AUNTY INTERRUPTED

We were all having tea when Myra came up with the idea of going for a movie. "Today! But....It's Valentine's Day", I said. "What is the problem in going for movie today?"asked Myra. Tina, who was a quiet spectator to this debate, replied sternly, "You boys are useless. When we girls don't have a problem, why the hell are you scared". "But, it's risky today. No matter what it may be, a boy and a girl together are branded as a couple", replied Anil. "Forget it, if they don't want to come it's their wish",replied a dejected Tina. Her words made us change our minds. We reached the theatre just in time. Myra and I sat in one row while Anil and Tina were in the row behind us. As we surveyed the hall, Myra whispered to me, "My aunt is sitting in the row behind us". This was the only aunt to her's we knew well. She was nicknamed Khadoos by Tina as we found her to be orthodox and narrow-minded. Girls talking to boys or befriending them was a big no-no for her.

I strained my neck slowly to get a glimpse of the aunt but couldn't. I grabbed a tissue from Myra and scribbled on it that Myra's Khadoos aunt was sitting in the same row as them and passed it to Anil and Tina. "A Valentine Day's experience" was Anil's reply. During the course of the movie I had a good look at the aunt. Myra sat comfortably in the confines of the dark hall but was swift to lean forward whenever the screen brightened. During intermission, we had to sit stiffly like statues with our palms partially covering our faces. Anil tapped Myra on her shoulder. He was offering us popcorn. I said in a stern whisper,"Can't you sit quietly? If I turn around aunty will see us". "You can turn. It's aunty who has sponsored the popcorn. The ice-cream is on its way". We turned around in tandem and saw Myra's khadoos aunt waving at us with a bright smile.