The Price - Part 1

Saturdays With Varalotti<!--?xml:namespace prefix = o /-->​

I am indebted to all the ILites for the support and encouragement I have been receiving for my writing. And as your Induslad I seek your indulgence for the long absence from the site. I have a mega project in mind for IL. Looks like it may take some more time. Meanwhile I don’t want you to be idle. Starting from today we will be having something for our minds to munch on. Since you have associated Saturdays with Varalotti (most of the episodes of both the serials appeared on Saturdays. And there are gracious ILites who have associated not just Saturday but Saturn himself with Varalotti, (in Tamil Sanian)) I am now tempted to call this by the same words – SATURDAYS WITH VARALOTTI.

The first will be a mini novel, or a novelette under the title Price. This will take up about 4 weeks and by that time I will be ready with my mega project, hopefully.
There is only one thing I insist from you. Read this and just pour out your feelings. I can withstand nerve-racking criticism. I can bear a shower of brick-bats from you. But I will wilt away in indifference. An angry response is almost a turn-on for me, but lack of response will take the life out of my writing.
Happy reading, Most Gracious ILites.

THE PRICE
A Novelette By Varalotti Rengasamy​

Part A​

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[JUSTIFY]It was just an ordinary interview like the millions of such interviews aired every other day on the television. And the question posed to the celebrity was also an ordinary, much expected and a hackneyed one. But it was the answer that shook the earth, and brought tears to the millions of eyes which had feasted on the films starred by that celebrity.

The person interviewed was Bollywood’s numero uno Ramkumar. And the last question posed to him in that live interview was:

“What is your message to your fans?”

Ramkumar stared at the camera, which was focussed on the centre of his beautiful face – a face etched in the hearts of his fans. Then he took a deep breath, cleared his throat and delivered a severe blow to his fans and the entire Bollywood.

“I have learnt my lesson the hard way, that every thing in this life has a price tag attached to it. To achieve this stardom, this fame, this money and for this life I have given a very high price. At the end of the road I feel that I have paid too much and have got too little. It’s a bad bargain on the whole. And I know that only now. But what’s the use? Life is a strict trader. It does not allow return of goods or even an exchange.

I never cared to check the price I was paying for my success. Because of my bad bargain I stand before you now with abundant external riches and abject internal poverty. I am facing an emotional bankruptcy in my life. I don’t think I can act in films any longer. I am retiring as an actor. And if you want to help me in this hour of crisis, please don’t come to me. I am going to a place far, far away in search of peace. Kindly bear with me for this abrupt leave taking. Please pray for me. Thanks for your love.”
The entire Bollywood froze for a second. The industry came to a standstill. The telephone lines to that private satellite channel were jammed with calls from Ramkumar’s anxious fans. Half a dozen producers and financiers suffered a heart attack.
Every heart was full of questions. Why this decision, all of a sudden? What price did Ramkumar pay for his success? And why should he quit when he was on the top of the world? The answers were buried deep in Ramkumar’s heart. In fact the life of Ramkumar till that moment was one long answer to those questions. If only a colourful flashback were possible in real life as it frequently happens in the reel-life!

Raghavan was an ordinary accounts-clerk in an ordinary office. He was just a commerce graduate belonging to the lower middle class. But what distinguished him from the millions who form the faceless crowd were his looks.
‘Handsome’ was a grossly inadequate word to describe his personality. He was 6’ 1”. His complexion was a mixture of gold and rose. He had an athletic build and features so well defined to put a Greek god to shame. And his face……. ‘Can a man’s face be so beautiful?’ was the question top-most in the minds of all who had glanced Raghavan once.

Naturally the girls swarmed to him. They shamelessly followed him when he went about his work. Love letters came in bundles. Raghavan never cared. But one fine morning he met Vidya and fell head over heels in love with her.
Vidya was the only daughter of one of Mumbai’s wealthiest industrialists. The money Raghavan earned after a month of hard work, Vidya used to spend as her pocket money in less than half a day. But her love for Raghavan was so strong that she abandoned her parents and the enormous riches to don the role of a lower middle class housewife. Vidya was Raghavan’s whole world and he hers. It was a picture-perfect life of love and affection till Raghavan’s friend Vasu sowed the seeds of desire in him.

“You are far more handsome than the middle aged uncouth men who pass for heroes in our movies. Why are you still slogging as a clerk? If you just enter the movie world the first place is assuredly yours. This is the right time. If you miss this you won’t get another chance. And once you become a big star will you still remember your old friends like me?”

Either because such a desire was half-asleep in Raghavan, or because the words were rendered with so much power his life changed from that very moment.
[/JUSTIFY]
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You People Overwhelm Me With Your Affection!

Dear ILites,
You simply overwhelm me with your affection. I am so deeply caught in the net of your love and affection that I can't stay away from IL for long.
First, thanks Chitra! You are my first reader, first reviewer and my best friend. Whatever I write you will be there to say something about. To have somebody like that is a blessing. I am sorry that you are hurt by the 'bad word'. Looks like the same word in English is good, but in Tamil it sounds bad. How strange! Thanks for the first post.
And my dear friend Vidya thanks for so many things. First for stopping the devising of plans to punish me second for calling me vedi velli sukran. And third for bringing the substance of the story in a few words. I owe you one.
And CBI, I too missed you. Your posts have always been refreshing. And thanks for the wonderful words you have about me. Being missed by people like you fills my heart with good feelings.
And Meenu thanks for making me the entertainer of the site. Shall we say it "komali" in Tamil? Chitra is the heroine and I the comedian. I nevertheless like the role. I have written only a couple of humour stories. But it is very difficult to write in that genre. I gave up soon.
Meena, seeing your post in my thread after a long interval. Welcome back. I like your intrepretation about Shani. Regarding the planetary influence I am with the Great Nayanmar who proclaimed "Naal Enna Seiyum, Kol Enna Seiyum" What will the day do or what harm can the planets do if the God who created them in a flash of his mind is with us.
Kamla, your soft words of encouragement and sharp words of humour and wit have never ceased to amaze me. Thanks for joining us aboard.
Now to all of you,
yes I am again into Bollywood (Chitra, you thought it was Kollywood). But this time I am taking a different angle. The Bollywood we saw through Swetha and Khan was different from the one we are going to see through Ramkumar and Vidya. (Vidya, please excuse me. The heroine has your name. But she is one of the best characters I have ever created. This statement comes from my daughter who rates this story at par with The Scar) And though the setting is Bollywood the theme has an universal application to our lives - who ever we may be - a poor accountant in a mofussil town, a rich Doctor's wife, a doctorate in economics, the wife of a surgeon in Mysore or the surgeon himself.
We can apply this theme whenever we have to take a major decision in our lives. I used the Bollywood setting as that would have a kind of sex appeal to people.
Thanks once again for your support.
regards,
sridhar