A Typical Day in her Life

“HFD cards, this is Isha. How may I help you?” Isha said in her most professional and what she thought as boring voice as she adjusted her head-phones.

“Hi. I want to know the balance available on my card.” The caller said.

“Surely Sir… May I get your card number please?”

“Oh, I don’t have my card with me.”

Isha rolled her eyes. “No problem Sir. Can I have your full name please?”

“Ravi Verma.”

“And your date of birth?”

“17.06.1982”

“Okay. Just give me a minute Sir. I will try to trace out your address.” She typed in the details and found one entry matching both the criteria of name and date of birth.

“Can you please confirm your address?”

She verified that the address stated by the caller matched her records.

“Thank you Sir. Your card balance is Rs.3580.”

“Okay. Thanks. What’s your name?”

“Isha Singh.”

“Isha, you have a very beautiful and sexy voice.”

Isha fidgeted in her seat with a disgusted expression on her face. “Thank you Sir. Do you need any further information about your card?”

“Are you married?”

She cringed as she heard the inevitable question that she seemed to be subjected to always. “Yes Sir, I am happily married.” She uttered the same lie that she said every time she faced this question.

“What a pity… I was wondering how do you look when you sound so sexy over the phone.”

The call is being recorded, the call is being recorded… Isha reminded herself as she tried to reign in her temper.

“I guess that will be all Sir. Thank you for calling us. Have a great day.” Without waiting for his 

answer, she gently cut the call.

She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. She swung her neck from one side to another and felt the pressure leave from her neck. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes, only to find her team leader Sujith standing in front of her cubicle with his usual irritating smile.

“Tough customer ha?” He asked with a wink.

Why do you have to wink for that? She thought and nodded her head trying to return his smile.

“Come for a coffee break with me. You need to relax and enjoy at times.”

How many times do I need to tell this guy that I am not interested????? “No thanks, Sujith. Eh…I need to attend this call. Excuse me, please.” She grabbed her head-phones urgently and attended the call, silently thanking the caller for having saved her from Sujith.

“150 rupees! Are you new here? My home is just four kilometers away and I pay only Rs.60 always!” Isha argued with the auto-driver. She had left the office at 7 in the evening, grateful that the long day was over. It had started raining heavily. She had tried to book a cab for herself but the mobile app showed that no cabs were available. After waiting for several minutes, she had finally found an auto-rickshaw but the driver was charging her exorbitantly.

“Look at the rains, Madam. There will be heavy traffic today. Listen to me and agree for this fare. You are not going to get any other auto.” The driver told her.

She shook her head and got inside, totally irritated, tired and terribly hungry.

After almost an hour, she reached home. As the driver had stated, there indeed was heavy and slow-moving traffic. She paid the fare and rushed to her home.

“I told you to take an umbrella! But who listens to me now-a-days?? Go straight to the bathroom and change your wet clothes!” Her mom scolded her the moment she entered home. Without saying a word, Isha ran to her room and within minutes, she had freshened herself.

“What’s for dinner? I am very hungry.” Putting a clip on her wet hair she came and sat on the dining chair.

“Rice and Dal. Eat without making any fuss.” Her mother said sternly.

“But mom, I don’t like to eat rice at night. How many times do I have to tell this to you?” She said desperately.

“Why do you force her to eat rice if she doesn’t like it?” Her father calmly asked her mother as he came and sat on another dining chair.

“A lot of rice is leftover from today afternoon. If she doesn’t eat it, I will have to throw it away. Why to waste the food? Surely she can eat rice for one night, it won’t harm her.” Her mother stubbornly said as she served her rice and hot Dal and sat beside her.

Shaking her head, Isha silently ate her food. Her hunger was so terrible that she didn’t mind eating second helping of the rice and rasam.

Her mother looked at her thoughtfully. “When are you going to agree for marriage?”

Isha’s hand froze in mid-air as she stopped eating. “Not today, Mom. Please!”

“Not today, not today!! That is all I get to hear from you! You are 26 years old now. It is high time you thought about marriage. All my friends’ daughters and sons are getting married. And they are younger than you!”

“So I should also get married then?” Isha asked in disbelief and shock.

“Don’t act smart with me. Time is running by. With God’s grace, you have everything. You are beautiful, well-educated and have a good job. As time passes, your beauty will start to fade. It will become very difficult to get a good alliance once you cross 27 years of age. We need to start looking now.”

Isha silently finished her dinner and got up from the table. “Not today. I am very tired and I need to sleep early.” She took her plate and washed it at the sink. She heard her father trying to pacify her mother. “You have absolutely no sense of timing. She has just come home after a hard day and you immediately attack her with marriage plans!”

“Yes right. Blame me, it is my mistake. Nobody understands a mother’s feelings. I just want to see her settled in a good home with a good husband. But who cares? Everyone goes for the mother always. She is nagging, she keeps fighting, she has no sense of timing…” Isha slapped her hand to her forehead and silently left for her room.

She made up her bed. It was 9.30. She was tired but it was too early to sleep. But if she stayed awake her mother would return to resume their argument. She switched off the light of her room and put on the night lamp. Taking out a pair of ear-phones, she lay down on her bed and listened to songs.

Irritating customers… clingy team leader… awful time travelling in the congested roads… fight with mom… She closed her eyes and sighed. The day had gone on as usual. Oh, one thing is pending, she realized. She thought of Gaurav, her ex-boyfriend who had broken-up with her about two months back. The tears slowly leaked from her eyes and then she fell asleep thinking, now the day is complete.

“How dare your company charge my card for late payment of bill, you idiot!!!” Isha pulled out her head-phones and kept them an inch away from her ear as she attended her first call of the day, next morning. Another day had begun…