‘Yes, Abbu!’
Now after a year of serving tea, he was familiar with almost everyone at the office. He believed his father was closer to their dream as well.
He felt dizzy, almost felt like dropping the gripped semi-dozen cup holder on the road and go into deep hibernation. A slumber that shall last long till all his pain would go away. He wanted to go home. He looked up at the sun that poured its rays through the clouds and the scorching light hit his little face from a distance that seemed lesser than the distance between the spot he was standing and his home. He knew the sun was closer to him than his mud house because he could see the sun from where he was standing but his little mud home was nowhere in sight.
On a most unlikely manner, he started waddling across the highway. An Outlander was speeding towards him. He did not have the patience to look around again so he started crossing the road, unaware of the giant Japanese SUV. He took two more steps and that’s when he noted that the bisonous monster was just a second away from crushing him to death. He stranded himself from taking another step, the outlander passed just millimeters off his toe and he could feel his soul almost reverberating off and back into his body. His heart pounded faster and the whole universe broke into a deafening silence. The clouds rumbled against each other and soon there were thunderous sounds of approaching rain. The thunder brought his life back to normal. He realized that he was very much alive and started his remaining journey across the road. He had life enough to reach the office, serve tea to the gentlemen and then wait outside on the torn cushion until they would call out his name. Occasionally he would be tipped by the generous supervisor. He would happily accept the one rupee coin as if it were some precious treasure.
He now stood on the divider, which meant he had crossed half the highway and had another half to cover. With another stroke of breath, he jostled through the remaining half and this time the journey was quicker. The tarred highway ended and a muddy track appeared, leading towards two containers with windows and a door. His face carried no smile, but a look of dismay.
There was no security guard at the gate or maybe he did not notice him in the haste. He moved quickly through the muddy track and in a minute, he was inside the office. Maybe the guard was calling out his name, but he did not care. He was too tired to stop by the old guard. He did not even knock on the door today.
He placed a cup of tea on each of the six tables for the officers. He had done his first task, now he had to wait outside on the cushion. He stepped outside the container and just next to the water-pot, laid the cushion. The throne reserved for him. He rested his bottom calmly on the cushion. He was exhausted, almost felt dehydrated. He looked ahead: the sky was cloudier than it had been ten minutes ago. There were more sounds of thunder and as he looked at his wounded palms, a drop of water fell on it. Rain had started pouring. Unfortunately, it was both full of hope as well as dismay- the very sound of rain. He had prayed for rain when summer began, but the boon turned out to be a curse.
The rain would sooth his skin for the time being but few hours of continuous rain would wash away his mud house and he feared being homeless again. It was a heinous job to put the house back in shape. In the last downpour, the flood swept away the house along with his father’s savings. He had heard his father tell his mother ‘Allah had willed it this way. He must have better plans.’ His father was always optimistic.
The rain was getting heavier, little Arshad pushed the cushion backwards and sealed himself under the tin roof.
He waited till they had been done with their tea and more importantly the chit chats over tea. Usually, he would listen to their gossips from outside. They would talk about various worldly matters and most of them passed over his little head, but he liked to listen nevertheless. But, today he simply sat there- Blank!
He wished he could also dance to the tune of the rain like other kids his age, like his brothers. But he knew he couldn’t for he had responsibilities. He had to work hard for his brothers, for himself. Every rupee earned was a heartbeat added to their life.
He looked through the tinned roof and the raindrops. He kept staring.
Four
May 21 2011
Delhi-Jaipur National Highway
11:35 am
Jai peeped out of the window; he hated what he saw outside- RAIN!
There had been silence for few minutes after they had stopped arguing. The brief strip of silence commenced the moment they had crossed the second tollbooth on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway. Unlike the highway that passed through the New Gurgaon city where one could only see sparkling towers on the right and lush stacked buildings on the other side, this was something he had never seen before. The highway was now running across the outskirts of the city, somewhere he had never been before in his life. He saw greenery on either side of the highway, long strips of land that ploughed handsomely and heavy monsoon had caused outgrowth of green weeds. Though weeds, yet they were very pleasing to the eyes as the city boy continued capturing the beautiful sight in his mobile’s camera. He could easily feel the fast-paced life retaliating down his bloodstream while a fresh stock of oxygen from the countryside rushed in to take its place.
He got his head back inside the car, turned towards his mother and spoke hesitantly, ‘Mom, I got the forms from Animationboxx; they are giving a three year bachelor’s in animation and multimedia. I would like to apply for a scholarship too. In that case, I can study for no fee. All I have to do is give a written test and prepare a short animated film. The scheme closes in 3 days. But I need 1200 bucks for registration.’
Before she could reply or even bring about any expression on her pale face, the old man punched on the accelerator in great rage and in the span of a millisecond the car was zipping at a hundred and twenty kilometers per hour, on a wet road at a time nothing was visible through the windshield due to heavy downpour of rain.
‘Could you please slow down, dear?’ Mrs. Sharma requested her husband.
‘SHUT UP! Idiots! Our house is a mess. You people are disgusting!’ he yelled.
‘Hey! Why don’t you just kill us all? Huh?’ Jai asked in disgust.
‘Yes! That is exactly what I am going to do. After spending all these years working my life off for you people, all I get in return are sarcastic replies and an E in maths from my son! I will kill us all. Bastard!’
‘FYI… You are the father of this bastard!’ he nulled.
‘Shut up!’ Mr. Sharma pressed on the accelerator.
‘Mom, what the hell did I say? I was at Anwar’s, is there something wrong with that. Why can’t he act his age?’
‘You know your father. He is 52, but he is as immature as you are! At times, worse than you.’ She shivered while replying.
‘When will you learn to be disciplined? When I die?’ Mr. Sharma enquired.
‘Dad! Stop it; if you drive this way, you will never get a chance to see me disciplined! I will do whatever you want, just slow down!’ He surrendered. Jai was trembling. He knew his father was a man of word; they will be killed, so he apologized for the time being.
Mr. Sharma took his foot off the accelerator and squeezed the brake, the car skidded across. A sigh of relief ran over Mrs. Sharma’s face and Jai simply ignored what he had said a second ago and looked at the poverty-ridden kids dancing in the rain.
After a peaceful 30-minute ride in the car, they finally reached the destination – Jagannath Engineering College, a group of lackluster and forcefully western buildings placed at uneven distances from each other in an isolated campus. The air around the campus was of wet earth and the ambience was good enough to sweep any nature lover off his feet. However, for Jai, he had earlier referred to this as a hellhole.
Mr. Sharma proudly announced ‘Look at this building, don’t you feel majestic that you are going to study in this blessed place for the coming four years of your life?’
Jai wished if he could kill his father and thereby serve his term in prison that would be better than study
ing maths, physics and shit like that for the next four years or maybe more! He did not bother to reply.
‘Now come on, quickly, before they close down’ Mr. Sharma pronounced.
Five
May 21 2011
Jagannath College of Engineering
12:00 noon
The dysfunctional family was inside the office building. There were three college officials sitting at the reception. Mr. Sharma told them that they were here to meet the Chairman of the college. He showed an appointment card. The woman in western outfits directed them to the Chairman’s office. Jai could not take his eyes off the woman’s shapely butt. He wished he could stay at the reception a little longer. The receptionist opened the door to the Chairman’s office for the visitors. Jai was the last one to enter. Jai observed that the office was quite small and the illumination was very dull. He felt a choke. In one corner of the room lay a table with the nameplate that read ‘R.K. Jain’, the letters punched in gold lying reluctantly on the plate. The man sitting on the chair welcomed the parents and showed them seats.
Mr. Sharma greeted the Chairman ‘Good afternoon Jain Saab, I am Professor Prakash Sharma, Mr. Chillar must have ….’
‘Oh Yes! Yes! Mr. Sharma, sure. Of course, how are you? You work at Ranjit’s place.’ The fat man exclaimed.
‘No, I am a professor at the university, my wife works for Ranjitji.’ Mr. Sharma corrected.
‘Oh! Your wife must be dimly qualified, I presume, for she works at Ranjit’s place’ He ordained sarcastically.
‘I’m a B.Com state rank holder’ Mrs. Sharma boasted.
‘Oh! Still you are working at such a place. Must have done your bachelors’ from a third rate institute. I wish our college were available for people like you. You would have reached the greatest heights…’
‘We are not interested in my wife’s masters’. We are here for our son’s admission’ Mr. Sharma interrupted.
Jai could easily notice the shift in his father’s mood.
‘Very well! How has your son fared in his 12th? The chairperson asked.
‘I managed to pass’ Jai replied.
‘He got a D. He scored pathetically in maths. It is my subject and that is why he does not like it. He hates maths and physics.’ Mr. Sharma implied. Jai tried to pass a forceful smile to hide the shame that his father had just filled inside his mind.
The fatheaded Jain had managed to read the tensions in that family and fear in the father’s mind. His cunning mind had already calculated a potential moneymaking scheme to fool this loosely bonded family.
‘So, you want to be an engineer?’ he asked as if he really cared about it.
‘My father wants me to be an engineer’ Jai imposed in strong words. He looked at his father, who was fuming from inside.
‘Ok! I get it. Do not worry; our college will change your mind as soon as you get in here. We provide engineering in four streams- Computer Science, Information Technology, Electronics and Mechanical Engineering’ He offered.
‘Oooh! I get to choose now?’ Jai asked sarcastically.
‘Hmm…very much!’ Clearly the element of sarcasm had passed over the fat man’s head.
Jai looked at his father, passed a little grin and then asked, ‘Which one has got the least maths in it? I will take that!’
‘Information Technology has maths for 3 semesters, which is the least among the others.’ Mr. Jain explained.
‘Okay!’
‘So, 'IT' it is!’ The chairman declared.
The chairman was a fat man with pale white skin and balding hairline. His eyes were wide but small as if they never opened more than a millimeter. He knew he could churn out as much money as he wanted from this pair of eager and anxious parents. They were worried about the future of their only son and would be ready to do anything to keep his future safe. Rather trust anyone who would just promise a safe future for their son.
He looked at Mr. Sharma and spoke ‘Since you are a mathematics professor, you must be well versed in numbers’ he chuckled, ‘Let’s talk about his capitation’.
‘Well,’ Prakash nodded.
‘You know, I sold my last seat for IT at 6 lakh rupees, but since you are here on my friend’s recommendation, I’d consider some relief for you.’
‘6 lakh? But he told us 3 lakh!’
‘Well, yes. But then you will have to settle for Mechanical and I do not mind it. But ask your son first!’
Jay’s eyes opened wide in shock. ‘6 lakh for a seat in an engineering college. Just the admission fee! I could complete my entire course in animation and acting with that amount!’ He thought. He looked at Mr. Jain who was asking him something.
‘Would you like to opt for Mechanical Engineering?’
‘No! It’s IT or nothing!’
‘See, Mr. Sharma, now you must decide if it’s money or your son’s satisfaction.’ the academic merchant tried to emotionally bargain with the vulnerable mind of the distressed parent.
‘Huh! Yea right, if he had cared so much for my satisfaction, he would have never brought me here in the first place’ Jai told himself.
‘Sorry, did you just say something?’ Jain asked Jai.
‘No…No!’
‘Okay, IT, how much for it?’ Mrs. Sharma asked.
‘Oh! Very Good, we could settle for three, I guess.’ the businessman offered.
‘Three? But we have got only 2.5 and we can’t afford more’ She yielded.
‘Oh! Sorry mam but I’m afraid I can’t give your son that seat at 2.5 lakhs, especially with such low scores’ he replied dismally.
Bastard! 2.5 lakhs for a seat in an unknown college! You think we are fools? My parents may be, but I am not. My friend got in for free last week. Jai thought.
He wished if he could snatch the cup of tea the chairman was sipping and throw it straight on his fat face, piping hot tea.
‘hmm…okay, since you have been recommended by Ranjit, I will relieve you off that 50 thousand.’ Saying this, the fat man pressed a buzzer on his table and the sexy receptionist arrived once again with her beautiful bottom.
Damn! If I could only lay my hands around those. Save me! Jai tried to pull back his mind off the receptionist’s buttock.
‘Yes, Sir’ She asked.
‘Provide these good people with an admission form and guide them through the rest of the procedure. Give them a tour of the college. Make them feel comfortable.’ He turned towards Mr. Sharma ‘Have you brought the money with you?’
‘No, I shall pay on Thursday’
‘Oh! Okay, make it quick, I cannot guarantee you a seat if you are late. Our college is the most popular college this season’
‘Yes, I will’ Mr. Sharma sighed as he gave a demanding look to Jai.
Jai did not like even a bit of what was happening inside that room. He wished that his father would turn down this deal and let him do what he wanted.
‘Ok, Mr. Sharma, see you on Thursday’ Mr. Jain said. It was his style of saying- ok the deal is sealed. Now fuck off, do not waste my time.
The receptionist led the visitors out of the room and gave a brief tour of the college. Jai was no more interested in the events or the college. He was disgusted with his father and the bloody money-launderer whom he had seen in the Chairman’s room. They were looting foolish parents who are desperate. How can such person ever find peace in his life? Just a week ago, his former classmate, Rahul had a seat for himself in the very same college for free with a C in his exams. How much difference can one grade make? He wanted to tell his father about this, but he knew this was not the right time. He should stop his father from paying that lump sum of money. Thoughts ran in his mind from all possible directions.
It had started to rain again and the three rushed towards the car parked in a corner near the entrance gate.
Six
May 21 2011
Ghittorni
12:01 noon
The rain was pouring heavily on his naked upper body and the chill almost froze
him to the spine. He felt as if he was being punished for the sin of being born. He carried the empty teacups in his right hand as he tried to cover his head with the left hand. He was rushing back to his father’s tea stall. He had always worked hard and heartily for his father. His father had worked harder for his family and that was the one thing that kept little Arshad going. His biggest inspiration was his father. Every Friday evening, he and his father would walk to the town and purchase one weekly lottery ticket to test their luck. Many Fridays had passed since they started their routine of testing their fate. They would eagerly check the results in the Saturday newspaper for the previous week’s draw. The little boy would wait for a joyous outburst from his father while he would go through the printed matter only to end up feeling disappointed yet hopeful for another Friday.
After walking for almost a mile, he could see his little village and the houses and among them his little tea-stall at a distance. It was normal to have five or six people waiting outside at this time of the day. However, today there were more than just six people. A herd of waggling people had gathered around his mud hut too. His heart thumped harder and before it could thump again, he heard a shriek from inside. He recognized it as his mother’s voice. His heart almost popped out of its compartment. He feared that something must have happened to his youngest brother who was suffering from some blood related ailment. On the other hand, could it be his father? Tears started filling inside his eyes. He prayed to Allah, just as his father had advised him sometime back. He knew Allah would solve all the problems of the determined and the hard working.
He was there, right in front of all the people standing outside his hut. He pushed through the group of anxious people. He entered the hut, he saw his brothers standing in front of the little kitchen, all four of them. He looked around, his mother was talking to Kasturba kaaki from the grocery store and she was in good shape too. He feared the worse, for he could not find his father around. He grew more anxious. Two or three more faces entered his hut and none of them was of his father’s. His beady eyes started losing hope, a grim air of grief conquered his chest, and he wanted to burst out into tears. He controlled his grief. Sulked in a tear that was about to fall off his eye. Before he could ponder more, he felt himself separated from the floor below. Was he flying?
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