CHILDHOOD THAT ISN'T QUITE THERE.......

I had just come back from office and after a nice bath began to get myself mentally ready for another struggle with Dal and Chappatis. I had instructed them not to send Dal with Chappatis. It makes my life all the more difficult and me a bit homesick. Believe me; it is difficult for a strict non-vegetarian Bengali to survive on this kind of diet. Nevertheless, I adapted (read surrendered) to the situation quite some time back. Anyways, I was feeling hungry and was about to call for my Tiffin when I heard someone calling “Bhaiya” from outside. I opened the door and here I find a kid of twelve perhaps standing with a Tiffin box meant for me. For a moment, I really felt good as the kid understood what the rest of the world (including my parents and especially my Jijaji) is finding difficult to accept off late. Jijaji has only one issue to discuss every time we speak over phone and I have only one answer for him …..“Main toh Bachcha hoon ji……” . Just to drive home the point, I have a couple of cousins who are tiny tots. Ok I must get back to the kid or else he would leave. I offered him a Dairy Milk and he refused. I thought he was shy but then his reply surprised me. “Bhaiya mujhe chocolates achche nahi lagte….woh bahaut mithey hote hain!!!”. Back in my childhood days, my father would have been very proud of my reasoning had I ever told him the same thing (Bhaiya to be replaced by Baba of course). But, here I was standing in a pair of shorts and a Dairy Milk in my hand whereas the kid was in attire and with behaviour that reflected his lost childhood. But the shocker came when I enquired about his name. He replied “Chotu” and so I enquired again for his actual name. The reply that I got was “Mujhe maloom nahi…sab mujhe Chotu hi bulatey hain!!!”. I took the Tiffin box from him and as my eyes made contact with his, I could see the restlessness and a bit of naughtiness that kids usually have. He said Bye and ran down the staircase. I stood in the Balcony and watched him go. What I had seen in his eyes was true. He was jumping over the Gates and mingling with other children just as any kid would do. However, he realised that he had to go to some other house to deliver the Tiffin and got on to his Bicycle and soon he was not to be seen. But the other kids were still enjoying their time ignorant of the hard ways of life.

Talking of his Bicycle, it seems to be his only friend. It is actually meant for someone much older but Chotu is a good Cyclist. The Bicycle is a typical one but it has a crate on it of course for the Tiffin boxes. Chotu loves his cycle very much and prefers to peddle his way even if the destination is the next building. Along the way, he would explore the bylanes and stop by for some time with the other kids. Five minutes of football or some lamp to aim at with the stones or simply to touch the cricket ball that is hit in his direction. That is all he wishes for and that is when you wish a better childhood for him.

The next day he came and this time I offered him a packet of Bingo. He accepted gladly and finished of the packet within a minute. I asked him if he liked it and he said YES. Perhaps, sweetness has gone out of his life at an early age. Then his eyes fell on my laptop and he entered my room. A movie was on and he sat there silent enjoying the movie. Five minutes had hardly gone by, and he rushed out. The sense of responsibility is much better in him then in many of the older people that I have come across. For that matter, sometimes even I lose focus and meander into some other world but this kid knows his work. That’s a good quality but an unfortunate one nonetheless at his age.

Just two days back, I had gone for breakfast and I saw the kid being scolded by one of the fellow workers there. He had tears in his eyes and the eyes were watery but the tears never rolled down. Perhaps he has already learnt to control his emotions. We scolded that man and immediately a smile could be seen on his face. The childlike innocence becomes evident on occasions but the rest of the time, there is a mask of an adult on him.

I really feel bad for him and sometime I do feel like reporting it to the police. But then the Lady who employs him does take care of him. Though the law against Child Labour helps in checking the exploitation but then what after that???? I am not sure if a proper rehabilitation process is in place. What about the family back home????? Is the situation back home hopeless???? Do they solely depend on the young kid’s income for survival???? The Law and its enforcement is necessary but the subsequent betterment of both the kid and his family should be the most important factor in deciding the viable course of action. Till the time Law is not able to take care of that the kid should be left to live life as he is doing now. Moralistic principles often discount the reality. Hopefully, his employer will realise the need for a child to be conversant with at least the ABCs. But then again someday, you will read a post from me on how the kid has to bear the burden of both work and studies. It’s easy to think and type on a laptop but LIFE is far more complex than that. As for now, I can only wish the kid GOODLUCK and pray for his better life. A Dairy Milk for me and a BINGO for the kid!!!!

WEAKEND BY THE LAST WEEKEND....OH NO..SHIT..DAMN!!!!

During my school days, one of the most popular themes for Essay writing was "A day when everything goes wrong". Then I loved creating the weirdest possible wrongs for the right effect on my answer script. Thirteen odd years and life had in store for me one such weekend which helped me understand the pain, heartburn, anger, despair, humour and seven other kind of emotions that those two or three pages had captured. May be I would be able to surpass my scores if they allow re-examination as now I have been enlightened after all experience is the best teacher. Ofcourse learning is a student's prerogative.I have learnt a bit and this is how the lessons unfolded one by one.

Last day of the training had dawned upon us and most of us were trying to hold back time because the Academy is the best place to enjoy once you have had sufficient sleep in the class.Nevertheless almost all of us made it to the class after a hard night's toil with the bottle and the vocal chords. It was Saturday and hence a packed schedule till we were suppposed to be packed off after noon. On entering the class I could see the girls at their chirpy best, guys discussing life and crap (can be clubbed together). However, the most interesting sight was that of a Guy studying hard amidst all the chaos. Apparently, there was an Exit Test scheduled for the day. I wondered if failures would be allowed to stay back.The test began but I was not tested at all as my knowledge was limited to the fact that there would be four options and one out of those had to be ticked. I did so and exchanged Guesses with colleagues sitting beside me. Test over and marks were announced in descending order. I found myself amongst a small group who were closest to one (not the Rank but the Score). I was still smiling and yeah that Guy is still not the MD. I wished him all the best. Hard Study will take him somewhere someday.

Then came the Quiz and six Groups were formed for the purpose. While I was waiting for the Sports and the Visual round, other groups were busy gathering 5s and 10s. Especially, we were DISMAL with DECIMALS and slowly we realised that we were given a rough deal while others were being given christmas gifts. This is a familiar territory,isn't it? We have had this kind of moments on quite a few ocassions especially during our school and college days while participating in this Quiz event or that cricket match. I agree there are a few Saints who would be saying "I never felt that way!!!!". Anyways, the results were declared and our Group won handsomely the ultimate battle of sacrifice. We started on a ZERO and we ended that way as well. Quite a departure for someone like me who has quite a few testimonials in this discipline. But we were laughing and enjoying the moment letting someone else walk away with a gift wrapped box. May be there was a Loreal hamper and so of no use to me. Finally the 2 weeks training was over and we bid adieu after exchanging a few pleasantries and ofcourse phone numbers. Here I must add that quite a few officers are in the habit of forwarding Cheesy Shayaris and I found my mobile under attack soon after. Infact, today I had to call up one such person and warn him against such practice. Yucks....Dude Get a LIfe. Create yourself and then send. You are not a Postman.

Before I deviate into Mars, let me share with you the funniest misadventure that I found myself in. It was supposed to be the day when Manchester United would take on Barcelona for the UEFA Champions League and being an avid football fan that I am, I rushed out of Patiala and checked into a hotel. I made sure that they air TEN SPORTS which normally broadcasts such matches. It was half an hour past One at night and still no sign of a sliding tackle or a free kick. I must have dozed off after that and the first thing I did Sunday morning was checking for the result. After much difficulty, I could find a headline on a Hindi News Channel that read "Aaj raat ko khela jaayega Manchester United or Barcelona ke bich UEFA Champions League Final". I burst into laughter at this and looked at my wallet.The wallet looked sad as it was going to lose some further weight. I decided to stay back to watch the match. However, my immediate concern was the examination which I had to appear in a couple of hours time. I reached the venue on time and started clicking wherever I liked to. Two hours over and I found that the Screen had a message for me. The message meant that I had fallen short by One mark and this implied that my Pay Slip won't get richer that soon as I had thought after getting good results out of the first two papers. A Grand fell out of my "JAIIB" and still I was quite composed but the jaws of the Girl sitting next to me dropped and she behaved as if she was pissed of with my performance. Well she was not concerned for me but she was rather cursing herself for trusting my answers. She was answering the Questions on the screen with one eye, the other one was at my screen ofcourse. Sorry Lady.....You are Wiser now. I took an auto and was on my way to Aroma when my friend Prashant called up to inform that Man Utd had lost. His words did what the failure in the exam could not....I WAS DEVASTATED but Lunch was still important. I had Fake Biryani and came back to the hotel. I finally managed to get an update and then cursed myself for not being there for the REDs. My hatred for Hindi News channels grew more intense that day onwards. Those buggers can count the number of Laddus that were made for Sewhag's wedding but ignore the much more important stuff. I was too tired by then and dozed off only to be awakened by a loud banging on the door. I looked at the clock and on opening the door, I found the Receptionist in an angry mood ready to unleash all her wrath on me. She informed that the Check Out time was 12 O'Clock at noon and new guest had been waiting for me to open the door. She wanted to know if I would continue my stay. I was not interested anymore and so asked her to ready the bill. By the time, I could pack and sign off, the bill had doubled. Life has taught me to take everything in stride and move on and that I did but ofcourse in an auto. I stopped by at a Cafe for some snacks.After a nice cup of coffee, I felt good and headed for my room. But then I found my Debit Card missing and the fireworks started. From SHITs to FUCKs & DAMNS and the good old OH NO as well.....the air was thick with the smoke then.I ran to the Cafe and the Manager there handed over the Debit Card with a nice smile. I thanked him and came out. Suddenly, I could feel that things have changed and the jinx is over. I decided to head to PVR instead. Loved watching Back to Back Shows. Came back at night with a nice HANGOVER 2 after fantastic KUNG FU PANDA kicks.

That was my weekend and thank God that I don't keep my hair long or else I would have pulled out all of that. But even while I was going through all these, I was in a way enjoying the randomness of the misadventures. Infact, I always love to pack my back and hit the road without a Travel Policy in place. Unpredictability is what I love and like to LIVE by.