NOBODY

LOVES FOR NOTHING

Collected Short Stories

PARTHA GOSWAMI

NOBODY

LOVES FOR NOTHING

NOBODY

LOVES FOR NOTHING

Collected Short Stories

PARTHA GOSWAMI

Notion Press Old No. 38, New No. 6 McNichols Road, Chetpet Chennai - 600 031 First Published by Notion Press 2017 Copyright © Partha Goswami 2017 All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-1-947283-35-0 This book has been published with all reasonable efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. No part of this book shall be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The Author of this book is solely responsible and liable for its content including but not limited to the views, representations, descriptions, statements, information, opinions and references [“Content”]. The Content of this book shall not constitute or be construed or deemed to reflect the opinion or expression of the Publisher or Editor. Neither the Publisher nor Editor endorse or approve the Content of this book or guarantee the reliability, accuracy or completeness of the Content published herein and do not make any representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose. The Publisher and Editor shall not be liable whatsoever for any errors, omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause or claims for loss or damages of any kind, including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising out of use, inability to use, or about the reliability, accuracy or sufficiency of the information contained in this book.

“I believe in using words, not fists. I believe in my outrage knowing people are living in boxes on the street. I believe in honesty. I believe in a good time. I believe in good food. I believe in sex.” – Bertrand Russell

Contents Plastic Money

1

Eight Days in the Life of Gaurav Harit

14

The Mantra

64

The Mohur Story

79

The Formula

113

Nobody Loves for Nothing

132

The Baggage

156

Between the Dream and the Death

165

The Madness of My Cousin

190

The Hero

210

Plastic Money 1 “Marry me.” “I am cutting you off…” “Please don’t…” “I will. You say that once more, I will…” “You are heartless…” “Yes I am. You know that.” “You do not like me anymore.” “There… You are doing it again…” “Doing what?” “The same nagging conversation…” “I am only boring for you these days…” “And nagging too…” “Yes. Everybody treats me like that. I don’t know what my fault is. We were in the same city. We were good

Nobody Loves for Nothing

friends. Suddenly, after my relocation to B, you started withdrawing from me. And then one day, you told me you are no longer my girlfriend. We were just friends…” “So?” “You don’t understand how difficult it is for a guy. Alone in a metro city, being ditched by his girlfriend…” “Ohoho…” “I am serious. I was like thinking of killing myself…” “And so I started to date a new girl….” “Much later… when I heard about you. Guys told me you were seen with S. I was… I was like…” “Drinking heavily, getting late for office, missing deadlines and getting scolded by boss, etc., etc.” “You won’t believe it. It was really terrible!” “That was a year ago. What about now? You already have a beautiful new girlfriend. Don’t give me shit ya… I also have my own sources of information…” “No. I have been alone for a month, now. She has been transferred to K.” “And you are desperate to get another girlfriend.” “Don’t talk like that.” “What else I can say?” “I really love you. If there’s one girl I really love and want from my heart, it’s you.” “I heard that many times before.” 2

Partha Goswami

“Why are you so pitiless? Why do you have to refuse me?” “Because I do not love you. I think I told you that before…” “Yes. But maybe if I keep trying, someday you may agree…” “That will never happen.” “How can you be so sure? Am I such a bad choice for a girl like you? I earn so much money. I have a big parental home. No encumbrances. What am I lacking?” “That’s not the point. I also earn a similar sum, I also have a parental home, so what?” “That is exactly the point. So what? What else do you need? Why can’t you marry me? Name it and I will give you that. I need you. Please do not leave me.” “Oh no. It starts again. Give me a break. Why don’t you try this with your new girlfriend?” “She is also playing around with me.” “What does that mean?” “She got transferred to K last month. She told me just one day before moving.” “That’s bad. I thought you…. (are getting around pretty close).” “……” “Hello? What happened? Is there any serious problem between you and her?” 3

Nobody Loves for Nothing

“Don’t know. But she is… I am not sure… of late, she has become a bit crazy… behaving in a peculiar way… I may be wrong. You may say…it’s all very funny, I mean.” “Don’t tell me all this. When I met her the last time at your place, she seemed quite okay to me. A bit shallow, may be…. now that you are letting me say that…. but she was alright, not deceitful kind, I mean. In fact, I thought you are in safe hands… Why do you say so now?” “Actually, she was using one of my credit cards for past few months. I was like… paying the bills. She has not returned it before relocation.” “What the heck…?” “Yes. Actually the matter is a little embarrassing… The bills I have been paying for the past few months were quite heavy… quite a handsome amount… you know?” “How much?” “Sometimes more than tens of thousands…” “Nobody does such silly things. Why on Earth did you give her your credit card?” “Actually… she had a problem. Once, it so happened that she was unable to book her air ticket to fly down to her hometown. She said that her debit card was not working. It was blocked by the bank. She said there was some technical snag. It was an emergency. She needed to pay…” “And you gave her your credit card and PIN.” “Yes. I mean…” 4

Partha Goswami

“And she said that she would return it once she came back from her hometown…” “Yes. I mean…” “And you can’t ask back, for it will be harsh. She may mind…” “No. It’s not that… I mean yes, actually what can I do?” “Even when she got transferred to a new city, you could not ask for your credit card back?” “How could I? That would definitely have been the end of the relationship.” “How frequently do you converse these days?” “Voice call once or twice a day… messaging four five times…” “How does she respond? Replies promptly always? Takes your calls always?” “Not always. Her new job is quite engaging, she says.” “Are you committed to each other… would your relationship culminate in a marriage?” “Actually, we never talked along those lines. After being turned down by you, I am a bit scared, you know?” “Scared of what?” “Scared of refusal.” “But you are paying her bills every month…” “Yes. In fact, she asked me if I was comfortable with it.” 5

Nobody Loves for Nothing

“With what?” “I don’t know. Maybe she meant paying her regular purchase bills…” “What kind of things does she purchase?” “All sorts. Big bazaar groceries, beauty parlor bills, air tickets, restaurant bills, all types of payments…” “Oh my God.” “What can I do?” “Marry her.” “Don’t do this to me. I am in a crisis and you are joking.” “I am not joking. Seriously.” “I don’t know whether she would agree. I don’t want to lose her. At least she has agreed to be my girlfriend.” “But you said she has moved to K. What’s the use of such a girlfriend, then? You cannot move around with her. She may latch onto another guy in her new city.” “Don’t say all that. It’s my nightmare.” “Nightmare or whatever, most likely that is what would happen. Today or tomorrow, it’s bound to happen!” “Why do you say so? Not every girl is like you.” “Fuck you. I am not your girlfriend. I won’t respond to your calls if you talk like that.” “Sorry. Don’t cut me off. I am sorry. It’s my fault. Sometimes I behave boorishly. I should not have said that. 6

Partha Goswami

I repeat… I am sorry. Actually, I cannot forget the fact that you once were my girlfriend.” “Come on.” “I agree she may go for another guy. Who knows… she might already have. They are enjoying their weekend evenings in some Chinese restaurant and afterwards she will pay the bill with my credit card… Don’t laugh. I am not joking. It’s a tough predicament… Sorry… Did you say something?” “Nothing… At least call the card company and reduce the credit limit.” “I tried that. But it’s a charge card. It does not have anything like a credit limit. It’s not possible.” “Then either block the card or get fucked.” “Please don’t hurt me. I feel bad when you use such bad words with me. I know I have done something very stupid. Help me out. Tell me how to get out of it.” “How do I know? All I can say is that you are in a stupid mess. Before thinking of getting out, first come clean. Ask yourself whether you love her or not and then check whether she reciprocates. Ask her if she wants to marry you. Then decide on your next course of action…” “I have already started my course of action…” “What’s that?” “Asking you to marry me.” “Again.” 7

NOBODY LOVES FOR NOTHING

“Nobody Loves for Nothing” is a kaleidoscope woven through ten stories that capture the vicissitudes of the lives we live. As you sail through these tales, you capture animistic images of our existence painted with hues of sensuality, greed, simplicity, solitude, desire, betrayal, love and death. A man suddenly gifted the dreamlike life he always wanted to live. Rabin tries to discover the truth of life after a crude setback throwing his life out of gear. Why did a bride quite unexpectedly become crazy during her nuptials? What happened to the retired old man when he suddenly got a fortune from nowhere? Somebody used the pretext of survival to exploit even his closest relations and maneuver everything at his disposal. Elsewhere, a young student sadly discovered that his role model, an old thespian, changed when he faced temptation. A young man desperately wants to get back his ex-girlfriend… If the life of a person is something like being “thrown into this ruthless world without a choice,” then “Nobody Loves for Nothing” is a collage of these men and women and their images around us.

Partha always wanted to be a storyteller. Being an avid reader since childhood, myriads of meandering lines always told him that he also would write someday. But like many, the compulsion of survival (with a decent living) guided his destiny. He was forever stuck in a profession which was overwhelmingly demanding and had little room to respire. These stories were penned among those boring and grueling days when Partha was desperate to see blue sky and breathe fresh air escaping from his banal and lifeless professional burrow. Partha is a post-graduate in technology from IIT and lives in NCR. He loves literature, theatre, films, music and traveling places.

Price 230