Chapter 6- The Brat Guitarist

You can read the previous chapters here:

Chapter- 1
Chapter- 2
Chapter- 3
Chapter- 4
Chapter- 5

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Good morning minister sir, greets Parera to Karnataka's HRD Minister AS Anthony. A very good morning to you too Parera. How is my day looking today? asks Mr. Anthony, while performing his daily morning Yoga. Sure sir, let me check your itinerary for the day, Parera responds. Sir if your calendar is to be believed, today i.e. 17th April 2017, seems to look pretty jam packed from morning 10 AM till 9 PM in the night. Sir, today you have two public gatherings to address. The first one is scheduled from 12 PM to 1 PM at Bangalore Freedom Park, which is then followed by the another one. The second rally is being held at Real Challengers Bangalore Stadium from 2 PM till 4 PM. There after you head straight to the HRD Ministry Office where a meeting has been scheduled with the *Police Commissioner of Bangalore Mr. Carl Smith, to discuss the issues of high crime rate and increasing road rage incidents in Bangalore city.

That was quite a mouthful, Parera, says Mr. Anthony. I was hoping for a quite Monday, after the long weekend of Ester. But it appears as if my city needs me the most today. Yes sir, replies Parera politely. And sir you have another event to attend in the evening at 6 PM. You have been invited as a chief guest at Jonny baba’s college fest. An added incentive of attending this event is that even Jonny baba is also going to showcase his guitar talent. I am very sure sir, as a father, you must feel so proud to have a son like Jonny baba. Oh yeah!, I totally forgot about Jonny’s college fest invite, speaks Mr. Anthony with a sigh of relief in his voice. Jonny had told me about this event a long time ago, and I got stuck up with my day to day workload so much that I forgot to even check with him about his performance and his preparations for it. Thank you Parera for reminding me about it. What would I do without you! To which Parera responds, thank you sir for the appreciation, it means a lot. But I am your Personal Assistant and I am just doing my job and nothing more.

Speaking of him, where is Jonny? Asks Mr. Anthony probingly. Its almost 8 AM and is Jonny still in his bed? I have told him so many times in the past as well, to inculcate the habit of getting up early in the morning. After all early to bed & early to rise has been my “Mantra” for life, since my early political days as a party worker. Those were also some days, Mr. Anthony speaks nostalgically, when I would start my day by visiting our party headquarters to collect the party leaflets and pamphlets, before the dawn would break, and then would run around in the city on foot for the rest of the day, distributing the those pamphlets to everyone I see on the roads. I have put in a lot of sweat and blood to get to a position that I am in today, but this young generation wouldn’t understand that. They have got everything on the silver platter and the same is the case with Jonny. Bruce, go and check if Jonny is still in his bed. If so, then wake him up and tell that I am waiting for him down here. He must join me for breakfast as soon as possible, as I need to speak with him on something very important. As you command sir, responds Bruce compliantly. I shall go and wake Jonny baba up, right away.

Good morning Jonny baba, greets Bruce “the butler” as he opens the window blinds to confer entry to some fresh morning air and bright sunshine into the room. Its 8.10 AM already baba, please get up and get freshen up. Remember, its your big performance day today and you wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to do some last minute fine tuning of your gig. You have been practicing for it for months now and we all want it to be nothing short of spectacular.!

Yeah yeah Bruce, I get it! Enough of your melodrama, right in the morning, yawningly replies Jonny while trying to open his eyes forcefully. Tell me the real reason, why are you here? Has dad sent you here to preach, on his behalf? Or is this your newest obsession to evangelize everyone you meet these days!!

I am really sorry Jonny baba, if I have offended you with my big mouth, replies Bruce in his shivering and apologetic voice. I did not mean to spoil your big day by annoying you, with in the morning. Jonny baba, I have been serving this house and your father wholeheartedly for the last 40 years. All I ever wanted for this house, is happiness and good health for everyone here. I still remember the day you were brought in this house for the first time from hospital, 18 years ago. The moment I saw your face, I got a sense of nirvana, as if I saw infant jesus in the cradle. The very moment my legion was devoted to you and even in my dreams I can’t think anything inauspicious about you.

Now!! if you are done with your extravagantly sentimental monologue, then will you come to the point and enlighten me with the reason behind your auspicious sighting, right in the morning? Asks Jonny in his astringently sarcastic tone. You are a servant in this house, so behave like one. Don’t try to act smart with me and definitely don't pretend to be my grandfather, because you are just another worthless person, who my dad has been bearing for ages. After listening to these thorny accusations, Bruce’s old and fragile body begins to show its signs. Yes, there wasn’t any physical assault on him, but the harsh words of Jonny have left a lasting impression on Bruce’s heart. He starts to perspire heavily and yet tries to keep himself calm and speaks. Sir, I am sorry, please get ready quickly and come downstairs as your father needs to have a word with you. He told me that it is something very important and that’s why I came here to disturb you and for that I beg your pardon. With this, Bruce leave the room and Jonny goes into the bathroom to get freshen up.

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End of Chapter 6

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Question: Which character did you like the most, amongst all which were introduced in this chapter? And why?

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