Mishraji was the most hated member of the staff. He was a lazy slob, was known to rap his students on their knuckles with a wooden ruler, asked his students for gifts and favors, ate from everyone’s tiffins, and never shared his own. He was fond of ‘updating’ the Principal about the goings-on in the staff room and making Rakesh, the peon, run his personal errands. If that wasn’t enough he looked down upon everyone, because his sister-in-laws’s elder brother-in-law’s daughter-in-law’s younger sister’s husband worked in the PMO office, though as what he was always reluctant to share.
Sushmaji on the other hand was the darling of the staff room. Her side of the table was always immaculate. Books neatly piled, pens and pencils in a marble holder shaped like the Taj Mahal. She even kept sprigs of Rajnigandha on her desk occasionally, which perfumed her side of the room and made her smile all day. Her students loved her as she was warm, kind, and patient and was immaculately dressed in crisp organza sarees. Sushmaji also made the most delicious mithai’s. Every Friday the staff would wait to see what delicious secrets would be inside the big steel dabba she carried to school on Friday’s hold.
Omprakashji was one of these rare people who was probably born disgruntled. He hated the overtly fragrant hair oil Mishraji used liberally. He hated the fact that Sushmaji always had a mysterious smile on her face, the cat that got the cream he liked to call it as he harrumphed to himself! He was still mad that Pankaj Awasthi had been chosen as the Principal over him. Imagine that! That youngster was chosen over HIM, Omprakash, who had years and years of experience and who had already decided that he was the next in line for the principal’s seat. But much like Lal Krishna Advani of the BJP, the seat he coveted most eluded him.
Pankaj Awasthi nervously wiped the sweat off his brow when he was summoned by the School Management. He tried to guess, for the umpteenth time, about why he had been called so unexpectedly. His mouth had hung open when he had been asked if he would be willing to accept the post of Principal? When he, rather reluctantly, suggested that Omprakashji was the natural ‘heir’ to this throne he had lain claim to years ago the Management smiled politely and informed him that they were looking to upgrade the school. They had received an unexpected grant from the Government and thought someone young and dashing like Pankaj Awasthi would be the person to head this change.
Of course, Pankaj Awasthi said yes immediately.
Omprakashji boycotted the ceremony, alone. He asked the rest of the staff to join him for solidarity’s sake but they ignored him as he had always ignored them.
Pankaj Awasthi smiled lasciviously as he bit into the grainy Besan Ladoo which melted in his mouth. Ssuhmaji sat coyly opposite him, offering him another. He wished his wife was as good a cook, and even as beautiful as Sushmaji, that thought crossed his mind yet again as he reached out and bit her proffered fingers instead of the Laddoo it offered.
Sushmaji’s laugh tinkled, the sweet sound of which made Pankaj Awasthi fall in love with her once again. Just as they had when they first met in the staff room as newly appointed teachers.
Sushmaji walked back to her desk humming a little tune under her breath, springs of fragrant Rajnigandha flowers in her hand. As she washed her little vase and filled it with water, she looked at her fingers, blushed, and smiled to herself.
Rajesh, the Peon, who sat outside the staff room peeped inside to confirm that no one was watching him, specifically looking out for Mishraji who would summon him to fetch him his afternoon post-lunch Paan soon, before he stealthily whipped out his mobile phone to watch the film that had him entranced.
Better than looking at these boring people inside the boring staff room, he chuckled to himself.
This post is a fiction written for StorytellersBlogHop FEB 2021 hosted by Ujjwal & MeenalSonal.
The topic of the Blog Hop is ‘Volatile Lives’.
I enjoyed your expression of volatile life! 🙂
This story brought a smile to my face. Such a simple, yet slice of life story. We have met so many of these characters in our real life.
Glad it made you smile, Harshita.
Subtle, captivating and definitely far from boring.. once again mayuri paints a vivid picture making the characters come alive even in such a short tale.
Thank you, Samreedhi.
Characters are sketched so well in this short story. The character stands in front of you as you read. Such an interesting short story and very unlike its title. Looking forward to more…
Thank you, Parth.
I was smiling all through Mayuri. Such a resplendent take on our everyday life. We, the boring people or they, the boring people around us with layers and layers that can be removed one after the other.
Thanks so much, Sonia.
What a beautiful piece of work, Is there anything that you don’t know my dear !! I want to know what happens to Sushmaji ☺️
Hahahaha, thank you, Preethi;)
Boring, like beauty, lies in the eyes of the beholder 🙂
Interesting story & well-etched out characters, Mayuri.
True to life. Must have happened in at least one school, what say? 🙂
Some of it from my school too, Anita :))) Thanks for reading.
The characterization is so accurate that I could almost visualize the Staff Room before my eyes!! And I could not resist my smile when you described Pankaj ji having that Besan ka Ladoo made by Shushma Ji 🙂 You have made boring people that we encounter interesting with your writing prowess, Mayuri. A lovely tale.
Glad you enjoyed reading it, Chinu. Loved your comment!
Haha good one. This is one of such Instances when the characters drive the story. I was like reading a comic book as I could visualise the characters so vividly
Thanks so much, Rakhi.
Set the premise in such a way that the reader can picturise it neatly. The characterization was also top notch. Congratulations!!
Thank you, Sreevas.
You actually managed to personalize each character and their characteristics so well. Each are people we might see in our every day lives and form an opinion like Rajesh, without realizing that we too might be slotted in some compartment like boring, by the others.
Wow! What a wonderful description of each character! Loved it!
Loved the Advani reference and the way each character has been written.
I can have a vivid story playing while I read. Beautifully written and the characters were amazingly descried. Love the ending.
There are varied personalities we come across at some point or the other in life and a few we just cannot forget. You have beautifully etched out the qualities of different kind of people in your story.
Could visualize the story scene by scene. The title was an absolute irony to its content. Enjoyed reading it.
Glad you caught the irony, Zenobia. Thank you fro reading.
They may seem boring yet they have so many shades. You know Mayuri, sometimes I like to be a boring person rather than being an over-productive Or all-time-doing-something-intrresting girl. At times being boring feels blissful. Loved your storytelling, always a fan. Really like how vividly you describe each detail of the characters. I can see them, literally.
I liked how you have personalized each character. And exactly it is the same in schools and colleges. Lovely.
Also I forgot to mention, I loved your choice of words.
Beautifully written. It rightly brought out a mundane scenario of a school staff room.
It’s actually hard to be in the company of boring people and that too if it’s your job. I liked the mix of personalities in this short fiction
Thank you, Geethica.
Ah, how interesting the goings-on in a school staffroom are. Sushmaji and Pankaj sure take the cake though. 😉 Interesting story!
Thank you, Varsha.
A sweet and simple story that left a smile on my face. The way you bring out characters is really nice.
Haha! The boring people are always the ones with the most interesting secrets! An interesting take on the prompt!
This story delivered a smile to my face. Such a simple, but slice of existence story. We have met so many of these characters in our actual life.