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CHEEMA

 She was her friend and colleague , an intense character! Her pointed face was unusually thin  and was covered with the eruptions of acne  with  a prominent specs on her nose.She was of slight built too.  She  hardly participated in the general talks of her friends .She taught mathematics and was brilliant in her subject. No body took much notice of her.  It  was thought that she couldn't  be  beholden to the tales of  youthful romances and escapades by the young ladies who had  recently ventured forth in the new life of self reliance and financial freedom. She was Cheema. A lady of medium built and coming from a  middle class background where the sole impetus  was to excel in studies ,find a decent job and get settled in life.  But for some the pursuit soared beyond that common goal .They talked of their aspirations , they talked of   Sartre , the  elusive poetry of Keats and the intricacies of Kafka.   Cheema  perhaps belonged to this group ,the effusive  group of  dreamers  though of different  genre. 

It was a beautiful morning . They had come to visit one of the prominent universities, where Cheema's father was employed.He taught mathematics there .They had come to spend their weekend at her place.Her loving mother received them warmly and served them with nice dishes. Her father took them around the university showing them the individual faculties. It  was while they  were on their own , when suddenly Cheema showed an extra flurry.They had never seen her in such a nervous excitement  in their residential hostel. She with a sly look took them towards the men's hostel  and asked them to wait  there ,after a while she emerged with a young man who too was wearing spectacles.It seemed as if  he was reluctant to follow her but she virtually dragged him near us and introduced him ,with a blushing face ,as her friend.They had never seen such a blush on her face before .The young man stood embarrassed ,feeling awkward.He immediately took stance and tried to leave.She held his hand and stopped him but he was trying to pull free.The friends were shell shocked and didn't know how to react.When Cheema  couldn't stop him She suddenly  collapsed...the friends got fear stricken but to their shock the man was unruffled, he cooly picked her up shouting 'Cheema drama  chod de ...Cheema drama Chod de ...carrying her and motioning her  friends to follow him ...after some distance he stopped near a ledge put her down , as if it was a routine thing , she clung to him desperately but he wrenched himself free  and made her sit ,passing a weak smile  he left the scene....the friends looked at her and felt the ignominy and the sufferance perhaps for the first time.


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