"Love and Monsters" & Other Stories

Love and Monsters (Netflix Movie)

Well, in a post-apocalyptic world where cold blooded creatures have turned into mutants forcing everyone to quarantine themselves in tiny shelters. Every colony is disconnected from the others. And mutant creatures keep on ravaging colonies and colonies keep on fighting with them for survival. For food and supplies they have adapted this roam and forage lifestyle. Our hero Joel had a girlfriend named Aimee. And they both are separated by 85 miles of treacherous and dangerous distance between them. Our hero has managed to keep contact with his girlfriend using a HAM radio. But he has no survival skills. One day his shelter is breached by mutants and Joel wanted to go out to meet his girlfriend. He goes out and meets a dog and name him Boy. He is rescued by a group of two survivors Clyde(big experienced man) and Minnow (a lil girl) from mutant Sandgobblers. Then he was also taught that monsters can be nice too. Joel sharpens his survival skills. Joel separates from the group in order to pursue his girl. He meets Mav1s , a robot who has merely 45 mins of power left. Again Joel gets bitter sweet memories like photos of his parents with the help of Mav1s (Mavis). Mav1s allows Joel to use her power to connect with Aimee. Eventually Joel finds Aimee. Aimee reveals that in the span of 7 years she has become a different person. Despite of having romantic chats with Joel, Aimee had met someone else in her life whom she has lost recently. Most probably Aimee cheated on Joel. So, basically Joel is heart broken, feeling like a chump and he is desperate to return to his colony. Aimee's colony is being seduced by a captain and his crew to travel with his yacht. Joel rescues them. Joel frees the monster that the captain was using as a slave. Joel kisses Aimee, gives her the book(Joel painted weaknesses and strengths of different monsters using the colors gifted by Aimee). And despite of heartbreak Joel says this was the best thing ever happened to him. Joel goes back to his family. He encourage people to come out and breathe the fresh air. Joel leads his family to a safer place. End of movie

Basically Joel had a family, a dog, two people who were ready to take him with them but he chose to go to Aimee. And he finds Aimee did not wait for him. Basically this is the story of the most nice boys. Don't be that nice, guys. People will take you for granted and will not step back from doing nasty things to you. Joel was strong. He was finally able to move on. If he had never stepped from his bubble, he would have been under this impression of having a girl etc. But he could have never appreciated what he had in his hand. So, take risks, be a little bad and move on. 🙂🙂🙂

Maa

He was desperate. He cared for his mom as she was the only family left to him. I used to talk to him all the time during the corona phase. It started with a simple nasty thing but I don't know we had this connection. During Corona, me n my family fell ill. He and his family fell ill too. He supported me emotionally. I tried my best to share something good to him. Then one day I asked about his mother. His only reply was "I have lost her". I had no words to say.

Gas operated Crematorium

We needed some plastic chairs. So, we went to a crockery shop. We were guided to another furniture shop. We were told that it situated near a Jagannath Temple. I kept on looking to my left. And there was a Jagannath temple. There was this anna prasad (Cooked Rice) stall. One can just pay a nominal fee and get a plate full of rice. The plastic furniture shop is next to the temple. I was with my father. We bought the chairs. On our way home there was this quiet section of road. My father asked me what is written on the board. I read out loud, "Gas Operated Crematorium". Then a long gap of melancholic pindrop silence followed.

Pakhala Bhata 

When I was a kid, we had this exciting (not so exciting by hifi DD standard) summer tradition. After exams are over, everyday we used to cook some extra rice. The extra rice will be kept in pot covered in water. It was left overnight. Obviously the pot was covered with a cover. The rice fermented and gave this nice soury, savory taste. We ate it during the day time. Mixture, chopped onions, raw garlic, fresh tomatoes chutney, raw green chillies, red chillies fried with mustard oil along with that oil too often accompanied the bowl of pakhala bhata. My maa made this nice combination of things and my sister used to be a big fan of that concoction. We are all grown up and all three siblings are apart by miles of distance from one another. Maa is getting old. Pakhala bhata is not going well with her health either. When we were kids, we just took those things as granted. Today, we can go to a star restaurant with our partners but can't eat Pakhala bhata together as a family anymore. Good ole' days guys, Good ole' days.

Deception

I was a newbie in this job. I was earning for the first time in my life and honestly with 20000 I used to feel like a millionaire. 🤣🤣🤣 I was walking on the road. There was this old couple standing helplessly. Their story was they had stopped in a wrong bus stop and have no money to board another bus to go to their destination. I bought some biscuits, mixture for them. I gave them 500 rupees in change. I thought I had helped them. A week later I had spotted them in the same spot standing seemingly helplessly and had the same old story. Hmm.

Icecream (Adaptation by me from Sadaat Hasaan Manto's original work)

It was time of riots. Curfew was temporarily lifted. A lil girl was going out with her mother. They returned in a rickshaw. Lil girl was adamant to get a red icecream and her mom said noo. The girl had spotted something on the side of the road. A guy, who was recently hacked to death was lying on the road. Near him a bicycle loaded with an icecream carrier was also lying. The scorching sun rays melted the ice and mixed with blood of the man creating an illusion of a giant pool of still melting red ice cream. Girl screamed with delight, "Mama! Icecream!!!"

Heartfelt Blessing (Adaptation from a short story read in The Sambad couple of decades ago)

I was travelling alone with my children. A family was sitting on the upper berth. They had 3 children. The youngest one had some issues. She drooled, vomited, threw things around. Her parents apologized me for the same. And I was extremely cautious about my own children. If my children attempted to talk to her I admonished them. Her mother and I was having this awkward conversation. The mother said about their helplessness and how is poverty hindering the child's treatment. I asked the father, what he does to earn a living. I wanted to help him. The father said, he is not earning much. These days he goes to the stations with the ill child and beg for money. He has been doing this since a few months. I asked how is he planning to treat the child. The father said, if the child gets treatment then how his family is going to eat. My heart broke. I took the child on my lap forgetting all the disgusting details. I gave him the food my children would eat. She slept on my lap. I pleaded to God, "please help this girl. I can't help her. Maybe she is too precious to be with us. Take her to your place." I was crying like crazy. The family unboarded from the train in the next stop. 

Birthday

"Happy birthday to you babu." That's what she said. Then to say how sincere she is, she gave me her facebook password. Then a year go by. I did not open her facebook account. Well, trust me. Facebook was a big thing 1-2 half decades ago. She was always like how the world made her a victim. Whoever she had a crush was stolen by her bestie. The boy she was in a relationship with dumped her. Then the boy tracked her 5 years later and dated her for while before dumping her again. Then she dated her best friend for a while before finding me. Her birthday came, and I said happy birthday to her. On that eventful day I opened her facebook account. Damn. Every word she said was a big lie. She talked to many guys. And the "best (boy- part time) friend" she had was talking to her regularly. She tracked down her ex on facebook to rekindle their relationship. She revealed her mobile number in an explicit poem. Well, I revealed this to her face. It was a  pretty much a dXck move by me. Well, I said that I read her messages on her birthday itself. She said, "I know I lied to you. But I have lost 50% respect for you today."

Valentine's Day

I had turned off my phone. I was angry. How could she do this to me? I am done saying sorry. I will be a sorry boi no more. Morning turned into afternoon. Afternoon turned into night. I was determined. I will measure her love for me from her number of missed calls to my phone. I had saved 55 rupees by not taking lunch in the afternoon. I had spent 26 rupees from that meagre amount to activate Missed Call Alert. As clock read 9:00PM, I had lost my resolves. I turned on my phone with this evil plan of measuring her depth of love for me. To my utter dismay there was no message other than advertisements to subscribe Gladrags hot models wallpapers. I immediately called her. She said, "sorry baby, I went to a movie with my fraands. And I had no balance. Mommy will recharge my phone and I will call you." Little did she know that I knew a secret number, which upon dialing reveals the details of balance of airtel subscribers. 🤣 She had 147.65 rupees along with a rate cutter plan. When I revealed this to her she said, "I have lost all of my respect for you." She was saying something to me. I disconnected the phone. World's burden was off my shoulders. My maa asked me to eat dinner.