failed within the first two years, the poor lady had to fight for more than 15 years for her divorce. And to get back her house she had to go up to the Supreme Court. The problem was that there was no law allowing for divorce for Roman Catholics in India.

My request to you Sir, is do not transfer the villany from the person responsible for it, to the type of living arrangement.

regards,

varalotti · Jun 25, 2007

Dear TDU,
I did enjoy your poem very much. I see that my wife has even replied to that poem.

But there is only one aspect which I am even now struggling to understand. I wrote a very touching story "The Teddy Bear" which I posted in my forum.
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/v...l-stories/2248-my-story-in-deccan-herald.html
I did not receive any poetical tribute for that.

And then there is a story "Let HimLearn The Hard Way"
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/v...ial-stories/2994-my-story-womans-era-let.html
which I posted in my forum. Discussion on this story is going on even now. About a 1000 people have viewed this story and many have commented. I did not receive a poetical tribute from you for that.

I wrote about God as the very embodiment of Love, in the thread "Your Religion Money - The Lamentations of An Accountant". Your own contributions to that thread are really wonderful. I was quite moved by what you wrote there. Even this thread did not deserve a poetical tribute from you.

Then I wrote about Valentines Day quoting from Kambar. Many ILites shared their personal experiences on love and marriage.
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/w...4777-happy-valentines-day-lets-celebrate.html
That thread, by the very nature of its subject matter, and by virtue of the contributions it provoked from the gracious ILites, should have been a fountainhead of poetry for a gifted poet like you.
But I saw no poem on that too.

But when my SHE decided to go in for a live-in she gets immortalised in your poetry in the following words:
தொங்கும் தாலி இன்றி உன்னுடன் வாழ

வரலொட்டியின் கதாபாத்திரம் இல்லை நான்

தங்கச் சிலை சொன்னது

Can you please explain?

I hope you will enjoy my repartee in the right sense and laugh at it.

Thanks once again, TDU.
regards,

varalotti · Jun 25, 2007

Dear Aashree,
You always meet a good guy only after meeting all the bad guys. In fact I read a saying yesterday "God sends all types of bad people our way so that we can appreciate a good person when he comes."
You are right Shalini the fiscal is from April to March in India and from Jan to Dec in the US. But the year-end party does not happen immediately after the end of the fiscal year. It happens much later when the accounts are audited and finalised and the profits are known. In India companies have time till Sep 30 to hold their annual general meeting to adopt the accounts. Year-end parties happen normally during July to September period.
The second thing is even in India companies can have a different financial year. Thus some subsidiaries of US companies have calendar year (Jan to December) as their financial year. They will have to prepare a set of accounts for the period April to March separately for Indian Income Tax. Their year-end parties will be on different dates.
I am pretty sorry about the B&B story, Aashree. It is going to be published by a leading magazine. You know I am a budding writer and the terms are quite ambivalent. So it was with the permission of the IL Team and with a sad and heavy heart, that I removed the content from that forum. I am still exploring ways of how to restore it. While on this I assure you and the IL team that such a thing will not happen again. Sorry once again.
regards,