When Ranga was with Sally, he felt like a better person.
Not because Sally brought out the goodness in him. But because he was the brown boy who had bagged first prize – a white girlfriend.
That’s what made Ranga sing in the shower, hum at the supermarket, and smile without reason. Only twenty-three, fresh out of college with a degree in philosophy, Ranga had met Sally at his second job interview. She was the cheerful secretary.
Her brown hair and green eyes had caught Ranga by surprise. And more than the questions being asked, Ranga had focused on Sally. He didn’t get the job but managed to win the white girl’s affection.
Ranga, happy and excited, had then called his mother. The woman lived in a small town towards the tip of southern India. She had been frying dosas and stirring bubbling sambar when her son thoughtlessly gave her the shock of her life.
She had smacked her forehead and called Ranga a scoundrel. The boy was supposed to be making a better life for himself and not running around with an unreliable white girl. She told him to end it, but Ranga bluntly refused and hung up on her.
He didn’t take her calls for months after that.
The old woman would have had a heart attack if she knew Sally wasn’t a girl but a forty-five-year-old woman with a daughter one year older than Ranga.
Ranga and Sally were inseparable. They were seen everywhere. Not because they had much in common, but Ranga could not resist to show off his white treasure. And even when no one asked, he made sure he told them – I have a white girlfriend.
Not Caucasian or American. Only white. A relationship that made him feel powerful.
Then one day, out of the blue, Sally showed up at Ranga’s apartment with a bucket of chicken wings and a pained look on her face. She told her brown boyfriend that she was pregnant. Ranga could not believe his ears and burst out crying.
He asked her who the father was, she kicked him and then she slapped him. Ranga lost his balance and fell on the floor, the chicken wings tumbled after him. Sally said something about a lawyer and taking legal action.
Ranga had only kissed Sally twice. Is that how women got pregnant? Ranga called his mother to give her the good news. The old woman shouted till she could shout no more. And then threw her phone into a pot of boiling water.
The brown boy no longer speaks of his white girlfriend. He now refers to her as his pregnant wife. A woman who spoiled his love for the white color and made him regret his absurd lust for power.
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Okay I know you wrote something serious but I couldn’t help but laugh at the guy’s predicament. 😂
And where did you pull that name from?
Lol.
The name just came to me.
The situation is laughable. I always like when humor can be seen in grim situations. Maybe that’s how crazy people think. Have to let out a laugh or two.
Thanks Bharath. 🙂
How else can we live with ourselves? 😂
Haha. Exactly.
Ha ha. Poor guy. Although he may have deserved it 😂 Good one Terveen
He probably fell into a trap that he didn’t even know existed. Poor Ranga. Serves him right? Really can’t say. Never try to run ahead of your expectations.
Thanks so much, Vignesh. 🙂
Ha ha. True what you say. You are welcome Terveen 🙂
Years ago, I knew a Ranga with a white girlfriend 🙂
Ranga was a short form of Rangaswamy.
Oh wow! That’s a nice surprise. Hope he had a better experience and brighter story.
Thanks. 🙂
As always, you surprised me. I already suspected that there wouldn’t be a happy end for Ranga after the first few lines and I tend to stop myself about a third into your stories, wondering, what will Terveen do? And as always, I was miles off. I expected some bloody vendetta, not a pregnant 45 year old wife. Thank you, Terveen, for surprising me again and again and putting my imagination to shame.
Haha. Thank you so much, Britta. I’ve been trying NOT to chalk out a familiar route. The reader should wander a bit and then find out that they were miles off the mark.
Your kind words of support and encouragement mean a lot. And your imagination and wit are simply sublime. 🙂
Ranga? Ranga, are you listening? I have zero empathy for you, my dude. Here’s why:
Let’s say your coveted White Prize was a sincere human being (which we all now know that she’s not), you, my brown brother from another mother, reduced her to an object, which is not even in the neighborhood of being cool.
Second: a two-kiss pregnancy? Come on, man, you’re twenty-three, where’s your knowledge at? Everybody and their mother knows that it takes at least five kisses to impregnate a female! Get with the program, guy! Educate yourself!
And lastly, if a woman ever shows up at your doorstep with a bucket of chicken wings to announce her pregnancy…run for your life, because her hillbilly brothers aren’t too far behind with their shotguns, fixin’ for a wedding.
LOL!
Rhyan, your comments make these stories worth writing. And you’re so quick. I picture you running after your words. And when you catch them and get them in order, they’re just dying for the eyes of the reader.
Ranga didn’t think this through. His mother probably wants to disown him. Since she couldn’t get her hands on Ranga, her phone was the next best thing to throw into the pot of hot water.
Ranga probably missed the whole birds and bees lecture. Too busy dreaming of a future white girlfriend.
Five kisses do seem more authentic.
And I can picture those hillbilly brothers, their tummies bursting out of their overalls, pointing their shotguns at Ranga.
The brown guy never had a chance.
Interesting story! Serves Ranga right. Sally makes his dream come true. Now he has a white girl all his life to show off. Just twenty-three and knotted, will he ever be happy knowing that his two kisses can’t make a girl pregnant? What a thing!
Haha! Ranga has reduced himself to a fool. All for the joy of superficial attainment. You’re so right, he now has her for life. The bliss of ignorance… 🙂
Wow, brings out some common stereotypes we all hold, and the twists and turns are so effortlessly sewed in…awesome read!
Thanks so much, Deepak. 🙂
The love for all things fair is still ingrained in many minds. Ranga couldn’t let opportunity pass him by. It turned around and finally punched him. Haha!
That’s true 👍💯
LOL. I loved this!! I literally laughed when Ranga’s mother threw the phone in the pot of boiling water!! 🙂
The poor woman would’ve probably slapped Ranga silly if she could. But the phone had to bear the brunt of her aggression.
Thank you so much, Diana. 🙂
This is culturally accurate and bitterly funny!
Haha!
I’m glad you liked. Thank you so much. 🙂
Wow, it is such a funny story. I’ve seen mothers or rather parents like that who went berserk over their children’s choices. Your story has more kicks than the real events. I especially enjoyed the age difference and the pregnancy. 😍😊😜👍
Thank you, Haoyan. 🙂
Fiction is always spiced up a bit. Lol.
Yes, many parents, especially Indian parents, try to realize their own dreams through their children. But I think Ranga’s mother was definitely wiser than he was. He should’ve listened to her.
That’s a fantastic story, Terveen. 😊Your creativity knows no limits, and I love it that way. I get many things from this story, one of which is to be careful what you ask for, and desire.
Thanks a lot, Jeff. 🙂
I think you’ve taken out the crux of this story.
Be very careful what you ask for. Very careful…Haha.
You’re most welcome, Terveen. Always. 😊 Indeed, very, very, careful. 😅
That was awesome!!!
Thanks so much, Michael.
Glad you liked it. 🙂
I just cant stop laughing
Haha!
Thank you so much, Ayieko. 🙂
Beautifully written, most of the people are very obsessed with white skin and Ranga was one off them .Even as a graduate he didn’t learn about Beas and birds.Mother should, if she could throw him in the boiling sambar You are an awesome writer 👏 😀.
Haha! Thank you so much. 🙂
I guess he wasn’t really a mama’s boy. For the first time I’d say that he should’ve been one. Would’ve saved him lots of trouble.
And the boiling sambar probably would’ve been a safer place to be.
Beautiful 😍
Thank you. 🙂