STORYTIME TAPESTRY

Deepak Morris??™s Weekly Column

 East Meets West

June 9, 2005

To continue with my vision of a world tapestry of love and understanding of cultural values throughout the world, every Thursday we will be graced by the artistic vision of Mr. Deepak Morris, a wonderful playwright and friend from Prune, India. 

The Two Minute Romance

By Deepak Morris

Copyright ?© Deepak Morris, 1998

I first saw her when I had gone for an interview for a job. I was "between jobs" again, a wonderful euphemism for unemployed and fast going broke. She had applied for the job too, and it seemed a pity that we were, in a manner of speaking, adversaries. That's life, I suppose.

She was petite. Well formed, if you know what I mean. Beautiful, beautiful, soft brown eyes. Guy could get lost in those eyes. Wouldn't mind being lost, too. Swimming around behind those wonderful irises didn't seem such a bad thing. Intelligent. She would have to be, to apply for that job. Why, oh why did we have to be adversaries?

We didn't speak. For some odd reason, the sofa for visitors was narrow and cramped, and we had to squeeze together to fit. Not that I was complaining. Sitting pressed against that soft, fragrant body was about the nearest to heaven I had been in a long, long time. We still didn't speak. There was an older lady next to her. Mother, I supposed. Come to see that her precious wasn't being exploited in this big, bad world. There went any hope of conversation.

We were called up simultaneously. There were two interview rooms, both screening candidates for the same job. Odd, but not unusual. That meant this was probably just a preliminary interview. Perhaps we'd both make it to the final interview and I'd have a chance to see her again. Perhaps then the old dragon would not be accompanying her. Perhaps, hell, perhaps I had better start concentrating on the interview.

I finished quickly. When I came out, she wasn't there. Neither was the old dragon. That meant she had finished even earlier than I had. I wondered whether it was because she was so good that she proved her worth in so short a time, or because she was so obviously unsuited for the job that the interviewer hadn't wasted time getting rid of her. Well, time to wend my weary way home.

A few days later I got a phone call. Congratulations. I had got the job and could I come for an orientation programme on the 10th? I said I could and thank you and they said don't mention it. That meant she hadn't got the job. Mixed feeling time. Happy to get the job, or sad that she didn't make it? Didn't know. Didn't particularly care. The mind was occupied with trying to figure out how to get her name and address from the personnel files.

D-Day. I reached 5 minutes early, as was my habit. Hallelujah! There she was! The company had decided that they could use both of us. She smiled at me from across the room and came towards me. Was I imagining it, or was there an eagerness in her stride? Had she been thinking of me as I had been thinking of her?

???Hi!" she said, "glad to see you made it." "Glad to see you made it too!" Boy, was I glad! We exchanged names. The people in charge began beckoning to us. Time to go in for the orientation programme. In what seemed a rush, she said, "Why don't you come and see me sometime?" GRAB YOUR CHANCE, my mind screamed. "Sure," I said casually, "where do you live???? "At the RSI quarters" she said. "Army man's daughter, eh???? I said smiling. "Yep," she said, smiling back, "and Army man's wife, too. My husband and I would sure like to have some friends in Pune. You'll come soon, won't you? "

"Between jobs, here I come" I muttered.

Deepak Morris

rhapword@yahoo.com

* * *

Founder of Rhapsody Theatre, author, playwright,
actor and director Deepak Morris has been
associated with Theatre and Communication all
his life. A Master of Commerce from Pune
University, Master's Diploma holder in
Management from The Institute of Management
Development and Research (IMDR), Pune, and
Diploma holder in Computer Studies from the
National Computing Centre, UK, Deepak
combines a passion for theatre with professional management techniques
to deliver consistently well staged theatrical
performances. An accomplished actor himself,
Deepak has won numerous awards for acting and
debating, including the "Best Actor" award at
the International Year of the Youth Drama
Festival in Pune and the "Best Male Newcomer
Award" in 1997 in Dubai, U.A.E. Having acted
in numerous productions in India and Dubai,
Deepak began writing and directing his own
plays on a regular basis in March 2001. To
date, he has written several one-act plays
and skits and his group, Rhapsody Theatre,
has staged no less than 13 plays in three
years, a record of sorts.