Spectacle One
Or,
How did Melinda Kurian,
the sales girl,
find herself alone in the showroom?
Who emptied out the city into
the trash can of a baton wielding police assault
or a suddenly descending `shutters down’ call?
It was crucial that the city be vacant.
Learned people have said this for long
That everything is a conspiracy.
Whatsoever,
howsoever,
Melinda Kurian was alone
in Merriment Textiles.
The showroom owner Shafeeq
gave the keys to the girl,
rolled down the shutter
and sped off on his bike.
She was putting clothes
from a new type of fabric
on three male mannequins
named Leo, Deo and Rio.
All of a sudden,
the male mannequin named Leo
laid his hands on her shoulder.
Soon as she looked up shell shocked,
he lifted her and carried her to the store.
The other two mannequins followed them.
When she cried for help,
the mannequin gagged her mouth.
She was laid on top of the clothes in the store.
Then, the mannequins took turns….
They were real mannequins.
Yet, they carried out their duty
as males.
Spectacle Two
An hour passed. The city came alive.
The showroom owner Shafeeq returned.
(Can’t be `shutters-down strike’ for just an hour.
Must have been a crackdown by the police.)
The shutter was rolled up.
Now, draped in a new sari,
Melinda, the mannequin,
stands in the display booth
of Merriment Textiles.
She is a real mannequin
made of fiber or some such stuff.
The showroom is packed.
Leo, Deo and Rio
are the three sales boys
attending to the customers.
They are not mannequins at all.
They keep displaying clothes
in many design patterns
with beatific smiles.
They are three real men.
Affidavit
This, my affidavit
as an eyewitness.
In the first situation,
it was as a sales girl
that I saw Melinda Kurian.
She was a real woman.
But, she is raped by
three mannequins named Rio, Deo and Leo.
Though mere mannequins,
they did gain mobility, most amazingly,
out of the blue.
But, they still retained their plastic bodies.
In the second situation,
Melinda is a true mannequin.
There is no evidence in the second situation
to demonstrate that Melinda had been a woman.
For example, the shop owner Shafeeq
is not even mildly surprised.
The customers too don’t show any sign that
anything untoward had taken place.
Leo, Deo and Rio, all the three, are men in every way.
They are not mannequins or plastic-bodied.
What I did as a writer was to
cobble together these two perceptions
that cropped up in two situations.
If this created any puzzlement,
I can only say for now
that this uncertainty is the reality.
Translation : Ra Sh
Or,
How did Melinda Kurian,
the sales girl,
find herself alone in the showroom?
Who emptied out the city into
the trash can of a baton wielding police assault
or a suddenly descending `shutters down’ call?
It was crucial that the city be vacant.
Learned people have said this for long
That everything is a conspiracy.
Whatsoever,
howsoever,
Melinda Kurian was alone
in Merriment Textiles.
The showroom owner Shafeeq
gave the keys to the girl,
rolled down the shutter
and sped off on his bike.
She was putting clothes
from a new type of fabric
on three male mannequins
named Leo, Deo and Rio.
All of a sudden,
the male mannequin named Leo
laid his hands on her shoulder.
Soon as she looked up shell shocked,
he lifted her and carried her to the store.
The other two mannequins followed them.
When she cried for help,
the mannequin gagged her mouth.
She was laid on top of the clothes in the store.
Then, the mannequins took turns….
They were real mannequins.
Yet, they carried out their duty
as males.
Spectacle Two
An hour passed. The city came alive.
The showroom owner Shafeeq returned.
(Can’t be `shutters-down strike’ for just an hour.
Must have been a crackdown by the police.)
The shutter was rolled up.
Now, draped in a new sari,
Melinda, the mannequin,
stands in the display booth
of Merriment Textiles.
She is a real mannequin
made of fiber or some such stuff.
The showroom is packed.
Leo, Deo and Rio
are the three sales boys
attending to the customers.
They are not mannequins at all.
They keep displaying clothes
in many design patterns
with beatific smiles.
They are three real men.
Affidavit
This, my affidavit
as an eyewitness.
In the first situation,
it was as a sales girl
that I saw Melinda Kurian.
She was a real woman.
But, she is raped by
three mannequins named Rio, Deo and Leo.
Though mere mannequins,
they did gain mobility, most amazingly,
out of the blue.
But, they still retained their plastic bodies.
In the second situation,
Melinda is a true mannequin.
There is no evidence in the second situation
to demonstrate that Melinda had been a woman.
For example, the shop owner Shafeeq
is not even mildly surprised.
The customers too don’t show any sign that
anything untoward had taken place.
Leo, Deo and Rio, all the three, are men in every way.
They are not mannequins or plastic-bodied.
What I did as a writer was to
cobble together these two perceptions
that cropped up in two situations.
If this created any puzzlement,
I can only say for now
that this uncertainty is the reality.
Translation : Ra Sh
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