Whoever has adventures in a book fair you may ask, and rightly so. One is supposed to go to book fairs and buy books to read of adventures that characters of the book have. And here I had a full blown adventure at the World Book Fair in Delhi, all by myself!
EMOTIONAL LEVEL : 7/10
Got up bright eyed on Sunday morning (who am I kidding?) It was almost noon when I finally got out of bed! Had to go and meet my publisher. Both Ishaan and I have a book each which LiFi is publishing. We had breakfast at about 2 and left. Before leaving I decided to carry the lovely bag my daughter in law Esha sent as a gift. My new bag! Sigh. And it’s gorgeous. So I put in my pouch which contains visiting card, ATM card, the official credit card, Voters ID. And then I added house keys, armoire keys, Kajal pencil, lip balm, hairbrush and my one one coin, which I always carry – its an ancient copper coin and very valuable to me – long story, some other time. To that I added about Rs.18000/- hoping to persuade Ishaan to accompany me to a sale to buy mink blankets for the home.
We feulled the car and drove to Pragati Maidan. Son is a fitness freak. He insisted that I accompany him to the parking and then take the subway to Pragati Maidan. I avoid stairs ever since my heart episode. I would rather not strain the ticker, so you can imagine, I was red in the face and breathless too! Puffed and panted all the way to Hall No. 11, to the Lifi stall with a mandatory stop to rest under a shady tree. Oh, I also stopped for a moment at Popular Prakashan stall to take a pic of my book HILAWI which was displayed. Fortunately, it also had a stall in Hall No. 11 at World Book Fair, so one did not have to wander around too much.
Damn! I was so thirsty and tired!
EMOTIONAL LEVEL : 2/10
At the LiFi stall, I sat down and sipped a glass of water and rested while Ishaan and editor, the lovely lady who has this no-nonsense air about her and is a stickler for perfection, Bina Biswas argued about crucial words in his manuscript. Stuff that authors and editors love doing. I could almost swear that I kept my bag on the floor next to my feet, removed my jacket and sat.
I took this picture of Ishaan and Bina and decided to put my phone into my bag, and discovered it was missing. EMOTIONAL LEVEL : 0/10
Of course I panicked, rushed to Popular Prakashan stall to check if I had dropped the bag while taking the picture. No such luck. So I ran to the control room and wrote a complaint. Visuals of my pan card, drivers licence and credit card floated in front of me. For some odd reason I could almost taste my lip balm (apple flavoured, in case you wondered.) Meanwhile Ishaan ran back to the car (all the way, through the horrible subway with zillions of stairs) to check if I had left it in the car. Sob! I wondered if I would have to break the lock of my almairah. I would never buy the mink blankets this year. The lump in my throat became larger by the minute. I began to hyperventilate. EMOTIONAL LEVEL : -4/10
I gave up and rang up credit card people to block the card. And then Ishaan and I marched back to the car. This time I did not complain, even though my back and my left side was aching and the soles of my feet felt as if on fire. I had other things to worry about so my physical pain felt insignificant. That’s a first. I never miss a chance to play the Drama Queen. I sat in the car, with a stoic air and said, “Let’s get back home.” My mental state was bleak, and like I always do in such situations, I withdrew into a shell. Ishaan refrained from sermonizing and I shall be everlastingly grateful to him for that. EMOTIONAL LEVEL : -8/10
We had reached New Friends Colony in complete silence. My mind was on overdrive. Oh why had I planned to buy blankets today? Had I left it under the tree? Did someone sneak it out from next to my feet at the LiFi stall? Why did I take out the new bag? Esha sent it to me with so much love. Sob! I should have known not to take so much money to the World Book Fair venue, that too on a Sunday! Stupid Me! Hope no one misuses my credit card! This is when I got a call on my cell phone from an unknown person who said that he had my bag, and could I please collect it from him at Pragati Maidan. EMOTIONAL LEVEL : 6/10 LUMP IN THROAT SHRANK AND VANISHED
We drove back immediately and I ran to Gate No. 7 never mind my aching back and legs. Four men came to the gate to hand over my bag. One of them was a security guard and he was accompanied by 3 others. They told me that the bag had everything but cash. According to them there is a gang that is operating at Pragati Maidan. They take bags, clean them up and throw them behind the bushes. I admit to a suspicion that these guys were involved, but I suppressed the thought. At least I got the bag back. I marched back to the car triumphantly, feeling no pain at all. Damn the legs. I sat down and began searching for my things. All things accounted for apart from kajal pencil, one cigarette lighter and of course the cash. EMOTIONAL LEVEL : 8/10
Ishaan : The bag and its contents were worth more than the money you lost.
Me : (Smug smile) I know. Look they even left my cigarette packet.
I lit a cigarette and looked out of the car window.
Ishaan : Shall we go home now?
Me : Are you shitting me? I got the bag back, we have to celebrate. Let’s go to Barbecue Nation. They have a branch in C.P. which is close by. Will you lend me the money, please? I’ll pay you back.
Ishaan quietly began driving a small smile playing on his mouth. Then I said, “What?”
Ishaan : I want the money for the dinner back by tomorrow latest. We can’t have you do this and come out tops all the time.
Me : (big wide grin on face) Okay. We can do without new mink blankets his year, can’t we?
EMOTIONAL LEVEL : +50/10
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