Short story series:

Her charm, his deceit, her ignorance

(Originally written in 2021)

Sandringham, a multi-cultural place that’s brimming with the smell of mostly Indian sub-continent, some Mediterranean, Asian and Islander cuisines and people. It is a place where people of white breed have become an endangered species! If you spot any, hurray. Good on you.

It’s a place where you go to feel at home by gazing through many ‘Indian’ grocery stores that extend all the way to nearby suburb of Mount Albert and eat some delicious dosas or satisfy your biryani cravings, if you can’t afford to fly all the way from Auckland, New Zealand to India or Pakistan or Sri Lanka, which ever your home country is. It’s a place where international borders fade away in the eyes of these immigrants and they see beyond their religious vail.

It is in this setting, an old white wagon that you can get for under $5000 from one of the many car yards at Onehunga, almost bumps into an oncoming car while turning in to a narrow path.

“oops, drive carefully” says Suja, a slim brownish woman with a slightly bulged mummy pouch, to her husband Ramesh. Ramesh doesn’t say a word except for some irritation on his face.

Eventually Ramesh parks his car at the carpark of a busy ‘Indian’ Grocery store which is quite popular in that part of Mount Albert just off Sandringham where many Muslims have come to call home.

“You go first, I will get the kids” says Ramesh looking back at their 2 and 3 year olds who would easily pass as twins.

Suja agrees as it’s a rather busy time of the weekend at this grocery store. It’s a thing for young immigrants to shop groceries as families! You can’t explain why. The shop stocks all Indian and Mediterranean ingredients, vegetables, ethnic wear and make-up products, hence you will see a crowd of people from many ethnic minorities here.

Just as Suja leaves the car, Ramesh hears vibration of his phone. Not on his recent model iPhone, but a small black phone, am guessing it's either Sony or Nokia. Am also guessing Suja doesn't know about this phone. Quite a few messages waiting for Ramesh to read with most recent on the display screen reading…

“your oranges are missing you”.

Ramesh’s face lights up with joy like a boy who found his lost Lego piece which he was searching for hours and all his frustration and harsh driving that which he cannot explain to Suja disappears.

Ramesh replies, “Hi my Secret Pondati (wife), I miss them too. Tell them I am coming for lunch tomorrow”.

He swiftly receives a reply, “what secret Pondati still. We have been together for 3 years! All your family and friends know us except for your wife… she is the dumpest!”.

Their conversation continues with some blushing you can sense on either side of their phones.

Ramesh, “Ok I got to go, can't text much, we are at Lotus Supermarket. Got the kids in the car..”

The ‘secret Pondati’ whose contact is saved in his secret phone as Juice texts, “Why do you bring her to our area, that too to the same supermarket we buy from..” You can tell she is rather angry from the tone and the speed of texts reaching on his laps left right and centre.

Ramesh loves this attention, and this hyped jealousy.

“relax..honey I got a plan, My wife won't visit this place again”.

Back in the store, Suja is busy calculating the health benefits of red and black beans while contemplating if she will ever learn to cook as good as her mother-in-law whom her husband loves so dearly as he is a mummy's boy.

She is done shopping and waiting in the queue to be served at the till counter. Ramesh enters with their kids and stands behind Suja. Suja naturally wondered, “what took you so long?”

Ramesh is always good in his replies, “just some work-related staffing issues”.

For which Suja nods in acceptance and we can tell from her facial expressions that she hopes Ramesh found a solution. Based on her non-confronting manner and sliding trusting, by now even we can agree she could be the dumbest.

Just when Suja turns back towards the queue of people standing with baskets in that tightly spaced area, a male in his early-20s suddenly comes straight at Suja, cutting through the queue and passes through her, dashing against her breasts, walks briskly off and vanishes. Suja gets startled and lost balance in her footing. A woman would know when a male gropes her at any situation. She knew that was the case of what just happened to her. She looks back at her husband only to notice he has moved further away from her. She wonders why he hasn’t taken any action like any normal wife would expect her husband to exhibit anger on a man who has just inappropriately harassed his beloved wife. But this is not the case to be with Ramesh.

Suja assumes it’s probably because it’s a public place and Ramesh wouldn’t want to cause any commotion and he is probably lost in thoughts on his staffing issues. He works as a manger at a local gas station. With the toddlers as well, she would rather get out of that place as soon as possible.

Off they leave Lotus Supermarket and reach home. While getting off the car, Suja comments of never to return to that area again as she didn’t like those ‘Muslims’ in that area for which Ramesh readily nods in agreeance.

“Success, you will be paid the reminder tomorrow as agreed” texts Ramesh from his iPhone to someone and as soon as its ‘sent’ he deletes the message.

While on the other hand on his black phone he texts, “all done! she won’t visit that area again. love you my juice”.

He then continues to unload the kids from the car while Suja is still baffled by her experience at the store while assuming that male must have been a Muslim as he looked like one in her eyes and wondered if all Muslim men in general are bad towards women. How she never questions her husband's lack of sense of protectiveness towards his family. How she continues to live a life of an innocent (or ignorant) dumb wife! Or is it that it was normal in her eyes to trust her husband and we can't regard this to her being ignorant.

Why always be ever so harsh on an innocent woman as opposed to being harsh on her husband and his 'juice'? What's with this society getting innately attracted towards greedy people, towards wrong-doers than people like Suja? I don't know. And how about her islamophobia? what does religion got to do with any of this?