Sketchstory No. 3 - 'The skirt, the sand and the sea' by Anchita Ghatak
“What would they think in Ponchanontola? And her employer? She would have a fit!”
She remembered the day she had gone to work in a long skirt and a pretty top.
“You’ve come to clean my house. Not to a party,” her employer had sneered. “Don’t pretend to be who you aren’t.”
Deepa, the girl who lived next door, had helped Purnima open a bank account.
“Make sure you save some money every month,” Deepa had advised her. “Don’t tell your family how much you earn.”
Deepa went to college and unlike most other young women in their locality didn’t think of sex, marriage and movies all the time. She wanted to have a good job and be free. Actually, Purnima often didn’t understand what Deepa talked about but she was impressed all the same. Deepa was quite a bit younger than Purnima but knew so much more.
Purnima had saved a thousand rupees a month for the last three years in a recurring deposit account and had now come on holiday. She had always wanted to experience the wild beauty of the sea! And that dream had now come true.
For some months lately, she and a dozen other women like her had been meeting regularly to talk about their work, their lives, being women, having fun and so on. Deepa and a few other women often came and spoke with them. And once, as they sat drinking tea and eating peanuts, one woman had talked about visiting Puri and being overwhelmed by the grandeur of the sea. The delight in her voice as she spoke of her visit had captivated Purnima and she had longed to see the sea.
And here she was, relaxing after a morning playing in the sea and lolling about on the sand. She still had a day left here. And imagine, she had also decided not to visit the temples! She only wanted to enjoy the sea – smell it, hear it and play in it.
And maybe again, after two years, she would go to a forest or a mountain or return to the sea. The sound of the sea in her ears, she thought, would make it easier to cope with the hours of drudgery and the everyday slights that were part and parcel of her workday.
Purnima had saved a thousand rupees a month for the last three years in a recurring deposit account and had now come on holiday. She had always wanted to experience the wild beauty of the sea! And that dream had now come true.
For some months lately, she and a dozen other women like her had been meeting regularly to talk about their work, their lives, being women, having fun and so on. Deepa and a few other women often came and spoke with them. And once, as they sat drinking tea and eating peanuts, one woman had talked about visiting Puri and being overwhelmed by the grandeur of the sea. The delight in her voice as she spoke of her visit had captivated Purnima and she had longed to see the sea.
And here she was, relaxing after a morning playing in the sea and lolling about on the sand. She still had a day left here. And imagine, she had also decided not to visit the temples! She only wanted to enjoy the sea – smell it, hear it and play in it.
And maybe again, after two years, she would go to a forest or a mountain or return to the sea. The sound of the sea in her ears, she thought, would make it easier to cope with the hours of drudgery and the everyday slights that were part and parcel of her workday.
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What's amazing about it is that Anchita has packed so much of the life-experience of a person like Purnima (I am sure she has known many Purnimas in the course of her work) in such a compactly written description. There is not one excess sentence, yet the reader can almost see and feel Purnima.
ReplyDeleteAs I understood, the story has evolved around an independent sketch that came without any hint of a story. That's the other amazing part of it. The sketch captures a young girl's carefree mood so well, and the story weaves itself around it like a creeper wounds itself around a fence. At some point you can't tell which us supporting which.
Best wishes for Usha and Anchita.
Thank you! This particular sketch was drawn during a boring meeting. I had no idea she would go places like this! In fact I never thought she would get out of the spiral bound office copy! :)
Delete"And imagine, she had also decided not to visit the temples!" this made me smile, it is such an insignificant action for so many of us but such a huge transgression for Purnima. This one line itself has captured the intensity of the independence she is experiencing. I love the shades of humour and tint of pathos that is woven through the simple words and sentences the sketch uses. I look forward to more of your writings Anchita di.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a heartwarming sketch. Purnima is so well fleshed out. She does not shout out her resistance, the quietness of it is beautifully portrayed.
ReplyDeleteThank you Supurna. Anchita brings so much life into the sketch!
DeleteAbsolutely lovely - I could smell the sea and feel the breeze in my face, the sand under my feet.......
ReplyDeleteWe must get more stories from you, about Purnima in the forest, in the mountains.......and I love the illustration too.
KALYANI
Thank you Kalyani!
DeleteLovely story and imagery - makes me miss the sea :) thank you
ReplyDeleteThank you Lauren!
DeleteA small taste of freedom. Let's hope Purnima makes it to the mountains too.....
ReplyDelete