Phone Call...

(Manu Singh is plucking at a flower,looking forlorn)
"He loves me... He loves me not...He loves me.. He loves me not... "

"Manu Saar, how long will you keep waiting for his call? You haven't had a grain of rice since last fifteen days. He got elected as the President just 15 days back. He will call you... Hundradantonty percent! Come now, the paranthas are getting cold..."

"I just hope the other guy hasn't forgotten to tell this guy about our deal before leaving. I have serious doubts about the previous guy's memory. When the deal was being inked, he was telling me a joke about Spiderman & Superman . I didn't get the joke but guffawed anyway and said Sunny Deol is the best" (Gets up to fetch the paranthas)

Trrinngg.. Trrinnnng....Trrrinnngg...

"Thats Mr.O calling!(gleefully) Manu saar, didn't I tell you they all love you!? Here... "

(Manu comes back running and picks the receiver)

"Hello Mr.O!"

"Hellooo Manu!"

(in a complaining voice)"So finally you remembered me,Mr.O???"

"I'm really sorry Manu. You know I've been very busy since last 15 days, moving into the new HOUSE,setting up the house, painting it with white, all that you see..."

"You had to paint THE house WHITE???"

"Yes, the previous occupant had stayed for too long and had left too many marks. When I reached the house and was about to enter it,I saw right on the door was written in huge bold letters - 'B was here.B didn't wanna leave.They threw B out'. And there were other quotes too on the walls inside the house.So it look a hell-lot-of time to white wash the house and settle down"

"I see,I see. And what is this I hear Mr.O? You called up the neighborhood guy before calling me and spoke to him for a whole 20 minutes. A clear shift of interests?"(in a complaining & disapproving voice again)

"Hellooo..Manu...Helloo....I can't hear you.Can you speak up a bit?"

(Manu hesitates)"Ok. I am very relieved and happy with your answer..."

"My pleasure!"

"Mr.O,what do you think of our Chandrayaan?(proudly)Isn't it a phenomenal achievement?"

(Mr.O LOLs)"Oh that was hilarious,dude. Awesome movie. I was not able to catch a few lines here and there because of the language but the song & dance was totally cool..."

(Manu remains serene as usual)"Umm..Err...Cool. Coming to serious issues,how do you plan to stem the economic slowdown of the country,Mr.O?"

"YES!WE CAN!"

"Wow! And issues like terrorism,global warming etc, how do we tackle them???"

"Manu,dont you worry! I have a solid plan .The plan is ....umm...YES!WE CAN!"

"One question, Mr.O . Everyone seems to be very inspired by your 'Yes,we can' quote. How did you come up with such an inspirational quote?"

"Ah, that one? Well, to be frank,the morning I was to give a public speech,my wife was pestering me about taking our pet dog to the veterinarian. She called up again while I was in the midst of the speech. I picked up the phone & yelled into the mike 'YES!WE CAN!'. And,the rest,as they say, is history"

"Fascinating story. Now, when are you giving us the opportunity to give you a taste of the great Indian hospitality, Mr.O? Can you smell the hot hot paranthas I' m having while talking to you?"

"Oh Manu!Stop with the jokes! You're killing me..."

(Manu chuckles)"You haven't yet told when told will be your visit to India?"

"Hellooo..Helloo..I can't hear you Manu...."

"But I can hear your voice crystal clear Mr.O. Helloo, can you hear me now? So when will you be coming to India to..."

"Helloo..Manu..Helloo..Cant hear ya.. TTYL...Yes,we can...Ciao..."

(Phone disconnects)

"Mr.O is a great man..At least he called..."



P.S. : Not totally off-topic, The Shawshank Redemption totally rocks! ;)