“Hi” She greeted me with an extra friendly smile. “You can sit here,” she pointed to the seat next to her. I plopped down a large number of packages and sat down thankfully. There was a huge rush in the wedding dining hall. People wanted to have lunch and rush back to their places of work. I tried to fit in a bit of shopping as well, since the venue was adjoining a mall.
As I waited for the food to be served, I wondered who the lady was. She looked familiar. She caught me looking at her and grinned. “We are friends on Facebook! We also belong to a music group; I do admire your collection of sarees!” Ah, Facebook! I had nearly 4,000 friends there and around 40 in real life.
Yes, we had a music group, in which we posted about our favourite music and artists. Since the ‘admin’ of the group had made it a rule that we post along with a photograph of ourselves, the group was a jolly one, filled with vibrant colours of sarees, kurtis and, rarely, dhotis when the men in the group found time to post. Since some were over enthusiastic and posted often, the admin had allotted slots to all members.
When it was my turn, the usually grumbling, irritated me, after a full day’s work, would transform into an enthusiastic and cheerful person. The hubby would wonder how a person who wouldn’t want to make tea on other evenings and just flop down on sofa, would be ready in a few minutes after returning home to click snaps, select the perfect one, and then, choose the piece of music to be uploaded.
She shook me out of my reverie by introducing the man next to her as her better half. Of course, who else could one bring to a social function? Both were impeccably dressed and took a number of photos from all angles. “The FB wall will crash!” I joked as each item on the plantain leaf was clicked, too. “You came alone?” she enquired. I was very busy eating and just nodded at her. “You lead a great life!” she said and I gloated.
That’s how I am on Facebook; telling the world that I am having tea at exclusive shops, shopping for exotic clothes, watching the latest movies and meeting beautiful people. I didn’t reveal that I loved either home-made tea or one from the local joint, that I loved buying clothes from the wholesaler, that I preferred watching flicks on home theatre or the most beautiful persons in my life were my maid and cook!
The FB pictures after the event were shocking. There she was, eating delicately, while I slurped sambar. She ate with spoon, while I gobbled with my bare hands. I was surrounded by shopping bags and my hair was in disarray. Her husband had obviously beautified his wife. “All because you didn’t have time to accompany me and take photos!” As usual, the hubby was my target. He didn’t understand why an unknown woman and her photos caused me so much distress. How could he, who preferred to remain off social networks?
Published 29 June 2017, 18:11 IST