Mitalee's Room description and Obituary

Room (above and first below)

My room is fifth, left, in a line of doors and passage. Im happy to say that its big enough to fit a tyrannosaurus’s left or right butt cheek. Its square with clothes thrown to either side. Two small tables separate my bed from my roommate’s bed to the left. If shes not at home like now, the mess extends to her bed as well. Lie on my bed, and you can see a loft above you. Under you is a purple bed spread and a big white cloud I use for cover. Sit up to find just a small open space between the door pane and the outside, which I use to sometimes get a preview of whose coming toward my room. If you’ve stuck your back to the wall like me, you’ll know, that gives you the additional three percent of privacy you need.

My room and bathroom have yellow or green bulbs. The bathroom however on and off, smells like coconut ice cream and strawberry shower crème. All this yellow might explain my now cured insomnia. My windows have cheap looking red and light yellow coloured curtains hanging from them, overlooking the local park and the annoying screaming of boys playing basketball, with rubbish like “hit it” or “bang it hard/low” and then there’s the classic “sexy ball” if they score a dunk. This starts from six in the morning to eight at night with one lunch break on holidays.

The smell, if you’re wondering, is coming from the little passage interruption of a square space; we have to call a kitchen. I consider the kitchen an extension of my room owed to my steadily improving cooking skills.

This is my room, where everything happens, where I live breathe and grow.

Obituary

Mitalee was an ordinary human being until she realized her dreams of becoming a successful person and a successful animator. She was 38 years old when she died in a car accident along with the driver, leaving behind an incredibly good looking man of 42 and two children of six and four. She was on her way to the Riverside Inn where John Lesseter was to meet her to discuss her next career move. Her three extra marital affairs were discovered a week ago. She was a conflicted woman who couldn’t settle for one thing for too long, and spent months in different countries in search of something she couldn’t find. She started numerous charity funds for animals. Of her personal life we don’t know much. Her neighbors say that she was an only child but more loved than any other. They also said that she was very mysterious. The kids that lived around and across the street had theories about her being the 2015 serial killer, a CBI agent and an international diamond thief among other things. No one knows how she and her man had that much money. In the end, the few people among thousands, whose life was touched by her, hope that she is finally at peace.

zemph

16^th January 2010

I have been waking up at 6 AM for over six years now…ever since I found zemph. After about 20 minutes of hard core cycling I reached our spot and as usual he was late, so I waited. Just then as I presumed, I saw Mr. creepy old man, aka the “the watchman”, staring at me again. Why was he always staring? It was actually more of a sympathetic look. And just as I turned around, There zempth was, Panting like a dog. Poor guy always gets late because he can never hear his alarm clock. He’s deaf and dumb you see.

We gave each other a rib cracking hug as we sat on our favourite bench aka bench and zemph and I started doing what we did best. Draw. We had decided a long time ago, that he wanted to be different from all the other handicapped kids, so instead of using sign language, we drew. The first thing zemph would do after hugging me was attack the paper with the million stories he had, However, we only met early morning or after dinner. Zemph was quite an outcast here in the orphanage, and for some strange reason if I was even seen speaking to him, people would look at me like I was retarded. All this made Zemph very uncomfortable, so we preferred to meet when no one was around. This is how I’ve spent most of my time here. With my best friend.

17^th January 2010

11:00 PM

Today was a terrible day; I was caught by Sister Clooney (aka the head nun, aka head of the penguins), on my way back from bench and was banished to my room until further notice. She asked me what I was doing out at this hour. My best option was not to lie, so I told her I was with Zemph. At this her nostrils started flaring a bit too much. I was accused of “thinking her a fool” followed by words like “lying” and “rubbish” under her breath. I was confused and when I asked her how she could not know zemph, he had been here most of his life! I was sent back to my room with no reply. I don’t get these people.

18^th January 2010

9:00 PM

Today I woke up still feeling strange, I updated zemph with last night’s happenings but he didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that Clooney acted like she didn’t know him. Actually he seemed rather calm. He claimed he was a quiet kid and that many probably didn’t know him. Something wasn’t right. Then he drew a picture…him, me and bench. Now that was just perfect. We sat and watched in silence as the sun disappeared behind the hills of Preston.

19^th January 2010

9:00 PM

The afternoons at the orphanage were relatively quieter as most people were indoors during these hours. Zemph and I were having a great time lazing around, squiggling on each other’s arms when suddenly we heard the sound of death. The “bad boys” had arrived. They took one look at us and started howling with laughter. I tried to be brave and told them to leave zemph the hell alone and that bullying someone just because they are not “normal” is sick. I couldn’t even complete my sentence before everyone burst into peals of laughter once again and started talking about how I was a retarded child and that was why no home ever wanted me. This really pissed me off and I went for them. Of course I got beaten up brutally but was saved by Clooney. I told her about how they were bullying zemph. She just stood there and stared for what felt like several painful minutes and then suddenly changed the topic to some medical examination I needed to undergo tomorrow, at this point I began to wonder if ol’ Clooney was going Looney…Ha-ha. When I turned to share the joke with zemph… he wasn’t there.

20^th January 2010

9:00 PM

Today I was taken to the doctor. They did some strange tests and stuck some gooey things on my head… I was then asked to leave the room and later I was told not to ask questions. Zemph didn’t show up today either. I am not in a very good mood.

21^ST January 2010

5:30 PM

After the show down at our last meeting, zemph and I decided it was safer to go back to our original timings. This time I carried three stacks of paper and an extra box of crayons with me, I had a lot of venting to do. While we sat at bench waiting for dawn, I told Zemph about yesterday’s happenings. He didn’t react for awhile but eventually pick up some paper,” if we ever get separated, remember that I will always love you “it said. Why would we be separated? Just then sister Clooney and a couple of other penguins walked into the garden. This time I knew I was screwed…but instead, they started making conversation with me. They even asked me what my “new friend’s” name was. He has been in this bloody orphanage all his life. What is wrong with everyone? Shortly after that I was taken for another check up. Zemph didn’t show up that night.

24^th January 2010

10:00 PM

Today is my third day of waiting… I waited till the evening, but still had no luck. I had decided I was going to sit at bench all night if that’s what it took, just then I caught Mr. creepy’s eye, I tried to ignore him as I felt my eyes burn with the embarrassment of being stood up three days in a row now. I finally decided to ask him if he had seen zemph. He said nothing for a long time, finally breaking the silence with something I already knew.” You were best friends” he said. “Are" I corrected; he just smiled at me but said nothing more. I couldn’t take it anymore. I burst into Clooney’s office asking her where zemph was…she gave me the same bloody silence, as if she was contemplating something. She finally spoke letting me know that zemph had finally found a home and that he was not coming back, I could feel the bile rising in my throat. As I walked out of her office, she enquired about when I saw him last. I couldn’t answer, so I just stood. Then she told me that if I ever saw him again I must come and tell her. I threw up.

08.00 AM

I sat till 7:00 in the morning today and eventually he did showed up. But he looked distant, felt strange, and this time he didn’t draw.

my space

At first, I would call this room “white”, but the elements that make my “room” are the ones that fill up the empty whiteness. I’ll start with one of my favourites.The springs in my queen size double spring cot mattress which takes up about three fourth of my room, holds a certain sense of poetry in the way it behaves with the human body and mind…in that order . One minute you are broken with a back ache and the next minute you are sinking into something bottomless. An inch from the foot of my bed is a long Chinese rug with pillows that usually help when I decide to roll off the bed. A couple of feet above the Chinese rug, on the right hand corner of my wall is a rather hideous poster of Jim Morrison that I can’t remove due to obligations. This poster has been a consistent follower and quite an entertainment to me over the years as he is right across the bed and is constantly staring at you no matter which corner you stand in. Sitting six floors about the ground, my room tends to get a lot of sunlight from the one and only “big window”, and the collection of empty wine bottles on the window sill make it even better. The rays hit the colored glass, tinting the sunlight coming into the room with a dreamy light bottle green which mixes with the tones of blue, forming hypnotic patterns on my wall. So this is one side of my room. Moving over to the other side, my guitar has its own wall. Being paced right next to my study table it has acted as my saving grace in many desperate cases. Towards the end of this wall is an offshoot of the room, but is one of the most crucial sections of my space. My balcony. A lot of my moments are spent here; from tantrums and cigarette breaks to star gazing and life changing decisions, all happen in the center and all the crazy ones are taken in the right corner of the balcony. The best part about my room, however, is that breath taking cold wind that hits your face the minute you push door open. And lastly my four walls, they may be plain and white, but if these walls could talk, they would have many stories to tell.

Nayantara's obituary

Room description - Nilisha

A typical Bachelors room - Jijo

Cutlet April 09 is the first thing your eyes come across when you enter my room and next to it some cut-outs from some random magazines. I tried my best to cover up the blankness of the wall with anything and everything I found. It’s still 75% empty but still a good attempt. As you enter through the brown door an old half broken cupboard cum shelf is stuck to the wall with my wallet, phone charger, glasses and CD case in the top section, and my clothes pouring out from the lower section, faces the door. There is a shelf on the wall behind the door which some interesting items like an old gramophone player,few gramophone discs and an ancient walking stick which belongs to my landlord. The continuation of that wall has one bed stuck to it and opposite to that another bed stuck to the opposite wall. One with a blanket and a mattress on it and the other with everything a household needs. From utensils to an immersion rod to washed clothes and the list is never ending. It’s been like this since the day I moved into this house, that’s like two years back.

The only neat and tidy corner of the room is where the study table is that is between the two beds. The table is quite professionally organized, with a laptop in the center. The phone on one side, the modem on the other, three ashtrays flooded with cigarette buds, three pairs of headphones which don’t work, a pen stand and few empty cigarette packets. On one side of the table is a statue of Mother Mary on the floor and the other side is a card board box full of my housemate’s text books which I have never seen him using and a dustbin next to it. There is a window above the study table which can’t be opened as that side of the building has common walls with the neighboring building. There is another window above the bed with the pile of junk on it which is never shut as it’s the only source of fresh air. All in all a typical bachelors’ messy room is what any guests who come to the house describe it as. But for me the room being messy, clearly shows that I have better work to do in life than waste hours cleaning my room which won’t stay clean for more than one day.

Home- Mukta Sinha

The room in itself is big and rectangle with two different shades of blue . The fresh smell of the incense stick fills up the room in the morning and the mattress gives a warm welcome to people who come in. As one enters, there are two wooden beds on the right , one of which is my room mates and other,mine. One bed is covered with brown color bedspreads with little ridges on it, pillow and on the corner ,a blanket is kept. The other wooden bed covered with light pink and white color combination bedspreads and pillow also covered with same colour. On the other side of the bed there is blanket on top of which pillow is kept. On both sides of the bed there is wooden table. As you look towards my study table first glance goes toward the statue of the god. Next to the statue are the photos of my family and friends. There is water bottle, pen stands , calendar, toffees and my medicines. On the side of the table, post-its are stuck which reminds me what all work is to be done within the week. These post-its are changed every monday. Picture cuttings and some photos are stuck on the wall beside my bed. There is chair on which only clothes and bags are kept. The table next to my roomates bed has her stationery stuff, water bottle and statue of god. The wall facing her chair displays her paintings and cool thoughts. On the other side she has huge poster of her school friends. The windows in our room are covered with light greenish yellow curtains. There is a steel almirah, on top of which two suitcases are kept. There is an attached bathroom to our room. On side of my table there are two racks which is divided into four different sections. The first section of the rack has stuff like comb, hair oil, deodarant , perfumes etc.... The other two racks consists of books, files, other stationary stuff. On the last section of the rack slippers, shoes and sandals are kept. Now this small room is my home where I love to spend time.