Sometime around January 2027 - Tirupur
The country was in complete
chaos. Everything failed, miserably. Industrial production was down to an
all-decade low of -23.4%. Economists and industrialists were making a hue and
cry, asking the Government to do something. Yet, the newly formed Central
Government (the previous ruling party somehow came back to power once again
with the same man in the post of Prime Minister) seemed to be in no-man’s land,
not knowing what to do, most of the time. Inflation had crossed the 150% mark. Adding to all this, the
percentage of suicidal deaths posed an impressive number, contrary to that of
the industry. The middle class, caught in right in the middle of all the turn
of events, was left with no choice but to bid goodbye to their lives, with the
other option being a slower death due to the Government’s inaction. As for the
lower masses, it was a given that no one cared for them. Yet, people found it
very difficult to even die, considering that the traditional option of poison was
ruled out, as they could not afford it. They were left with only one option –
hanging to death. Yet, even that seemed difficult, as most people had sold most
of their sarees in exchange for a meager amount of bread.
In the middle of all this, one
person was thriving. This person was indeed minting money by seconds. That was
our very own Polyester Padmini, the textile baron. With people left with no option but sarees to
end their lives, Padmini came up with a masterstroke to sell polyester sarees
at the cheapest rates possible. Although she suffered some losses during the
initial few weeks, profits came her way soon. Even sooner, the profits doubled,
tripled and kept rising exponentially. When a reporter asked her how she was
happy to make money at other people’s death, she simply replied “All’s fair in
love and war”. Indeed, Polyester Padmini considered this a war - a war between
life and her. And she intended to win. That’s when the blow came.
Around the same time – somewhere in Kerala
The big blue and green board read
“N N Enterprises”. Among other things, this firm majorly dealt with nylon
products. The firm, at one point of time, was a big time money maker and a
success among women. The nylon ropes proved to be very sturdy even in extreme windy
conditions, so proved extremely useful to dry clothes. But trouble started when
the economy plunged deep down and people simply stopped buying anything, let
alone nylon ropes. At one point, the firm hadn’t sold a single rope in a week.
They were in deep trouble. Presiding over a meeting of her executives, the
Chairman Nylon Nalini (and hence N N Enterprises) was fuming. Try as they
might, the firm couldn’t sell their ropes. Nalini wanted an explanation.
“Madam, you see. There is only
one reason behind this. you very well know that suicide rates have risen so
much. And people are purchasing the polyester sarees from one particular
company, as it is very cheap” – her CIO informed her.
“But Menon Sir, what happened to
all the ropes people have been using all these years? Surely, those should help
people die?” – Nalini queried.
“Well, they tried madam. But our ropes are sturdy to sustain the winds, but not
human weight. In fact, three suits have been filed in court by people who
attempted suicide using our ropes and ended up crashing on the floor” – the CIO
answered.
“What! But that’s ridiculous. Ok,
here is what we do. Make our ropes sturdier. Test it on people. Make some
sample posters, calling people for auditions. I am sure they would come. Stick
these posters in random places, especially in front of saree shops. Once our
test results are successful, make new sets of posters informing people about
it. Have the prices exactly half of what a saree costs. If needed, we will cut
it down further, later on. I cannot go overboard. Now is a time, when we can
make the best deal out of nothing” – Nalini came up with a strategy.
“But Madam, wouldn’t that be
unethical?” – her CIO was hesitant.
“Mr Menon, don’t teach me my
ethics. If you want to stay in your job, do as I say. Else, you are free to
walk out. By the way, who owns that one firm dealing with polyester sarees?” –
Nalini wanted to know.
“Madam, it is a lady called
Padmini. They call her Polyester Padmini” – the CIO replied.
“Padmini. Lady, you are gone.
Good luck. Perhaps, I will offer you and your family our ropes free of cost.
Least, I can do” – Nalini said to herself.
Her predictions came true.
Exactly five weeks after the meeting, N N Enterprises started making a minor
profit. Nalini smiled in happiness.
Thus, the rat race between the
two ladies – Nylon Nalini and Polyester Padmini had just begun.
The adventure begins
Fifty two weeks earlier, Padmini
would never have thought anyone could shatter her empire. She had been a queen
without a crown. She believed she possessed the power to end people’s misery,
their passion, their love, their life. She thought of herself even above God.
Yet, all that started dwindling and came to a grinding halt, all because of one
lady – Nalini. Gosh, how Padmini hated that very name. Her saree business
slowly started falling and the losses were unimaginable. She was forced to fire
most of her staff, simply because she had not much money to pay them. Yet,
Padmini was one lady who never gave up easily. And definitely not this time.
She vowed revenge. Wondering what she ought to do, Padmini decided to go for a
walk. As she passed the market nearby, she happened to see an old black board
that read ‘Buy one chocolate; get one free’. That’s when an idea struck her.
Immediately setting to work,
Padmini started out on a small scale, investing most of her private savings in
her mission. She set a few aides at work and by way of mouth, spread the news
around her locality that the prices of her sarees had now been slashed to half
of what a nylon rope costed. What’s more, people could get one saree free for
every two sarees they purchased. Padmini believed that her deal was sure to
grab attention. Sure enough, slowly, as word spread around, people did start
buying her sarees. With time, the numbers sure did increase, so did the money.
Padmini wondered how much longer this strategy would work, for she expected
Nalini to come up with something to counter this strategy. Sure enough, Nalini
did.
Adopting the same idea of
word-of-mouth, Nalini made an announcement to no one in particular that her N N
Enterprises would offer nylon ropes free of cost for the next three months. She
also promoted the idea of re-use, urging people to buy a maximum of two ropes
per family, and use re-use them in their noble journey to heaven. People
switched loyalties once again. Padmini fumed, again, wondering what she ought
to do now. This game, though adventurous it was in one way, was proving to be a
menace. She had to come up with something smarter.
The adventure was still on
But what both ladies failed to
realize was that, a major chunk of the country’s population did not exist
anymore. The Indian Statistical
Institute made a stark observation that the country’s population had dwindled to
30% of what it was, around the same time the previous year. Not once in history
had such a spectacle occurred. Filmy though it may appear, this was the
situation prevalent in the country. The Prime Minister appealed for calm,
promising to take care of his people’s needs, no matter what. Yet, the masses
had laughed it off as a well attempted joke, one timed aptly before their
death. And the deaths continued.
By the time Nalini and Padmini
realized that they had not many buyers left, it was too late. Too late to
figure out anything new. From uncrowned queens to street dwellers, the fall of
the ladies Nalini and Padmini was as dramatic as their rise. Their finances had
dwindled very rapidly, with little left for sustenance. To cap it all, the
unexpected happened.
The Government, its cheek swollen
by the tight slap given by the UN was desperately trying to cover up the mess
it had left the country in. All that the Prime Minister cared now was to save
the face of his Government, and he decided to do just about anything that would
help him hold on to his chair. That’s when he was intimated of the Adventures of Nylon Nalini and Polyester
Padmini. Furious with his staff
for not having told him earlier of this, the Prime Minister ordered the
immediate arrest of the two ladies. Within six hours, they were traced and
arrested. A case was filed in the Supreme Court for the atrocities committed by
the two ladies, who were accused of mass murder of the Citizens of the
Republic. A trial date was fixed for sometime in three months and the two ladies
were lodged in the high security Tihar jail. The Supreme Court had advised them
to ponder over their acts of crime and try to seek some remorse within
themselves, before the law decided on what should happen next.
End of the adventure
Once within jail, both Nalini and
Padmini started pondering over what had happened in their lives over the past
few years. Both of them had seen the best in life, with money easily coming
their way, to the worst in life, living the life of a pauper. Both had succeeded,
and both had failed. Each of them had been the reason behind the other’s fall,
and the subsequent rise. Indeed, their lives had been intertwined so much that
one had had a direct impact on the other’s life, good and bad. Now, even in
prison, they were assigned cells opposite to one another. Although they could
see one another from their cells, they seldom did. Yet, around a month and a
half after their prison life, one fine evening, both felt the urge to talk to
the other. Both spoke the exact same words – “I am sorry”.
The next day, the emergency alarm
at the Tihar jail went off loudly around 5:30 AM in the morning. Two ladies had
been found hanging within their solitary cells, which were opposite one
another. The lady in cell A103 had a polyester saree around her neck. The one
in the opposite cell A104 had a nylon rope around her neck. The bodies were
immediately removed from the cells and sent for post mortem. The final report
of the two ladies read thus:
Nylon Nalini – A103 – death by hanging using a polyester saree
Polyester Padmini – A104 – death by hanging using a nylon rope
Their cases were closed.
