Wednesday, April 16, 2008

My Precious Cup

Well.. might as well not keep the blog dry.. Pls comment on the following post if you read it.. This was my article for our college magazine in 2007.. The magazine committee due to some technical reasons rejected it.. I respect their decision coz in the end its their call..:) Please comment on whether you can understand the post..Maybe ya my writing style needs to be revamped.. would definitely try doing that if majority cannot understand..:) For all those who intend to have a literal narration this is not for you..
Statutory warning: Pun intended...

MY PRECIOUS CUP!

“Mom, I have to go to college soon….”said the girl. The girl is in her late teens. Mom who was sitting at the dining table having her breakfast gives her a nod and a look which means everything will be okay. Suddenly, from the kitchen there was a crashing sound... the girl sighed and thought to herself, “It isn’t the first time that this has happened.” Last that she saw was her dad going into the kitchen. His hand accidentally hit the cup; the girl’s precious cup had broken. The girl always had a special cup. But this cup was the closest one to her heart. None matched up to this. Neither did she have too much attachment to the rest. Be it coffee, tea or even just water, she always used the same cup. There had been many instances in the past too when her cups had broken under various circumstances. But this time it had broken in a very special way. The cup as such was intact; it was the handle that had broken.
“Next time don’t keep your cup on the edge.” shouted the girl’s dad. The girl being too drained of all emotions to react just said an ok and thought to herself, I didn’t keep the cup on the edge! I never do! Dad always keeps it on the edge. Shouldn’t he say the same to himself? The girl sighed again and went to check the damage to her cup. Had it been a few years back she would have cried incessantly in front of everyone for hours for her cup even if it didn’t mean as much to her.
Well the cup looks ok; she thought to herself, it’s just the handle that’s broken. Somehow she knew the hurt she felt was more than she seemed to show. Why create a fuss? It’s broken... Everything that is made breaks one day or the other. She ran her fingers through the broken handle... Ouch!! Porcelain edges r sharp. But why do I feel this numbness? Did I expect it? Or am I too drained to react? Why don’t I cry? I always have cried for the silliest of things but why can’t I now? My precious cup, the best suited cup was broken, had some of the best drinks in this. It was almost always with me, at least filled with water. Don’t I feel angry at my dad? No, what’s the point? What is broken is broken. But I can’t throw the cup away because it was my precious cup and also only its handle is lost, she told herself. My favorite cup! The cup that lasted more than five years. Wish the cup was either alright or completely broken. In the second case at least I could buy a new one and get over this. But it’s just the handle that is broken. It still means the same to me. But without the handle, it’s not the same. I love my cup. I know what I should do is to throw it away, but…. It’s too close to my heart to ever be able to do so...
“You could have kept it somewhere else.” shouted her dad again. Mom looks at her. Somehow her mother understands all of the girl’s thoughts and says, “Don’t bother too much about the cup. It still isn’t shattered. Everything can be made alright later. Go to college now.”
Alright?????, the girl thought, my cup is broken! I don’t want to see it shatter! I will always keep it safe the way it is now... My cup is broken now... My precious cup!

19 comments:

Unknown said...

"I always have cried for the silliest of things but why can’t I now?"

Wow ... happens with me all the time. :D

The allegory with the cup, if it was meant to be, is really good. It's like something everyone clings onto whether for the good or bad and attaches a certain value and love.

But, for everyone else who's expecting a good story. This is a GOOD story - simple, subtle and straight-from-the-heart, which as a writer myself, I think, is the hardest.

Abhi said...

Really something simple yet giving a good message. Don't know why this missed our magazine committe's eyes. Good story that convey's the message in a subtle and simple way. Like the stories in small class textbooks. Good work:)

Unknown said...

Forgot the statutory warning. It's pun time!

Write on ...Sindy

Hari said...

Undoubtedly, the BEST POST ever written by you! This one IS going to be the cynosure of your blog. Period. :-)

*"Somehow she knew the hurt she felt was more than she seemed to show."
Deja vu. You badly WANT yourself to cry, but the situation doesn't demand you to, and you don't cry. A semi-adult reaction from a late-teen, trying to fend off her teen-angst.

The Magazine committee read your article with their eyes closed, I guess...

Excellent read. Try writing more simple and equally-poignant stories. You have a dedicated reader here, sis! :D

P.S. Didn't quite get the pun, though. :P Can anyone elaborate, please?

Hari said...

Hey chechi... guess what! I was SO inspired by your post that I sat all through the night and wrote the first ever short story in my blog!

You may read it here!

Comments are must! :-)

TIME TO BLOG ! ! ! ! said...

wow each time i read that post i end up deciphering new meanings ..which kinda reflect my own inner self... that cup really seems to be some thing "precious" but am not able to make out what.... and as u said its more than a cup...infact every single aspect of the cup can be associated in someway or the other to me ... anyway i would rather not read it many times coz it sure got enough depth in those words to literally make me go `mad` in thoughts...
anyway i pity those members in the editorial of the college magazine who actually rejected ur article..

TIME TO BLOG ! ! ! ! said...

:D

Abinav said...

Hey,,, nice post sindy.. I thnk abhi rightly said.. its like stories in small class text books.Very subtle but yet has its own innershades.. I liked it a lot. Keep up the gud work.. I feel this article is faaaaar better than most of the articles tat were published in the magazine..:)

jj said...

heyya lady!
Wow this is an awesome post...
"Wish the cup was either alright or completely broken."
conveys a lot of hidden meanings to it! (I felt so).
That's what is special about this one. Every line or expression strikes a chord, depending on the reader's perspective.
The best post of yours' so far.

And the magazine committee, forget about it, they were either blind or too technical to ignore the beauty in this and cite technical reasons.
Way to go gal!

Robin Gilbert said...

hey sindy.......real good one... very simple and meaningful....real good one.....as abi said its faaaar better than rest of the articles in the college magazine... this article deserves to be in a better place than a silly college magazine.... so rock on and keep writing... dont let a minor set back weigh u down...

Mr. Commonsensical said...

Is the cup a metaphor?

This post though disguised as discreet was deviously direct in expressing your exasperation, hopelessness, frustration at losing the cup, good.

The magazine missed a good read aw'right.

Sindhya said...

@akky(monsooner)..:) i am glad someone understood by what i meant by the "cup".. n ya il keep on writing..thanks for the morale boost..

@abhi: thank you..i m flattered...

@hari: your msg in the morning was the best compliment i could get for the writing.. thanks a looot..

@kidu: good to hear what was intended is conveyed.. thanks

@abi:i m honoured..

@jj(jo).. thanks dear.. :) i m glad people felt it was worthy for a magazine ..

@robin... thanks..:)

@mr.commonsensical(don).. ya it was meant to b a metaphor.. :)its whatever you attach too much meaning to.. something thats close to your heart..

cm chap said...

Small things make big impact in life isnt it :-)

g-man said...

wow, good one. natural, believable and something i, for one, can identify with. keep writing!

Hari S R said...

Nice One Sind...

I'll quote the one line which stood out from the rest - " Why dont I Cry?" . That one touched me girl. :)

Your writing style is elaborate.Learn to prune it.There's always a beauty in the mysterious.

Hari said...

Attention! You're tagged!

nishanth nair said...

Awsome..
keep going

Sindhya said...

@cm-chap: ya they always do:)
@g-man: :)
@hari: Will try my best to prune it[:)]]
@secret admirer: thank you for your admiration. N next time it'l be better if you comment. You tell me comments and you cant comment on the blog?too bad[:P]
@nishanth nair: thank you

Sreehari H said...

good post. just that i felt a bit of repetitiveness.
and i agree to kidu: "i would rather not read it many times coz it sure got enough depth in those words to literally make me go `mad` in thoughts..."