My Story: The Mask Jamboree

The Mask Jamboree

Life is really beautiful but sometimes a tight scheduled, set patterned,  monotonous living becomes boring, where parties and celebrations are just like icing on the cake. 

Ha ha ha …Uffff its enough now Jeet, I can’t laugh anymore, Reema asserted breathlessly in a stylish tone. 

But Jeet was in full mood to crack jokes and enjoying the laughter and amusement around him. It was a lavish celebration executed by Sanjay and Sakshi on their first wedding anniversary. This was a theme party where everyone has to wear a mask. Therefore all the guests were dressed with aesthetically designed colourful masks which specially veiled over their eyes. 

Sanjay was standing on the entrance to welcome his guests and Sakhi was busy in other arrangements. There came a charming couple Mohit and Arti, Mohit is Sanjay’s childhood friend and the lady beside him was damn attractive. She is not that beautiful but her sweet innocent appearance is quite an eye catcher. Perhaps what made her  beautiful was not the appearance or what she achieved, but in her love and in her courage and her audacity to believe no matter the darkness around her. But the light ran wild within her, and that was the way she came alive and it showed up in every little gesture for her’s.

Well, everyone greets each other and Sanjay navigated the guests towards the party hall.  Most of the gathering was near the drinks corner, because this is again a big reason for guys to feel happy in a slit bang of  their wine glasses and enjoy every sip of it after a loud word “cheers”. 

 Now, the hall was accumulated with all the invites, who were basically friends and colleagues of Sanjay and Sakshi. There were some childhood friends who were all together since school life. Now everyone is busy in different ways and literally trapped in to it, family, profession, responsibilities hardly leave any space to conjoin with each other for fun. But the friendship is still alive. The guests were looking amazingly beautiful while dancing freestyle on some melodious numbers played by DJ. 

It is really fascinating to wear a mask, because one could easily hide their actual gesture or inner emotions from others. Here everyone pretends to be happy, but actually all are hiding their dark sides under the twinkling lights and behind loud music. 

I was behind a spiderman mask and an eyewitness of each moment and every face moving around me. I am Pranjal, a man with a pen and deep thoughts. God designed me a bit weird shoulder-length curly hair, french beard, bold spectacles and observational behaviour. I am basically a mismatch for such gatherings but unfortunately I can’t  avoid this party because Sakshi is my elder sister. 

Jeet, with Krish mask dancing horribly as he was fighting or defending himself from the colony of bees. Ha ha ha… He works in  Sakhi’s office as a software engineer. Well qualified but the only thing which pull him back is his silly behaviour. As he came from a small town and so can’t match up with the sophisticated or say stylish people of South Delhi. Whenever I meet him I find him laughing or allow others to laugh. He acts so funny that any get together is incomplete without him. Of course he is not a stand up artist but he does all such things knowingly so that he should get invited. But unknowingly to anyone I found his eyes deep and empty. I guess he also  has a number of unsolved issues around him. Fortunately, today I can clearly see his eyes as he is behind the mask as Krish, where his eyes can be observed without hindrance.

There are many reasons to become sad or anxious but very few causes of being actually happy. Laughing loudly is not a symbol of happiness. Happiness is really something very different. “Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them.” It’s really very simple to be happy. Just like a child, a sweet, cute, little toddler who can find happiness even in watching dancing dust particles in the sunray draping inside the room through a sky window. The same way, I strongly believe that, if there is any chance to recreate yourself, just grab the moment or otherwise who knows what’s next. I conclude Jeet in this way.

Reema, with mirror mask looking gorgeous in her violet fish shaped party wear. She was dancing  flawlessly with a glass of wine in her left hand enriched with crystaled bracelet and bright shiny nail colour. 

Being happy or pretend to be happy are two different things. At times when there is a photo session or when a woman has conceived a baby, there is a strong recommendation to keep smiling or  be happy respectively. What is the reason behind it? It derived a simple theory that a picture will become a memory and of course the happy and smiling faces in the picture could disperse a wide smile on the viewers too. On the other hand, a would be mum can inculcate the sacrament of being happy in every situation in her child. 

My eyes were roaming around and looking to each one from the edge of my glasses. The bright colours, shiny atmosphere and loud sound, somewhere hiding the actual feel of each one out here. But I don’t know what I was still seeking all around, I think Aarti. Because I can see almost everyone but where is she?

 All of a sudden my sight stop at Aarti, who was in fluorescent pink coloured glittery mask and seemed to dance forcibly with her husband Mohit who was hidden behind a black mask in the shape of batman. Mohit held her right wrist very tight that she could even walk more than 2 steps away from him. She was trying to release her hand from his trap, but the surprising part is that,  they pretend it as a dance move. 

What’s wrong with her today? Why she is not comfortable in such a lovely party? I wonder Aarti who speaks less indeed but she participates in each aspect especially if it belongs to Sakshi. But today she seems upset hiding herself behind concealer and mask.

  It’s really very difficult to guess what’s going on in others lives and we just judge them by their current behaviour. I can’t imagine anything unfounded between Mohit and Aarti. We always found them compatible to each other.

       Aarti twitched her hand and remove her  wrist from the trap of Mohit’s fingers and ran towards the restroom right away. I can’t stop myself and chased her silently, I was simply curious to know what exactly happened with the lady I admire the most.

Attention everyone!…..

 A soft voice echoed in the room and seek the notice towards it…

And see, what! 

The show maker of the night, Sakshi was standing under the spotlight. She was looking gorgeous tonight in her beautifully designed evening gown, opened rolled hair and charming apparels on her face. She stood on a step high stage sort of platform with a microphone in right hand and her red colored feathered mask in the other hand. Her lovely smile and bright eyes can easily express her inner feelings very loudly,  that she is happy and contented with Sanjay and they cherish each aspect of togetherness thoroughly. I feel really happy for sister and Sanjay.

But again, my conscious drag me towards Aarti. I once again trying to find her out. 

The mobile was continuously ringing in the handbag of Aarti, kept on the couch near restroom. She came out faded away, wiping her hands with a tissue and take out her mobile with great efforts from her bag. She picked up the call… and looked upwards, her eyes were red & swollen.  

Aarti : Hhhello…..

              Hello, Maa… how are you?

              Have you got the seat?

              Are you comfortable?

(She asked many questions in one breath.)

Aarti’s mom was trying to console her I guess, because she was replying in such a way.

Aarti : What was I supposed to tell you maa, even I didn’t understand what is going on.

(Her tears were dripping down and she was soaking them softly with tissue taking care of her make-up too.)

Aarti: Who could believe that a highly educated, well-established, dwelled  in a high class society at the capital city of India could have such a self centered and mean mentality!

Nobody can even trust me that he  could do anything wrong with me. 

(She was speaking in a tough voice now.)

Maa, He is self obsessed and  insecure kind of a person. 

He doesn’t like me talk to strangers especially males. 

He doesn’t like me to work professional. 

(Aarti was silent, I think! her mom was saying something about her professional life.)

Aarti: He doesn’t like me to perform on stage in front of many people.

Perform? I was surprised! What sort of performance. Is she an actress or could play an instrument or she can narrate anything, my brain was stuck..

Aarti : whenever I sing he enjoys but he doesn’t want me to sing professionally or in front of others.

(Ohh!… My….God, that means Aarti is a professional singer.)

Aarti continued: And the most annoying thing is, he keeps humiliating me so that I could lose my courage and confidence to confront the world on my own way. 

I was tolerating everything because I thought it was my destiny. 

But today, today he just crossed every limit. He fought with me in front of you and then with you too simply because we were talking to Varun (Aarti’s younger brother) and congratulating him for his new job. Horrible!

He felt that as we were living with him we  have to praise him only. 

Beyond that he forced you to leave our home in sudden notice and now you are traveling without reservation till Bhopal. This is completely unbearable..

I’m really sorry Maa.

I’m really very sorry…

How could he do this with you Maa?

Aarti: After Papa’s death, I was missing you badly and wanted to spend time with you. I asked him for permission to visit you but he told me to call you here and stay with us for a few days. 

It is simply because he didn’t want me to go anywhere. That’s ok, I consider that too. But then? What he did, what sort of behaviour is this; he never even thought that it’s only 5month my father passed away and we all are under a deep mental stress. Her voice was deep and imbalanced.

She took a deep breath and continued : When I’m respecting his family, relatives, friends every every every one….

He can’t even think about you. 

(And she again started crying.)

I was standing beside the lift and listened to her. I was getting emotional and wanted to wipe her tears but…..

 I wonder! Why didn’t she expressed anything with any of her friends  in the past several months? She never even gave a single sign of her situation. She pretends to be very happy and normal. 

How she managed to hide her behind the mask of her expressions?

How she tolerate such Strom’s inside her? And moreover

How could Mohit do this to her? 

I’m feeling restless to know Mohit is also behind a thicken mask of being so nice. He seems so cool and calm. He never showed his harder side among others. He speaks so well, he takes care of Aarti in such gatherings. But today I found out why he never leave her alone?

Oh God!  I am such a dunce, generally I lost my conscious and I keep discussing deep things in my subconscious world.

Aarti was talking flawlessly with her mum and suddenly take off her mobile phone from her ear and check the screen. Oh! There was call waiting of Mohit. She shivered and said goodbye to her mother before disconnecting the call. She redialed to Mohit and said : I am just coming….

Where the hell are you? Asked he..

I am in the restroom my dress was spoilt by the juice and so I am cleaning it just give me sometime I am coming.

She is just inside the restroom and came out fresh and polished. A mask in hand and a hidden mask already on her face.

She entered the party hall with the broad smile and stand beside Mohit so nicely that anybody could guess the wounds and injuries inside her…

                 Sakshi announce a game where girls and boys have to come in circles respectively and pass their masks in the circle along with the rhythm and when the music get paused one has to wear that mask which remained in their hands and go to the person with a mask of his or her real life partner and dance for a few seconds. If you fortunately get your real partner then you can dance thoroughly but unfortunately you will be out of the game. That is because the mask is. The mask can cover the real face and you need to confront the outer world with smile and zeal….

A round of applause echoing all around and the music flows into the air. People playing the game with full mood. They were laughing and enjoying, so as Aarti. Without showing her actual inner pain masked behind the colours, lights and sound.

I was astonished to see her courage and finding out we play this game regularly in our daily lives. Since morning to dark we keep changing the masks of expressions from our face. Sometimes we pretend to be nice where we actually don’t want to be  or something we become too rude when really we feel soft inside. I know you are also relating it with your behaviour too, right? Yes it’s very common, we usually cover our real emotions behind the masks of expressions. 

Just like an actor, have you ever noticed how flawlessly they manage their character in front of the camera! Even though they might also have their own personal problems, the show must go on…..

Editorial Team (Prerna ki Awaaz)

Hello Everyone, Thank you for being with Digital Magazine "Prerna ki Awaaz"... (An inspirational bilingual magazine for the unique journey of life of self-reliant & liberated world...) आत्मनिर्भर और मुक्त विश्व की अनूठी जीवन यात्रा के लिए एक प्रेरणादायक द्विभाषी पत्रिका... "प्रेरणा की आवाज़" के साथ बने रहने के लिए आपका हार्दिक आभार...

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