Who is the winner

An old lady was sitting on the verandah of her house. She was in her 80's with gray hair and rumpled skin. Her voice quavered as she called her daughter in law for a glass of water. After waiting for a response, she muttered to herself, "Who cares for this old lady!" She was frail and spent most of her time on the verandah gazing at the street. Watching the busy market below was her hobby and favourite pastime.

The sun was up near the zenith and the daily clamor of the people and vehicles was making the market look like a tableau of chaos. People were moving around with their bags full. Workers were unloading gunny bags and carton boxes of items from the pushing-carts and were taking them through the service doors of the shops.

Amidst this commotion an old man was hobbling towards the traffic signal. His dress was shabby and was patched at lot of places. It could well have passed on as a designer stuff had he been walking on a ramp for a popular designer. But here the lady knew that he is poor and was not well taken care of by his family. She wondered if at all he had a family. As he came nearer she could see his face clearly. His hair was unkempt and his eyes were sunken. He had a stubble grown on his cheeks and few of his front teeth were missing. He had a small pouch hanging down his neck and there was a jingling sound of coins as he walked past her. "Poor thing!", gasped the old lady and felt sad for not having a penny to spare for him.

As she moved her gaze from him, the old lady heard a thud of a person falling and the clinking of coins on the gravel as they splattered on the gravel. He was middle-aged man trying to stand up, pushing aside the old beggar. The guy was in his thirties and seemed pretty well-built. He had a nasty look on his face with a long scar running from his left eye to his jaw. As he stood up, he was shaking as if feeling dizzy. His legs were not stable and kept moving around as he cursed the beggar, "You sonowabitch! cant you see wats in the front. Get lost, fucking old man, good for nothing, just roaming around on the street blocking others way". Saying this he walked onto the road causing lots of screeching of tyres and brakes as cars and bikes tried to avoid a collision. He was heavily drunk and had no sense of direction. He was howling at all people around, swearing at everybody.

He was swaying as he moved and bumped into a red convertible. As he laid his eyes on the person at the driver seat, he saw a woman. She was fair and good looking with shoulder length hair. As she stepped out from the car, the old lady noticed that she was decked up in a mini skirt and a tight top. She had a stunning figure and looked like a model or an actress or something, totally out of place in a cheap market in a small town like this. The drunkard also thought so. He was knocked back to senses by the bumps and by the hot chick standing in front of him. It was as if the market had come to a stand-still, watching the girl and the drunkard. He was getting tempted to reach for the girl. His eyes looked greedy and the girl shifted with unease. He started moving towards her, ogling her from head to toe.

The scene was watched by many - a priest of the church in his cassock and holy cross hanging around his neck feeling sympathy for the drunkard about to commit a sin, a gandhian clad in white with a serene face wishing the guy to pass over before he reaches the girl, a kid dressed in school uniform experiencing a thrill of watching a movie, a policeman boiling with anger and lots of nondescript faces showing emotions varying from shock to anger to pity.

The policeman, who had stopped for a tea, had seen the drunkard cursing the beggar. That had irritated him a little, but as many will say 'Who cares for a poor old beggar'. But he couldnt resist himself from action when it was a gorgeous lady in question. He got up and crossed the street. All events seemed to be in slow motion. The drunkard getting closer to the girl and the policeman getting closer to him. And in the end of course it was the policeman who got there first and banged his fist on the drunkard's face and down he went on the road in a heap.

There was huge applause from the crowd with cheers and claps drowning the voice of a gentleman who had come up on stage. He waved his hand to the crowd and announced on the mic "That was a wonderful performance by the students of Class V. And the winner of today's Fancy Dress Competition is ...................".

Afterword
I feel that the Winner is the The Old Lady but if you felt any other character deserved to be the winner, you can fill in the last words of the gentleman and let me know about that in your comments.

Comments

Rat said…
Chaiiiiiii.. Kalanju :'(
vsquare said…
to be honest, i think d real winner is the writer himself.
vimalgasper said…
nammal randum ore thoniyil thanne... Truely creative... And i feel that the girl who dressed as a lady and drove into the drunkard should get the prize.

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