The couch was in the house since the time memory starts. It was bought , at throwaway prices, at a garage sale . So it came with a baggage of memories of its own .
The cane arms had four layers with split bamboo reinforcements. The arms were used to rest steaming tea cups , TV remotes, newspapers and occasional aberrant school note book. It was worn and shiny. When it arrived , it was cream with brown, the brown eroding , and the cream chipped. Father got it painted in military green with maroon . That is how it stayed, along with the grime , and dirt it gathered through years of indifferent living.
In one of the wooden bases, we , in our childhood pursuit of the trivial, discovered , "NEVA" carved in shaky capitals. Whether it was read aven , or was a name , remained a mystery to us . My brother thought it fit to carve his own name , and address next to it for posterity.His address would begin with the flat number , and end in planet earth , universe ("So it is easier for aliens to place me "). Now why and how would aliens lift a 5kg cushion to read some thing written on the underside of a cracking couch , was a question never asked .
Two years ago, the couch was deemed too large and derelict, and was given to the help. She , too , having no use /space for such a large piece of furniture , placed it on the pavement in front of her house , where it became a haven for street urchins and passersby. Last I saw , a family of crows , mynahs and pigeons were ripping the stuffing apart to build their own nests.
The cane arms had four layers with split bamboo reinforcements. The arms were used to rest steaming tea cups , TV remotes, newspapers and occasional aberrant school note book. It was worn and shiny. When it arrived , it was cream with brown, the brown eroding , and the cream chipped. Father got it painted in military green with maroon . That is how it stayed, along with the grime , and dirt it gathered through years of indifferent living.
In one of the wooden bases, we , in our childhood pursuit of the trivial, discovered , "NEVA" carved in shaky capitals. Whether it was read aven , or was a name , remained a mystery to us . My brother thought it fit to carve his own name , and address next to it for posterity.His address would begin with the flat number , and end in planet earth , universe ("So it is easier for aliens to place me "). Now why and how would aliens lift a 5kg cushion to read some thing written on the underside of a cracking couch , was a question never asked .
Two years ago, the couch was deemed too large and derelict, and was given to the help. She , too , having no use /space for such a large piece of furniture , placed it on the pavement in front of her house , where it became a haven for street urchins and passersby. Last I saw , a family of crows , mynahs and pigeons were ripping the stuffing apart to build their own nests.
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