Woman at Home

'Woman at Home' is a very popular game show in Calcutta. Every
evening at six-thirty the ladies, the children and sometimes the men
crowd around the television to watch this show. The format of the show
is really very simple. The host visits a housewife who is then invited
to participate in some apparently simple games. The minimum prize for
any game is one thousand pounds. If the participant is lucky she may
win upto ten thousand pounds. The success of this show has been
amazing. Celebrities have hosted the show every now and then and also
participated. There are various people who have anchored this show but
the most popular host is certainly Paro Banerjee. She is the wife of
the most accomplished composer in the city and is a well-known singer
too. What is more, Paro has been a journalist of some repute. She is
friendly, helpful and certainly has the gift of the gab. Paro lives in
Lake Gardens. And that is where today's episode has been shot.
The Sens are all very excited. They ought to be because Mrs Sen's face
will be seen on television today. Mr Sen, her husband is a doctor
attached to SSKM Hospital. He is a very busy man and can hardly spare
the time to attend to his own needs. However, he was present when Paro
and her crew shot the episode of 'Woman at Home' in their three storey
house in Lake Gardens. Many relatives had come too and it had been an
exhilarating though somewhat tiring experience. But that was then. Mrs
Sen had made friends with an assistant director from Paro's unit. This
lady had called yesterday to tell Mrs Sen that 'her' episode would be
telecast today. It's a Tuesday. The children came back early from
school and had their meals. Mr Sen had been granted half a day's leave
from hospital. At exactly six pm the whole family was in the living
room in front of the television set. It was a new television too-of the
biggest possible size and equipped with a flat screen. The news at six
seemed tedious and boring. Everyone was relieved when it finally ended
at six thirty. And then the montage that precedes 'Woman at Home'
commenced. In a few seconds the smiling face of Paro Banerjee appeared
on the television screen. With her characteristic panache she
introduced Mrs Pia Sen. She spoke of her family, her house and her life
before marriage. Then came the first question. Paro spoke, 'Tell me Mrs
Sen who wrote Coriolanus?' Mrs Sen hesitated, albeit briefly and then
came up with the correct answer. As she was wont to do Paro then
launched a discussion about the life of a woman at home. She exchanged
ideas about the responsibility of being a married woman. She asked Mrs
Sen about her favourite recipe. When the atmosphere was quite cordial
Paro began to sing a song. It was a very familiar song and Mrs Sen was
asked to name the singer. The participant was unsure of the answer but
she blurted it out all the same. Paro then moved to the third game. For
this Mrs Sen was shown five varieties of fish and asked to name each.
Having prepared for this game Mrs Sen had no difficulty in providing
the answers promptly. After a small break Mr Sen was introduced to the
viewers. As usual Paro asked both Mr and Mrs Sen to rate each other on
a scale of ten. Not surprisingly each gave the other ten on ten. The
next game started thereafter. The couple was expected to count down
from 50 to 0. This they did without much ado. Mrs Sen again appeared in
the company of Paro. She was asked about her hobbies. She said she
loved to sing and was asked to sing a song. It was apparent that her
voice was not good at all. Nevertheless the family enjoyed her share of
limelight. The next game was simple. Mrs Sen was asked to place two
cushions in their covers. Five games had now been played and Mrs Sen
had won five thousand pounds.
The last two games were about to be shown. The doorbell suddenly rang
and at least thirty people walked into the Sen house. There were
friends, relatives and colleagues of Mr Sen. They had watched the first
twenty minutes at home. They were eager to watch the rest in the
company of the Sens. They were very happy that someone they knew well
was on prime-time television. Even as the show continued telephone
calls started pouring in. People whom the Sens knew, they did business
with and complete strangers called to congratulate Mrs Sen. The
children were really happy for their mother's celebrity. The cooks were
asked to get ready for a post-telecast party. As the penultimate game
started everyone focused attention towards the television. Paro was
reading out names of some groceries along with associated quantities.
Mrs Sen was now accompanied by her husband and her two sons. The whole
family was required to recall and state both the names and quantities.
Working on a system where each person remembers certain things only,
the family was able to state all names and quantities. The last game
remained. The guests had just been served champagne. The game was this.
A lot of things were placed on a big table. The Sen family was then
asked to leave the room while six changes were made on the table. The
Sens were re-admitted into the room and asked to identify all changes.
Mrs Sen's sons were able to pin-point the changes quite easily. The
game was over. Paro declared with great excitement that Mrs Pia Sen of
Lake Gardens had won ten thousand pounds and she was today's 'Woman at
Home.'