——————-

Recap S1E30 Dignified Swapna : Harry and Khush are at the factory, recalling the horror of 26/11. Harry remembers Khush’s contribution of joining the Bomb Squad.

The conversation moves to Natasha and her mother Swapna. Khush is unaware of Swapna’s past. Harry fills him in.

A well-bred and well-educated woman, Swapna married into a business family but soon realised that her husband was both, incompetent and an alcoholic.

Her father-in-law took her under his wings and groomed her to run the family business.

Trapped in a loveless marriage, Swapna found her own ways to satisfy her needs as a woman. This secret was discovered by her daughter Natasha who once heard strange sounds coming from her mother’s bedroom.

Unable to take in the shock, Natasha confided in her best friend Raima, whose friendly and helpful nature won over both, mother and daughter. While Natasha sought Raima’s help in her college projects, Swapna treated her as a second daughter and assistant at work.

——————-

Year 2018:

“Hey Harry, did you read about the judgement regarding the LGBTQ community? This a landmark judgment! It has hit the headlines throughout the world. One thing the country should be proud of,” said Khush.

“I have,” replied Harry. “Tapan Ghosh was all for decriminalising same-sex relationships even before this happened. Read his story Society – A Sinner’s Paradise.”

“Oh really!” said Khush. “Natasha must be ecstatic about this news. She’s gay.”

“Poor Natasha!” exclaimed Harry. “She was a misfit in this country. I thought she was at the most, a bisexual, and not completely gay. Perhaps you can help her.”

“I have tried and failed,” replied Khush.

“You are not the type to give up so easily.”

“What do you want me to do? Force myself on her. I only indulge with someone who wants me to; I have never done anything otherwise.”

“Why don’t you give her a call?”

Khush called Natasha but all he got was a ring-back tone. He disconnected after a long wait and dialled again, this time with the speakerphone on. Natasha answered the call.

“Oh Khush, it’s you! I’m so excited that Raima is at last here,” she said before the call dropped.  Khush smiled at Harry who nodded in acknowledgement.

The goings on at Swapna’s residence were uppermost in their minds. She had a four-bedroom apartment on Nepean Sea Road in Mumbai. The flat opened to a long hallway leading to a spacious living room with an attached kitchen. Swapna occupied the master bedroom on the other side of the hallway. The study had been converted to her private office. Natasha’s bedroom was at the other end of the house. Of the four bedrooms, two were no longer in use.

This is where Raima was observing Natasha demonstrate her new vibrator. It was a DIY devise which could be programmed for the user’s pleasure. It was a vaginal implant with an ejaculating mechanism for artificial insemination.

“What if your mom walks in?” asked Raima.

“Are you crazy? We’re not kids anymore; besides she needs her privacy too. We don’t even knock on each other’s door. We only use the intercom to get in touch,” replied Natasha.

“I am nervous. I can’t forget the day ten years ago the dildo went off. It was my fault,” said Raima.

Year 2009:

Natasha had sneaked off with her mother’s dildo along with Raima. They took turns at learning to use but got so carried away that they lost track of time. It was well past midnight when Swapna – wondering what the girls were up to so late – decided to check on them. As they heard the knock on the door, Natasha and Raima panicked. They quickly put on some clothes and pretended to be working on the college assignment. Just before Swapna marched in with a stern look, Raima placed the dildo on the narrow sill outside the window.

“Do you know the time? Both of you have to get up early tomorrow. Come on, pack up now,” she commanded.

The girls readily agreed and Swapna switched off the lights and left the room. Raima and Natasha heaved a sigh of relief. But the very next moment they were gripped with fear. Raima could not locate the dildo! It was not on the window sill and they were horrified, knowing it must have slipped off. They went down to look for it but the building gate was locked and would open only at six in the morning, unless there was an emergency and the secretary was informed. Natasha was in tears. She had planned to put the dildo back in her mother’s room after her mother left for work in the morning. That way she wouldn’t miss it when she used it in the afternoon. Raima assured Natasha that all would be well. Natasha clung to Raima until the wee hours of the morning before she fell asleep.

Raima kept looking at her watch anxiously waiting for dawn. She hadn’t slept a wink. At the stroke of six she went down but couldn’t find the watchman. Finally, she caught him dozing off in a corner of the building. She shook him awake and asked him to open the steel gate. As he was struggling with the keys, Raima saw an old lady from the neighbouring building picking up the dildo lying in the society’s compound and looking at its shape in amazement.

Embarrassed and horrified, she chucked it into the nearest garbage bin. The dildo started to vibrate. As the bin was made of steel and was empty, the induced vibrations amplified, producing such ear-piercing sounds that the entire neighbourhood started screaming, “Bomb, bomb!” The secretary of the society informed the police station of a bomb attack and that was how Khush turned up at the site.

Year 2018:                                                                 

Raima and Natasha were gripped with fear at the thought of the dildo incident in that very room ten years earlier.

They looked at each other, horrified. Raima’s lips accidentally touched Natasha’s quivering lips. Their breathing in unison was so sensual that Raima could not hold herself any longer. She kissed Natasha’s lips passionately. Aping Shom moves, she worked on Natasha who was in a state of ecstasy.

To be continued…