It was a balmy evening in Mumbai and Devraj’s wife has gone to visit her Mother for the evening. In the last few months Devraj had been feeling increasingly frustrated. His marriage to his new wife, a 19 year old beauty named Jayita ( a union arranged by Devraj’s parents when he was just a child) was not all that he thought it would be. Despite his wifes etherial beauty and milky complexion which is ever so favoured by Bollywood movie directors, Devraj was not content. At 28 Devraj had never learned to ever stand up to anyone. Not his teacher who bullied him in school, not his boss who often made fun of him in front of the WHOLE office and treated him with extreme disrespect ( or so Devraj thought), and certainly not his foreboding pushy Father. Devraj’s father was a sombre man with a huge moustache, lined forehead and a strong jawline, despite being 70, you could still see the remnants of his handsome youth, but his eyes were hard, he had seen a lot in his time, and he was keen for his sons balls to drop, and soon!
Devraj was not a man with a backbone, and who could blame him? Being beat on a regular basis as a child by his Father and over indulged by his Mother who catered to Devraj’s every demand, he hadn’t learned how to be bold and make his own choices in life. The truth was, he didn’t want to marry the beautiful Jayita, but nor did he care to offend or stand up to his hot headed Father, so as usual he complied with a quiet resentment.
The fact was Devraj’s mind kept drifting back to a boy he became friends with when he was 15 was a problem, he and Haresh a tall skinny boy with wide eyes, thick lashes and light brown skin had spent summers causing trouble around town, buying sweets, stealing their sisters clothes, making funny impressions and skipping school, it was the only time he had ever broken any rules or done anything remotely rebellious, and he loved every second. Devraj loved what his best friend represented, he loved the freedom he felt when he was with him and more specifically he loved Haresh. One afternoon in high summer, his father found Haresh and Devraj caked in their sisters makeup and rummaging through her closet so he forbade Devraj from ever seeing his beloved friend again, calling Haresh a ‘pansy boy good for nothing’.
13 years later, Devraj missed Haresh. He was stuck in a loveless marriage, and he was stuck with an identity that he couldn’t identify with. I suppose father will expect us to have a child soon he lamented. The fact that the marriage hadn’t been consummated yet was a whole other issue, and what was he supposed to do about that? Devraj wondered into his and Jayita’s room and spotted his stunning wifes bindis, sarhis, and jewels, everything looked so beautiful, so delicate, and reminded him of Haresh. He picked up an embellished red sarhi and longed to feel the soft fabric against his skin…..
STYLIST- ART DIRECTION – WRITING : SARAH YOUNG
PHOTOGRAPHY: NAOMI JAMES
