Cable சங்கர்

10. I After that first experience, Senthil and I became close. We spent all our money on movies and drinks, and the question of how to get more became a constant torment. The initial experience had been beyond anything we had imagined, so we both harbored a secret longing for another opportunity. No call came for a week. Each time I considered calling, I remembered his promise to contact us. Having caught on to my newfound wealth, my sister began treating me with newfound respect. Due to my late-night drinking, I woke up late most mornings. Yet, invariably, her call would come as I was rising, informing me she’d made breakfast and asking me to eat before going out. This was all new to me. I’d smile inwardly every time she called. Twice that week, she asked for and received five hundred rupees. I appreciated how, when she asked, she would sit beside me quietly for a moment, holding my hand or stroking my hair while she spoke. It reminded me of my deceased mother’s touch, and I would giv...

9- Sharmi Every one of Reshma's birthday parties offered a unique experience. But after I came of age, I didn't expect an experience like this one—unlike any I'd had in the past three years. As usual, the house was bustling. Reshma's father was a millionaire, with a granite business. White-uniformed servants served sweets and drinks on the rooftop, and boys and girls who were usually hesitant to speak directly at school were chatting intimately. They flaunted their closeness simply by pairing off. Everyone present was an heir from a wealthy family. Falguni Pathak's song “Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi” was playing. Reshma's mother hugged and greeted everyone effusively, saying "So sweet" every ten minutes, acting more childish than anyone there. Arjun, even while with four or five friends, kept glancing at me. My back prickled under his gaze. It was like this every year. For three years, he had been following me everywhere—at school, at parties, in the corrido...

8. Me As soon as the overweight woman went inside, she appraised me from head to toe. Though ample, her face held a childlike innocence reminiscent of a famous actress. Her eyes shimmered with a mixture of eagerness and excitement. Without warning, she pulled me close, pressing my face against her generous breasts. I struggled for breath. Sensing my discomfort, she cupped my face in her hands, her lips finding mine in a sudden kiss. Her hands moved with practised efficiency, unbuckling my belt, unzipping my pants, and sliding down my underwear. Then, releasing my lips, she pulled off my t-shirt, leaving me naked in an instant. With a sigh, she looked me up and down before discarding her clothes. The sudden sight of her smooth, flushed skin ignited a fire within me. I lunged towards her, a move she seemed to anticipate. “Ahista… ahista” (slowly… slowly), she murmured, leaning back onto the bed and yielding to my advance. Though I didn’t understand the word, it reminded me of petting our...

7. Sharmi After my coming-of-age ceremony, my mother sat me down. “Listen, baby,” she began, “from now on, you need to be careful around boys, understand? If they ask you to go anywhere alone, you mustn’t. Do you understand?” But understanding was beyond me. It had been ages since she’d sat with me like this, really talked to me. “If anyone touches you or speaks to you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, tell me. If anything like that happens when you’re alone, just walk away,” she instructed. The thought of Driver Sundaram flickered through my mind, but I kept it to myself. I felt every eye on me back at school, especially the boys’. My physics teacher, after asking how I was, remarked to the math teacher, “She’s suddenly blossomed.” The comment only deepened my embarrassment. From then on, I found myself drawn to the mirror. My face had a definite glow, just as they’d said. My cheeks held a rosy flush as if rouged. My hips had indeed widened, and the sight of my reflection, standi...

6. ME I couldn’t keep up with his pace. At the entrance, the watchman tried to stop us, but seeing the intensity in his face, he backed down. My companion quickly opened the lift and pressed the button for the second floor. He was breathing heavily. When we reached the second floor, he threw open the lift doors, strode to the flat’s entrance, and told me, “Stay back. Come when I call you.” He pushed me aside and banged loudly on the locked grill gate. A man opened the door, demanding, “Who is it?” Seeing him, he glanced sideways at me—it was the man who’d taken my money. He gestured towards me as if asking, “Is this him?” When I nodded, he punched the man squarely in the face. The man fell back with a thud, clutching his nose. Without hesitation, my companion jumped on him and landed two more punches. By then, two overweight women, a young girl, and two other scantily clad men appeared from inside, fear etched on their faces. They seemed more inclined to flee than intervene. I seized t...

Me I was irritated that he wasn't answering his phone. I was angry at myself. What was I doing with my life? I should have been studying, getting a decent job, and finding a nice girl at work—the usual path to settling down. Instead, I was paying to chase after sleazy characters offering sex. Despite the shame, I had to admit I was more drawn to the immediate gratification of money, women, and sex than to the long-term prospect of education, a good job, a loving relationship, and a stable life. The next morning, when I went to the Nungambakkam flat, the outer grill gate was locked. I returned, dejected. I asked the watchman downstairs if anyone was in the flat. He replied with a suspicious look, "Maalum nahi" (I don't know). A young man asked the watchman, “Sir, how do I get to flat F24?” “I’m here to see them too,” I interjected. “It’s locked.” “Oh, really?” he replied, pausing thoughtfully before walking away. The sun was already scorching. I had only thirty rupees....

Sharmi Loneliness began to set in as I grew accustomed to the car and AC. I didn't understand why I would open the window and just stare blankly. My father was drifting further and further away from me. I no longer saw him coming home early at night to drive me around on his TVS 50. My mother was also busy. Their nightly kisses, smelling of the day and heavy with sleep, were the only constant. Being left with the nanny and the driver felt cruel. Every day I saw my father's picture in the newspaper, among the TV listings. It was a picture of him with a tightly knotted tie and his hands folded in prayer. Seeing him in that photo always made me laugh. At that age, I felt a small pride in telling my school friends that the man in those advertisements was my father. It had been a long time since I'd had my mother's gongura chutney and chicken curry. She didn't cook anymore. Every morning, she went to the gym. She looked younger than before. Driver Sundaram always had thi...

Me When I said "cash + enjoyment," she initially told me to deposit ten thousand rupees into an account they provided and call back; then they would give me a local Chennai number. Ten thousand? My jaw dropped. The voice on the other end repeated, “Hello…? Hello?” Since I couldn't afford that, I kept searching for similar ads and calling the numbers. That’s when I saw an ad online, with a Chennai number. When I called, they quoted the same price as the Delhi contact. When I said I couldn’t afford that much, they said, “Alright, come in person,” and gave me the address of their flat in Nungambakkam. When I went, there was no one at the door. After calling out "Sir... Sir" for a while, a shabbily dressed guy in low-slung jeans came out. His gaze alone asked what I wanted. I told him I was the one who had called, and he asked, “Have you brought the money?” He kept nodding his head as he spoke. “No, they told me to come in person…” He looked me up and down, put his ...

Sharmi Do you people who talk about culture still do so after seeing ten women writhing over three men, with three women surrounding a single man's penis, all while completely naked? If so, then you are hypocrites. In the early days, I had some interest in participating, but not anymore. I just enjoy watching. There's a word for this… oh… voyeurism. Most days, I simply hold a Bacardi or vodka and enjoy the heat generated by the rubbing of bodies. Listening to everyone's ragged breaths, the varied moans and groans, the cries of “Come on… come on… give me more,” “Fuck me,” “Why is everyone with her?” is a kind of sexual experience in itself. Each of them earns over a lakh of rupees. Some have assets worth crores. The three "studs" who were there worked tirelessly all night, switching partners, tiring, working again, tiring again, and barely even registered the women writhing on them in their drunkenness and exhaustion. To outsiders, it might seem exciting and fun. T...

I – Sharmi – Diamond Me A kiss from Sharmi feels like twelve volts of electricity coursing through my veins, lighting me up.” If Sharmi kisses, it will. After a kiss like that, if she sits on my lap and asks, 'Won’t you even do this little theft for me?' and you say no… then you're a better man than I am.” Still reeling from the electric shock of her kiss, I'd blurted out, 'I'll do anything for you.' Now, I'm standing in front of Chennai’s most exclusive diamond store." The result of saying “I will do anything for you” without coming out of the shock-induced kick is that I am standing in front of Chennai’s most important diamond store for the super-rich. I first saw Sharmi at a private party in ECR. It was an exciting party exclusively for women. Except men other than us other men were not allowed. We were sent from a popular callboy network in Chennai: Rahul, Kandasamy, and me, but he has been told to be called Rakesh during such assignments. Some ...