Authors: Madhuri Banerjee
3 and a half year back. When it all began…
Pinky could always spot a newcomer at these key chain parties. They were the ones who were dragged by their friends to ‘try something new’. They were also the ones who didn’t want to mingle too much and stuck to the kitchen, eating something so as not to have the need to make even polite conversation.
She found an extremely attractive older man at the dining table with a plate of food in front of him.
‘Hi,’ she said, as she offered her hand.
‘Hi,’ he said, wiping his hand on a napkin and stretching it out to her.
‘I’m Pinky.’
‘I’m not available.’
Pinky laughed. ‘You’re not my type.’
He put a hand on his heart and said, ‘Thank God. I hate these parties.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I’m an old-fashioned guy.’
‘Then what are you doing here?’
He smiled. ‘Oh this is my farmhouse. My brother and his lovely wife wanted to host this party here. But about an hour ago he told me this was going to be a key chain party. And I didn’t even know what it meant.’
‘Well now do you know?’
He offered her a plate of food and she declined, taking a sip of her vodka with orange juice.
‘I know that all the men’s car keys are put in a bowl and all the wives pick out a set of keys. Whichever man it belongs to goes home with them. Or if they don’t have a place to go, they are allowed to use any of the five bedrooms in this house.’
‘You have five bedrooms? That’s astonishing!’
‘You think that’s the astonishing part of this conversation? Did you not hear about the wives going off with different men?’
‘Oh come on,’ Pinky laughed. ‘You’ll get used it.’
‘Strange people doing it in your bedroom? Or the fact that they’re not married to each other?’
‘Stop being so old-fashioned,’ Pinky said. ‘It brings excitement into a relationship. And no one is forcing you to drop your keys into that bowl. And no woman is forced to pick up the keys either. All the couples understand the concept so it’s not as if it affects them later.’
He looked at her and knew she had done this before. ‘How many times have you picked up another man’s keys from a bowl?’
‘Oh, a few. It’s been interesting. But if someone truly repulses you, you can easily feign a headache and just sleep. Or you can pretend to be so drunk that you slap him or pass out or both!’
He laughed. ‘I’ve never been slapped. I don’t think I would like it. I’ve never done the dating bit. I felt like my brother and his wife had such a healthy relationship. And now I see this happening. I wonder if they’re headed for a divorce or if this is the new definition of marriage.’
Pinky took the chair next to him. ‘You really are old-fashioned. Yahan baitho! Main samjhati hoon. Marriages are tricky. After ten years, you get bored with each other. The same sex, the same face, the same conversations. There is no excitement left. But you stay together for the sake of the kids. Izzat. Society. Families. Yeh sab to chahiye na zindagi mein? The husband looks after your needs and gives you the dignity of being a married woman because society is still so regressive about single women and divorced ones, toh baap re. Divorce is desh mein toh tauba tauba! The wife gives the husband love and care but the sparks die. This is a fresh way to ignite that. Sometimes the sparks come out because of jealousy and revenge. Sometimes the sparks die altogether and you’re just comfortable with the fact that the spouse is happy. And sometimes one finds sexual liberation through this. You try different things. You remain excited, interested and it helps your creativity! I run a parlour, by the way. Pinky’s Parlour. Best parlour in New Delhi. Ask me why? Because sex fuels my drive to succeed. Trust me, when your soul and body are happy, you are a better person in your relationships with others.’
‘And someone else can fulfill that? Why don’t you just have an affair?’
Pinky nodded. ‘Affairs are messy. You’ve given your life to a spouse. You don’t want to have an affair behind his back. You want to be honest sometimes and you know your spouse is the one who will always protect you. So why would you let go of that? It’s kinky but it’s logical.’
The man shook his head. Pinky could almost see him shiver with repulsion. ‘This is not for me,’ he said. ‘I’m going to go for a walk in my lawns. It was nice meeting you. I hope you find a great key chain tonight.’
Pinky laughed. ‘How about I fix you up with someone? Like a regular date?’
The man shrugged his shoulders. ‘Would it be a wife like one of these?’ he nodded his head towards the drawing room where the party was in full swing, with a DJ in his element and couples gyrating on the dance floor, half drunk.
Pinky shook her head. ‘No not like this. Something simpler. Through a course or something. Hey, do you know how to cook?’
‘A little. Why?’
‘How about you take some cooking lessons? It’s a great way to impress the women.’
He pondered the thought. ‘That’s a good idea. Your name was…?’
‘Pinky. Here’s my number.’
‘I’m Arjun,’ he said, grinning. ‘Thank you. For a lovely conversation. Have a great evening. Good night.’
‘Good night.’
Arjun shook her hand and walked out into his garden wondering if he would ever find a woman again who was normal. Pinky sat at the counter and finished her drink, watching the man walk out. She looked down at her phone and kept a reminder for what she needed to do the next morning, ‘Fix Naina with Arjun!’
She smiled. The plot of this story was already forming in her head.
Pinky was sitting at home when she got a phone call from her brother. Very few people knew she had a sibling. It was a secret that she had kept hidden from the world.
‘Haan, Bhaiya,’ she said as she picked up the phone. ‘Kya haal hain?’
‘Tum kya kar rahi ho?’ Pinky’s brother asked.
‘Kuch nahin. How are you?’
Her brother sighed. ‘I miss spending time with my nieces and nephew. When will you bring them over?’
Pinky smiled. ‘You know it becomes difficult. I’ve always wanted to protect them from the public eye. You come over here when you’re free from work this weekend. They’ll love to see you. Waisey bhi London toh hum sab ja hi rahein hain this summer?’
‘Yes yes. But suno, I need some new fresh perspective about my campaign. Any ideas?’
Pinky thought about it. No one knew that she was behind her brother’s success. She had guided him and advised him correctly about his moves so far and he had become the new HRD minister in the cabinet. ‘Harsh bhaiya, I think you should throw a party for all the bureaucrats. Call all the wives. Get a new female’s perspective and start focusing on how to make women stronger and safer in this country? You’ll get many votes and you’ll be the most loved politician ever.’
‘You’re really brilliant, Jaishree!’
‘Please! Mujhe woh mat bulao.’
‘Tumhara asli naam hai. The one our parents gave.’
‘You’re the only one who calls me that. And no one even knows that name. I like being Pinky. The silly, stupid beautician with a small parlour and a complicated life.’
‘I’m always there for you, Jaishree.’
Pinky smiled. ‘I know, Harsh bhaiya.’
‘Will you come to the party?’
‘No. You know there will be too many reporters and too many questions.’
‘I know. I wish I could see you more, though.’
‘I would have to have police protection. My children would come under scrutiny. And I would never be able to enjoy the simplicity of the life that I have now. Being a politician was your decision. And I support you. And one day I know you’ll become the Prime Minister. And then you’ll need me more because the only place you’ll be safe will be here in my house, with me. Until then, I would like to go to eat in a restaurant and wear what I want without the media after me.’
‘I love you, Pinky,’ Harshvardhan said. He understood how protective his sister was of her family.
‘One more thing. You must talk to Ayesha Mathur. She’s this insipid man, Varun Mathur’s, wife. She will give you a new perspective if you ask her for her opinion.’
Harshvardhan knew that his sister had always wanted him to get married and settle down. And she had been recommending women to him for years. However, they had always been too boring or too ambitious for him.
‘Married?’
Pinky smiled. ‘Things can easily be changed in today’s world, Harsh. Speak to her about your political views. Nothing else.’
‘What if she doesn’t come?’
‘Oh, she will.’
Harshvardhan laughed. ‘Why do you like doing this, Pinky? These set ups? These games?’
Pinky looked at her perfectly-manicured fingers. ‘Because I like to see how ordinary people behave when they’re given extraordinary chances.’
She put the phone down and thought about what Harsh had just said. People thought it was destiny and coincidence when things happened in their lives. Little did they know that it was all planned. All it took for people to behave in a certain way was a little push to make them believe whatever they were doing was right. And Pinky knew her friends would thank her later for setting them up and being like their puppet master.
She smiled wickedly. Let the games begin.
The End.