Visiting him in the hostel one day, Madori asks Wantanabe loud, “Do all the guys here masturbate thinking about women?” At which Watanabe hushes her and tows her out of the hostel with a, “Yes they won’t be thinking about the stock market and doing it.”
This is from the book ‘Norwegian Wood’ by Haruki Murakami which I came across in my friend Indira’s blog ( http://www.indiralaisram.com) the other day. It took my mind to a conversation I had with a friend that happened almost a decade ago.
When I was shifting to Ahmedabad, one of my close friends was very concerned. For some strange reason, he did not want me to shift my base to Ahmedabad. I remember having a long conversation with him on a March evening. He suddenly told me, “Promise me, you will never make love to any man from there.” I laughed and asked him why? He told me, “Listen, men there only understand the language of money. They are like ATMs—when you make love to them, only money will come out.” I laughed and told me, “Oh dear, that will be the easiest way to make money. You should be happy for me.” He told me, “I can’t imagine you doing that. You are too intense for all this money talk.” (Now, I know whom/what to blame).
But this also takes me to a novel which I had read long back. One night, a prostitute (the protagonist) makes love to a rich man. As the man goes on grabbing her body hungrily, she thinks to herself, “He will not leave one penny go waste. He has to extract every little penny from me.After all, he wants the best from the deal.” In that particular desolate moment and a disgust for her body desired by many men, she remembered a painter (who had come to her earlier). The young painter in the midst of sex distanced himself from the ‘paid’ act. He made her lie next to him and talk about her childhood and her mom who was a tailor.
In a society now ruled by money, most men are slaves to the notes. But I don’t know how many of them really think of sensex while having sex. Probably on a bad budget day, with a plunging sensex not many men here will give a thought to plunging necklines. Does that say anything?
Ruminator on a qwerty keyboard 