Perusasion

Friday night, the higer-ups had organised a dinner party for the folks who had completed a crucial project. I was one among those few who had been a part of this course, but I was in no mood to celebrate.

I cite three reasons for this lack of enthusiasm: One: I had to play the part of an single unmarried housewife, running the show both at home and at work because my mom had to go out of town for a brief period. Second: by the time I finished my part in the coursework, it had left me terribly exhausted and in no mood to party. Third:I just wanted to head home.

But out of sheer courtesy and a lot of persuasion by my co-workers, I decided to make a brief appearance and quietly slink away into the night. As soon as I walked into the hall, I was pulled into a team! Apparently, there was some sort of event happening. It was Halloween, Indian style. There was a Halloween-Pumpkin Carving contest followed by a mask making event that was unfolding. I just joined along with the rest of the noisy crowd to work on the mask. It was fun, with 10 pairs of hands working its ideas over a single sheet of chart paper. We brainstormed for almost 20 mins and had just under 10 minutes to put together something scary. I ended up doing the shading and getting the colors in place. The mask turned out pretty neat and I was glad that things had not turned out as I had planned earlier. ( I'm waiting for the photogrpahs to be uplaoded and will post them as soon as I get my hands on them.)

Dinner was certainly not a part of my plan! But I was persuaded by my biker-pal who offered to drop me home post-dinner. So my brief appearance extended further to include the role of a gourmand. And good food it was! The vegetarian menu was perfect. There was Pulav, Dal Khadi, Bhindi Masala, Naan/Roti, Chinese Fried Vegetables, Pappad, Salad, Mixed Vegetable Curry, Curd rice and Pickles. The non-veggie menu included Fish tikka, Chicken kebabs and the rest, I don't recollect. For dessert, it was Gulab Jamun and scoops of ice cream.

My manager was taken by surprise when she found me hanging around with the rest of the troop. I had earlier told her in no uncertain terms that I do not intend staying through the evening. But she was quite happy I had fun and was still THERE, making my presence felt.

In the end, like anyother fairy tale: All is well that ends well.