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his calm. Mr. Raman chose to remain silent and continued sipping his tea. Had it been some other day, Mr. Raman must have started to talk about whole day's proceedings in his office........ what Mohanlal did.......... How subramaniam had tiffed with his wife etc.... Today everybody was suppressing his giggle as well as words. Mr. Jayraman was carefully detecting that some sort of mystery that was playing a spell on his wife's as well as his son's faces. Mr. Raman was reluctant to break the ice. In the mean time ten minutes passed off. No body uttered anything. Monu, the younger son, could not keep his reticence long. With a note of suspense he broke the silence...... "Papa, we had been to Chawla aunty's flat today." With this Mrs. Raman's silence, too, was a hit. She started...... "they are very nice people. They know how to receive and respect others. Mrs. Chawla is a sober lady. She has two sons like we have. They are of the age of Sonu and Monu. They are friends now. These boys are well behaved. Any way it is a good sign because the other boys of the complex are under the evil influence of their parents about
too are planning to shift our showcase in the drawing room." To Mr. Raman, it was now clear, what actually was the reason to have such a big prologue. "Papa, please bring an antique type golden frame so that our photo would be put into it and it will really enhance the beauty of our flat." Mrs. Raman again continued......"you know, it is a modern style to put a picture of the family in the drawing room. I have some books by Shakespeare, Premchand, T.S. Pillai, Subramaniyam Bharati and Manto to which I will put in the 1st shelf and in the 2nd shelf religious scriptures would be put. And in the 3rd shelf I would like to display the paintings of Sonu and your chess trophies. And I hope ours will be much better than Chawlas'. We will get a more beautiful frame for our livelier and more beautiful photo."
As Mr. Raman was a very busy man, he had hardly anytime for other less important works. Actually it was Mrs. Raman who virtually run the house under her directions. For a family photograph he had to go with family to a studio. Every studio opens at 10 O'clock in the morning or after and Mr. Raman had to reach his office at 10 A.M. So there arose a hitchwhen to be photographed. A little planning followed. Every one sat for a chat to sort out the hitch. Mr. Raman told, "Look, ...... I have absolutely no time to go to a studio." Mrs. Raman said ......" it is not new, we know it but you have to do it." "Yes, Papa, please manage, don't you want to beautify our flat?"... Sonu added enthusiastically.
15th August was days away. On that day no business establishment opens and that's why Mr. Raman was pursuaded to manage to accompany them to studio on that very day.
us."
She went on.... "you know they have a great sense of upkeeping their flat. Actually their drawing room provides a decent taste of a beautiful garden. Their already well decorated flat is beautified by the palm and other indoor plants. What charmed us in their flat most was a beautiful colour photograph of their family." "Yes, Papa, with Mr. & Mrs. Chawla sitting in the middle," Monu added. Mrs. Raman continued, "it was the most beautiful thing we saw. Their photograph was put on a show case. The showcase itself tells the story of their being a cultured family. In showcase, the masterpieces of Rabindra Nath, Premchand, Dickens, Tolstoy, Agnyeya, Prasad and Dinkar were glistening. Mr. Chawla is Head of the Department of English in the Govt. College. Mrs. Chawla, too, is a teacher in the Shiksha Niketan. Their flat was some sort of a paradise of reigning calm and beauty. That's why the flats of others may be more beautiful and lavishly maintained but don't provide the kind of pleasure, we got there."
Mr. Raman listened to his wife and children very patiently. He got a sign of relief today because everyday he had to listen to whole day's happenings all around Nagma Apartment. For a change, it was a refreshing evening for him. Now Sonu started.... "Papa ...... We, too, want a beautiful colour photograph of ourselves in the drawing room. We
Now everybody was very happy. Their little but beautiful plan was to be translated into action. In the coming 10 days preparations were being made to rearrange the drawing room. The showcase was repainted to match the colour of the drawing room. The glass doors were crystally cleaned. One day Mrs. Raman went to J.K. AC Market to buy the antique frame. Actually they had not the remotest idea about the cost of the frame. Twenty rupees fell short fo actual price because they had chosen the best frame there. Mrs. Raman started regretting for not keeping more money. But Sonu and Monu came to her rescue as it was not her exclusive problem but their too. They had a few notes and some coins which amounted to Rs.24.35. They happily handed over the amount to their mother. Mother and children returned
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