I don’t kill cockroaches, mice, or mosquitoes.
I’m
non-violent by principle, though I don’t interfere with others.
At 6 PM, I
returned home from the office and entered my room.
Near the
corner table, a cockroach stood still, brownish-black, its antennae twitching.
Even a firm
stomp didn’t move it.
“Cockroach, cockroach !”
I called out to the kitchen.
My wife came
running, broom in hand.“Where?”
“Under the
table, staring back, twitching its tentacles,” I said.
She swung. I
stepped back to the hall.
Our son ran
in with a spray; our daughter followed, wielding a rolled newspaper.
Peeking from
the hall, with eyes half closed, I watched them sigh in relief after the collective kill.
Seeing my
expression, part sad, part revolted, my wife laughed.
“What if it
were a leopard or a mad dog, you timid man?”
“Don’t you
know I’m strictly non-violent?”
Their
laughter answered
Very hilarious
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you've got a full-blown family pest control SWAT team on your hands! Your commitment to non-violence is admirable, but maybe next time, just loudly suggest the cockroach read a book on peaceful conflict resolution. That way, everyone wins... or at least the roach gets an education before its inevitable, family-orchestrated demise.
ReplyDeleteJanardhan N
A regular scenario in any house and you have subtly and humorously painted the duplicity of the man . A short but nice story
ReplyDeleteVery good. Ramakrishnan.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha ha. He is strictly a non violent man. But he triggered his violent family members. Ha ha ha ha
ReplyDeleteChitra
Very funny! Arvind R
ReplyDeletelove the new short-story approach, a quick and digestible read- still maintaining the witty humour from your longer content!
ReplyDeleteA hilarious one. If one were to look at it from a different angle, you are like the present day neta who will say I am non violent but instigates his team to do the dirty work and claims to be non violent . Concluding 3 lines are too good.
ReplyDeleteThe tiny cockroach entertained everybody except the 'man of the house' .....Sandhya
ReplyDeleteHilarious happening at any household!! Man could live upto his principle strictly because of the whole family turning non-violent and helping him!! Otherwise it would have been a sleepless night for everyone though it's a tiny creatures!! Good one!!- Jayanthi
ReplyDeleteSudden materialisation of a cockroach almost invariably creates consternation in any household, and when the 'man' in the house is around, it becomes his bounden duty to get rid of it!
ReplyDeleteThe author, however, created this delightful story to tell how the other family members combinedly reversed the roles since the man was an avowed follwer of 'non violence'!
Don't know how you pass each day in the home surrounded by violent people.
ReplyDeleteVery clever man! As long as someone does the violent work, it is all good! loved the story and the family SWAT team as a commenter above has said! --Thangam
ReplyDeleteVery appropriate hilarious story in the current scenario!! Atin Biswas
ReplyDeleteNon-violence never looked funnier! loved how the family handled the ‘crisis’ while the husband upheld his moral high ground from the hallway! Hilarious read! 😂
ReplyDeleteAsola is sacred in Kolkata,no one kills Asola
ReplyDeleteJagadeesan
Essence is our hands shouldn't be soiled! Right?😂
ReplyDeleteBest wishes and warm regards
Hemantha Kumar Pamarthy
Good. Short and Sweet story Sir.
ReplyDeleteI think every being has a right to life and living. It's just the humans who do not believe in the 'Live and let live' philosophy.
ReplyDeleteShort and sweet story !
ReplyDeleteLook like it is an unwritten law when 'Man' is around at home, he is supposed to get rid of cockroaches or rats or snakes. May be a coincidence , a Rat was villain of the piece in small story I wrote. A simple , small story I liked too much from your pen. Waiting for the next one.
ReplyDeleteHahahahahaha. Some ' non-violence' I see.....hahahagaga - Meka
ReplyDeleteYou are extremely creative when it comes to short stories. Very nice :)
ReplyDelete