Bathroom Singer

Sangeetha Surabhi (SS) is a young, unmarried woman working in an MNC as an SWE. She developed an interest in singing during her school days. When she was 8, her parents sent her to a nearby classical music teacher. She continued until she began her intermediate education. Her parents wanted her to pursue a B.Tech in computer science, which required a good rank in the entrance examination. Hence, she was admitted to a junior college and a coaching centre. Classes were held during regular working hours, with coaching sessions after classwork. They also assigned homework. Amid all this, she could not think of singing.

She secured a good rank and joined a reputed engineering college. She took part in cultural activities and won prizes in singing competitions. She graduated with distinction and was selected by an MNC during campus interviews. Her parents were pleased.

She is a beautiful, fair-complexioned young girl for her age. She had friends from her class, both boys and girls. Her friendships with boys were limited to academic matters. The boys were eager to catch a glimpse of her, but she kept her distance from them. They were afraid to talk to her about anything other than academics. 

*

Her father is a businessman. Her mother is a homemaker. They live in a three-storey villa. She has a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. The bathroom has a bathtub and a shower.

After starting her job, she had time to herself and began singing for her own enjoyment.

As she had learned classical singing in her school days, she was singing in her leisure time at home.

She enjoyed her morning bath to her favourite cinematic love songs. When she sang, she felt relaxed and stayed active throughout the day. 

*

She was enjoying her life at home and at the office. She never thought about marriage. Her parents were seeking a suitable groom. She didn't worry about marriage or the groom. She felt her parents were the right people to choose the groom, given their knowledge of society and people.

She had friends at the company and in the villa complex. The company organised weekend parties at resorts or tourist destinations, where she sang for colleagues.

The villa residents organised programmes for all festivals and important days. SS was a member of the organising committee and took an active part in all the activities. She sang on stage, and everybody appreciated her.

Her parents had many relatives. They attended all the functions. SS was popular for her singing at these events.

Through these activities, she was popular with her classmates, colleagues, villa residents, and relatives.

All the girls her age envied her for her academic talent, her job, and her singing.

*

One morning, after finishing her breakfast, she came to clean her scooter seat. She found a small cover on it. Astonished, SS looked at it. The cover contained a pendrive. She was both surprised and afraid. She put the pendrive and the cover in her bag.

*

She went to the workplace. The seats were side by side, but the laptops had partitions, so the person beside her couldn't see but could hear. After settling into her seat, she plugged the pendrive into her laptop. It played a song. She silenced it and listened with her earphones on. There were no visuals.

Along with the songs came splashes of water. The singer abruptly started another song without finishing the first. When she listened carefully, she heard her own voice, the sound of soap rubbing against her body, water splashing on her face, and sometimes the sound of a handheld showerhead.

 She was afraid that someone had recorded her singing in the bathroom.

*

SS was startled, and her mind went blank. She wondered: Is this limited to sound recording or to video recording?

She wanted to know who the culprit was. This recording took place in her bathroom, indicating that the person had access to it.

She listened to the audio on the pendrive again and again. There was one song she had practised two months ago, from a recently released film. She checked the film's release date. Since then, she had practised that song. She found out about the different occasions when she invited her friends home or organised get-togethers. She checked her diary.

 She found two such occasions. One was when she invited some of her colleagues from the office. There were about 10 people: three girls, three boys, and two working couples from the office who fell in love and married after joining the organisation. 

Another occasion was when she invited some close friends from their villa complex. The friends came with their families.

Another occasion was when one of her classmates secured an MS place at a reputed university in the USA and was leaving within a week. On that occasion, SS invited her close classmates, five male and five female, all working in different organisations.

 These get-togethers were held from 11.00 AM to 3.00 PM on Sundays. They discussed health, climate, political, and social issues. The office bachelor colleagues enjoyed themselves until 6:00 PM, while others left early.  

*

Everyone sat in the hall. The food was laid out on the dining table, and they served themselves.

Male members used the common bathroom in the hall, and female members used SS's bathroom.

She checked her diary and found that the villa people's party was earlier than the release date. Hence, they were excluded.

Now, she is left with two groups, her classmates and her office colleagues.

As only girls had access to her bathroom, it must have been by one of the girls from these groups. She listed the girls. They were her good friends and were not to be doubted.

However, she kept a close watch on these girls, three from the office and five from her classmates. She noticed that one of her office friends left at 4.00 PM. Observing her classmates was difficult, as they worked in different organisations.

She purchased a handheld scanner to check for any chips in her bathroom. She checked under the wash basin, the water closet, the bathtub and their water-supply fittings. It was a futile attempt. 

SS grew worried about how her singing was recorded. She considered filing a complaint with the Police She-Teams. As they were all her friends, it would not be good for her to doubt their integrity. She wanted to investigate herself.

*

SS contacted a local detective agency to monitor her five female classmates. They assigned five people to observe their daily activities. They were all leading routine lives, going to the office and coming home in the evening, in line with their office hours. But one girl had a boyfriend, with whom she was spending weekends. She was staying in a paying guest hostel. The detective agency sent a photo of that boy. He was their senior at the college. These two had been growing closer since their college days.

With this data, she concentrated on the office colleagues. She met them during lunchtime and enquired about any new songs in their WhatsApp group. One of her seniors in the office, who prefers talking to her every day, has sent a song. It was the song she sang that morning in her bathroom.

SS became frightened and angry. In a fit of uncontrollable rage, she went to the senior's desk, thumped it, and said, "How dare you record my singing in the bathroom? I never expected such behaviour from you."

Pandava Krishna (PK) was taken aback by her behaviour and gave her a glass of water, asking her to calm down, as other staff were observing them.

 With eyes welling with tears, she went to her desk and sat in her chair, resting her head in both her hands.

PK could not understand what his mistake was. He went to her desk and said, "Madam, please tell me what my mistake is. I am sorry for any mistakes I may have made unknowingly. I respect you very much."

 Please look around; all eyes are on us. Let us go to the canteen to discuss.

PK consoled her, his right hand on her left; she got up, went to the washbasin, washed her face, freshened up, and went to the canteen.

PK ordered two coffees. If your concern is about the song, please note that I received it from our mutual office friend, Maheshwari (MS). I did not realise it was your singing. I thought you would enjoy the song, as it's new. However, your singing is excellent. I never knew you had such artistic talent.

SS was surprised by the revelation. MS was among the office colleagues who attended the party.

MS is brownish and beautifully proportioned for her height. She secured the appointment through an agent. She was in love with PK but never expressed it to him. She knew PK was interested in SS. SS was friendly with PK. MS recognised SS's positivity, helpfulness, intelligence, and hardworking attitude. She felt jealous of SS and sought to create a divide between PK and SS so that PK hated SS. Hence, she sent SS's bathroom audio.

*

PK and SS went to MS. SS asked her, "Where did you get the recording of me singing?"

MS understood she had been caught; unable to look at SS and PK, she lowered her head. PK took her mobile and saw the song recordings. He kept her mobile with him until evening.

 They took her to SS's villa in the evening. SS took them to the bathroom and started singing, and to their surprise, it was recorded on MS's mobile. PK questioned MS about how she could record her singing in the bathroom.

MS asked SS for an excuse and showed the chip's location.

With that, PK said, "MS, this is a clear indication that you are a cheat. I hate you. Don't talk to me hereafter."

*

On the day of the party, MS put her plan into action. She went to the bathroom and placed a chip under the lower acrylic shelf in the corner. The handheld scanner could not detect it because it was near a screw. The chip was linked to her mobile, so she sent the recording to SS on a pendrive, then to PK.

*

 PK began to hate MS and kept his distance from her. SS appreciated his help in finding the culprit. PK and SS grew closer. MS's jealousy of SS backfired on her.

The End