Of Ma Cherí and Cherries

All's Well that Ends Full and Bloated

The same evening, when Romila went to visit Ashok, his parents were there to greet her. They were very happy to see her and thanked her for looking after Ashok in their absence.

"We already knew that he had asked for you when he had got admitted here, and we knew you to be a sincere and honest person, so half of our worries had already been ameliorated even before we left New Delhi. And now," said an effusive Mrs. Mehta, "after Ashok told us that he wants to ...", she looked at Ashok, who nodded, and added, "get married to you, we feel so happy that ..."

Romila sat stunned. She looked at Ashok for confirmation of what his mother was saying, and then back at Mrs. Mehta incredulously. She turned to face Ashok yet again and looked - naughtily this time - and saw him smiling.

"Will you marry me?" He asked, and added, "You must excuse me for I have no ring, and my condition won't allow me to sit down on my knee." Romila laughed then, and said, "I will have to think about it, but broadly speaking, I think that's gonna be a YES."

"Yippee!" said Ashok, but it came out like a painful yelp. Romila laughed, as did both his parents. They sat down for a chat. Romila tentatively told them about the upcoming cherry-eating competition, and how she had fared at the elimination rounds.

"It's basically for fun. I have always been a fast eater, and I thought, like, Why Not? I also learned that the Lions Group has roped in one of the major manufacturers of jams and squashes as their Sponsor, and they are planning to donate the income so generated to the National Association for the Blind ... so, that gives me all the more ammo to sign up!" Romila's eyes twinkled as she said this.

After some more chat, she asked THE question she had been wanting to ask to Ashok since the first meeting yesterday: "Why did you make me a beneficiary in your living will?"

Ashok smiled. "Don't even think about ulterior motives. My parents are in on this too, in case you were thinking otherwise. I have their approval. They are the inheritors of the remaining half of my estate, by the way. I know you were curious to ask that as well, but I just felt like prolonging the suspense yesterday. I always loved you, and it was just a string of unfortunate mistakes I made that we drifted apart. I hold myself totally responsible, and I have nothing against you walking away. If I were you ... I would have done the same, looking at my philandering ways ..."

Romila laughed then, relieved completely. She went up to him and pecked him on his cheek. "You know, dear, that the will and the inheritance means nothing to me ... but, considering that has helped me reach a firm decision." She held his good hand, and whispered into his ear, "Yes, I will marry you."

Ashok announced her decision to both his parents and there was an air of celebration as the foursome enjoyed the moment, their pains and troubles forgotten for the time being. When the hospital's visiting hours ended, they split up, and Romila went home feeling giddy and exhilarated with pleasure.

*********

Three long days later, Romila answered a call on her mobile. The person at the other end was one of the volunteers for the competition, and she was duly informed that she had made it to the final round. She had eaten 320 cherries, give or take a few on the day of the elimination, and was placed first on that day, and third over all - just 43 behind the No. 1, a certain man by the name Rizwan. She was also told to be present at the appointed time and date for the final round.

*********

The atmosphere at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hall was one of festivity. Many OBV's were already parked there, and various presenters and cameramen were working with their technicians, setting up their kits for either live or deferred telecasts of the competition for their channels. Romila arrived a few minutes after 9.00, and was taken by one of the volunteers to the main hall where the competition was to be held. She had prepared meticulously ... and had skipped the previous night's dinner and today's breakfast. Her stomach was crying out of hunger already. With her, she had brought Mr. Mehta, who had agreed to attend and cheer her.

There was a large waste pit in the center, just as in the elimination rounds. About 14 - 15 chairs were arranged around the pit in a loose circle, and a table was laid out in front, a small and short one, for the participants to put their cherries on. On the top of each table was a place tab with the name of the participant written on it. There were three movie cameramen standing around the pit, their cameras ready. The spectator seats were arranged behind the seats for the participants, and two large screens were hung up so that the spectators could see the competition without hindrance. Similar screens were mounted in the lobby outside and the small arena-like area in front of the building's main entrance so that outside spectators could watch the proceedings too.

A curious crowd was gathering. Announcements were being made about the competition and its objectives. Huge banners of the sponsoring company fluttered in the breeze. There was an air of expectancy. Someone said it was ten o' clock, and some of the members of the crowd, probably invitees with cards or members of either the Lions, the National Association for the Blind, the sponsoring company's executives or simply put, V.I.P.s of various shades, were now moving into the building to watch the competition as it took place in the main hall.

********

After the usual rigmarole of speeches of welcome and so on by the President of the Lions' Group, the sponsors and some of the trustees of the NAB, the competitors were made to sit in their respective chairs. At about 11 o' clock, Mr. Harish announced that the competition would begin. He requested the spectators to be seated and brought the house to order.

"I will now begin the process for the competition. Participants, kindly listen to what I say. There will be just one round of 5 minutes. You will each be handed over your bowls of cherries. When I say "GO" you will start eating from them. As in the elimination rounds, you will please throw all the pips in the central waste bin. At the end of 5 minutes, you will be required to remove all the remaining cherries in your mouths and put them in a second bowl which will be provided too. You will also put back the cherries remaining in your hands. The bowls will be taken away by our volunteers. The results will be announced within half an hour of the close of the competition. Are the rules clear?"

Everyone nodded. Romila looked around and saw that the obese lady who had been with her in the eliminations was not there! Most of the participants seemed to be young and fit like her; only a few looked menacing or huge. She called one of the volunteers to her and asked him to point out Rizwan to her. He pointed to a smart, young man seated almost opposite to her. That's the man to beat, and I *will* beat him.

When Harish shouted "GO!" pandemonium ensued. While the competitors began attacking the cherries with a relish, the TV cameramen began shooting them with their lenses, the volunteers ran this way and that, checking on the participants, the spectators craned their necks or got up in their seats to see the action and the securitymen ran about, keeping things under control.

Romila now brought out a large special ladle that had a narrow spout at one end. She used this to pick up the cherries smoothly and at one go, allowed them to slide as smoothly into her mouth. She had seen this ladle at a roadside shop a few days ago, and curious about its unique shape, had asked the shopkeeper what it was.

" Isko khimanchi kehte hain. Iska prayog behoshi ke mareej ko dudh ya juice pilaane ke liye hotaa hai.

This tool is known as a khimanchi. It is used to feed milk or juices to a semi-conscious patient.

" Romila took one just out of curiosity. It struck her almost a day later that this tool could help her in the upcoming cherry-eating competition. So, here she was, effortlessly picking up the cherries, scoop after scoop, without dropping any or creating a mess.

One of the participants sitting next to her observed her doing so, and immediately called one of the volunteers by signalling to him. Between two mouthfuls, she asked him if Romila was doing something that was not allowed in the rules. The volunteer spoke to Harish, who conferred with others who had formulated the entire competition. They announced that using of a ladle was not against any of the rules.

Romila continued chomping away, and kept throwing handsful of pips into the central pit as she sequentially removed them from her mouth.

When the five minutes got over, Harish was back at the mike to say "STOP!" The competitors were all in a frenzy, most with their mouths full of cherries, and it was a to do for all to remove the unswallowed cherries into a second bowl, and to get up to go to the washrooms to clean out their mouths and to recuperate. One or two of them were heard belching repeatedly as their stomachs protested against the onslaught of an otherwise healthy food eaten in glorious excess!

Romila herself smiled at her prospective father-in-law as she got up, her stomach full and bloated as she staggered to the wash rooms. She had already decided that she would put her fingers in her throat and try and bring out whatever she could so that she would feel better. When she returned from the wash rooms, she was feeling definitely better. She shook hands with Mr. Mehta, and then went around, meeting and shaking hands with her co-participants. Some of them were frankly friendly, while a few were openly hostile to her and refused to even shake hands with her. She went back to her seat to await the announcement of the results.

Ashok's phone call came through on her cell phone just as she sat down.

"I was watching the whole thing on Star News. You were superb, Romila. How did you hit upon the idea of using that tool?"

"Oh, shucks. It was spontaneous, I tell you," said Romila, laughing at her own brilliant move. "I checked the rules and saw that there was nothing prohibiting me from using a tool to put the cherries into my mouth, so I said, why not? The rest, as they say, is history."

And history it was. When the results were announced, Romila had won by a margin of 22 cherries against Rizwan, who was placed second. She received a gift cheque of Rs. 50000/= , a free 3G cell phone from the main sponsor, and a holiday for two for a week to Kashmir from the Lions' Group.

It was clearly a story of "All's Well that Ends Well."