Vanity Bag (Part-1)

"'Wajood' embarks on a record-breaking start!Sana Sayeed yet again proves her prowess as the leading actress of the Indian celluloid."

read the headlines of all the Page threes.Phone calls,e-mails,gifts,wishes from admirers from every nook & corner in the world kept pouring in for Sana incessantly. Undoubtedly, she was the "QUEEN" of the silver screen. "Wajood" was yet another feather in her hat- a laurel that hardly made any difference to her.

Media avidly hankered for her interviews. Columns featuring her were boisterously published everywhere. She was now a household name.

Sana was fed up of this cult-status. In fact, she detested her ever-growing fame,she abhorred the paparazzi & made every attempt to prevent her private life from being sneak-peaked.

But as they say, "Popularity has it's own set of pratfalls",she,being the nation's heartthrob could no longer help herself from the media speculations. She was allegedly having an affair with Siddhartha Vrajesh -the famous & a much married industrialist!

It was true that Sana had a lonely life. She was abandoned by her family for her "liberal ways". Being a part of a conservative Muslim clan,Sana's ambitions were strongly opposed by her family. At the age of 19, she left her house & ventured to change her dreams of being a TOP-ACTRESS into reality. She set her foot in Mumbai & being a novice,she had faced many a set-backs but none could deter her spirit. Slowly & steadily,she grasped the attention of all the big-banners. Her unusual cinematic presence & her spontaneity earned her some note-worthy scripts. Producers confidently invested in her rare melancholic look & as they say the rest is History.

She kept ascending & now she was a "HIGH-PROFILE" celebrity charging a whopping seven digit figure for each project.

Sana would never let people intrude in her personal life. As soon as the director would clamor "PACK-UP",Sana would at once take long strides to her Vanity Van, shut the door,draw the curtains & sequester herself form the mad-bad ,avaricious world.She would undo her make-up,throw away her jewelry recklessly & thump in her chair. Anxiously, she would look for her cell-phone & make her much-needed call.

"Hello!" said a joyous Sana.

"Hi!Honey,how was your day?" replied the man on the other side of the phone.

"Tiring,I am sick of all this honey! All I need is YOU! When are we meeting?"

"In a day or two, honey.I am a bit busy with my clients.As you know business knows nothing except PROFIT!" answered a languid Siddhartha Vrajesh.

"I know Sid, you are busy with your business,your wife & family. But,you love me,don't you? It's been long since we had last met. I need YOU dear,I really need you"

"Hey,Sana! I've got some urgent work.I shall call you up in the evening" & with these words Siddhartha hung up.

Sana could feel a lump in her throat.This was not the first time when Siddhartha had hung up the phone in the middle of a conversation. She rubbed off her tears & went to her apartment. She stayed in a lavish apartment in one of the poshest areas of Mumbai.All through these years,she had started to dread "LONELINESS".It was dusk & Sana waited for Siddhartha's call with baited breath.But,he didn't turn up. She waited till midnight & then decided to give him a call.

"Hey,there! I was waiting for your call but you didn't make any.So,I decided to give you one! I hope it's alright with you?!"

"Of-course,it's NOT!" whispered an angry Siddhartha. "I've asked you many a times not to call at this time of the night.How many times do you want me to repeat the same thing God-damn-it!"

"I am really sorry Sid but since I desperately wanted to have a word with you,I called you up." Saying these, Sana twitched her quivering lips & she broke down into tears.

"Listen Sana,for God's sake don't cry.Sleep now,we shall talk in the morning" said a strident voice of Siddhartha & he hung up.

Sana gawked at the phone for a while & threw it away.She lividly hurled the glass vase which shattered into pieces. She desperately opened her cupboard, ransacked the clutter to find her hypodermic syringe & a small bottle. She filled up the syringe with the liquid content in the bottle & punctured it into her fore-arm. Within moments,Sana was calm,as calm as a night after a raging storm is.She lay on the floor in a supine position......sedated & still.....