Friday, August 20, 2010

IN THE WINK OF AN EYE

I was eleven years old, and studying in Class VI, when I took a daring decision.

I decided that it was time I grew from a girl to a woman, with all the accompanying wiles and guiles that went with womanhood. And one of the indispensable weapons in a woman's formidable armoury, was her undisputed skill in attracting men with the mesmeric power of her eyes.

To cut a long story short, I decided to pick up the art of winking.

Because to wink successfully, delicately, without scrunching up your eyes, or squeezing your eyelids tortuously, or hamming up the whole thing like a lascivious Johnny Walker (the comedian, not the whiskey), seemed to my 11-year-old mind the epitome of the femme fatale.

But the mirror was not enough, I needed a guinea pig to practise upon.

Being essentially timid by nature, I chose a safe venue. The top deck of the red double-decker bus - L20 - that took us from safe, suburban Barrackpore to big-city Calcutta and all its dangerous fascinations. A window-seat gave me a good view of the people down below.

I chose a safe victim. I decided to bestow my virgin wink at any old man who would look up at my window, but would not be strong enough or fast enough to follow it up with any other action.

So, in one of the innumerable bus-stops on the way to Esplanade, I winked at a doddery old man who was gazing bemusedly up at the bus. Most probably he had cataract, or short-sight, but I fondly imagined him to be gazing straight at me when I WINKED - not a sly, barely-there wink, BUT A BOLD, LASTING-FOR-QUITE-SOME-TIME, EYE-PROPERLY-SHUT, MAKE-NO-MISTAKE-ABOUT-IT WINK.

The poor man hardly noticed a thing.

Now that was a wink gone with the wind.

TELL ME, WHEN DID YOU FIRST WINK A WINSOME WINK?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe when I passed tenth examination And to someone closer to our home And she had a big shy which I enjoyed And I continuously did many times whenever I saw her or you can say she tried to look - Ha Ha Ha
- Lovely memories
What about flying kiss?

Lazyani said...

Nah, Sucharita, my experiment was with whistling. After a harried trial period of about 6 months , I found I could whistle(at least create an audible sound through pursed lips)at the ripe old age of 14 .

And what followed was similar to your experience. Whistling at a good looking class mate from a distance of 10 feet while the school band was playing a crescendo. The result was, no one heard it.

Rajesh said...

What an experience. I do not remember doing anything like this.

Unknown said...

God am I prodigy or what!!!! My oldest sister's friends who were 9 yrs older than me taught me to wink when I was in the first std as a joke..... Sis got royally screwed at home when i showed ma what I had learnt and I was firmly told never to try it...... but u cant really unlearn what u have learnt..... am a pro..... but never ever tried it on anyone!!!

Nona said...

I think when I was 10! I was coached by a boy older than me. The group consisted of at least 3 boys of my age! But never dared to practice it on strangers. Only friends!

Gayathri said...

No yaar.. i wasted a lifetime.. Never had the balls to wink :D

Tomz said...

Well..I remember my sister practicing it..I practiced it in front of the mirror and in the presence of my friends..

lopa said...

I know how to wink, it was a revered skill at our time but I don't remember winking at anybody.I knew friends (mostly guys) who winked innocently while talking.It seemed like a cute quirk.

Sucharita Sarkar said...

That was quite a compendium on the subtle art of seduction. Thank you!

Santanu Sinha Chaudhuri said...

What a lovely tale! Enjoyed it thoroughly, but are you sure you've said it all? I mean, could your readers look forward to a sequel?

Piscean Angel said...

hahaha... but do u really STILL think that old men are "safe" ???