A short story : Paper-Soap BABA

PAPER-SOAP BABA

"Gutka, Paper soap" a soft tired voice woke up sleeping passengers of A-2 coach. Rakesh turned around. "Baba ek paper soap dena". Trembling hands brought out 2 paper soaps from a bag and offered him. "Kitna"? "5 rupya beta". "Par baba 5 rupay to ek paper soap ka hota hai. Aapne 2 diya". "Koi baat nahin beta. Rakh lo". Rakesh had heard this before. As a startled Rakesh saw the trembling body with a flowing beard, leave the coach, he was lost in thoughts. How can such a poor man give away a paper soap just like that? 

He rushed towards the door to give him the money. Rushing through the next coach and the next, he could not find him. Probably the man had got down. Looking around he could not find him on the platform. The train had started moving. A difficult to remember name, Rakesh quickly took a pic of the station name on his mobile. He used to do this, whenever he encountered something different in his train trips. He named the pic as 'Paper soap baba.jpg'.

"Aa gaya beta"? his mother called as he entered the doorway. "Haan Maa, kaisi ho" .................. Rakesh was used to this silence. Ever since his father went missing, Maa was in a state of shock, rarely speaking. He had searched everywhere around, lodged a missing persons report, and was even called to the hospital multiple times, to see if his dad was among unidentified bodies. The police had given up the search, and so had Rakesh. But his Maa had not. She prayed for hours and challenged the Gods. "Mile kya"? a voice emanated from the Puja room. These were the only 2 sentences Rakesh used to hear from his mother, between his frequent travels. Two years since his father went missing, Rakesh was losing his mother too everyday.

"Rakesh, the client you had met in Bangalore, confirmed the order today. Well done man. Come quickly" an excited voice of his boss on the mobile, dragged him away from his thoughts, to the office. "We will dispatch the consignment tomorrow. You get ready to leave in a week". Rakesh was used to such commands from his boss, and rarely refused. His boss Sudhir was a good friend too, and used to take care of Rakesh's mother in his absence. "Get me a ticket to Bangalore via ..... Hold a sec" Rakesh fiddled with his phone searching for 'Paper soap baba.png', as he gave travel instructions to the receptionist.

"Maa main agley hafte phir jaa raha hun. Sudhir hai, roj milega". He expected no answer, but heard a slow murmur "Milenge, zaroor milenge". The week slipped by in logistics and dispatch. "Achha Maa, chalta hun. Jaldi aa jaunga" said Rakesh, as he hugged his mother and touched her feet. As he looked up, he saw her smiling for the first time in 2 years.

This time his journey was short, as he got down at the odd named station. Looking around, he could not see the Paper soap baba. Asking the chaiwalas, he found that the Baba was not visible for the past few days. Where was he? No one there knew about his origin. He lived under the foot bridge, and sold paper soaps and gutkas, to buy food for himself. The fruit vendor had given him a flattened carton box to sleep. But where was he? The local ragpicker boys found him huddled in a corner, shivering from fever. Rakesh hired an Auto immediately, helped the Baba get up and rushed to a nearby hospital. After an initial checkup he was rushed into the ICU. The Doctor wanted to have a complete check up done, as he sensed something serious. When Rakesh wrote 'Uncle' in the relationship box in the registration form, the Doctor smiled and said "We need more people like you in this world".

The day in the hotel whizzed past, as Rakesh wondered why he was doing all this. Before meeting the Doctor, he just went to check Baba in the ICU. But where was he? He checked every bed. All were filled, but Baba was nowhere. He rushed to the Nurse who pointed out in the direction of the window. "He wanted to be there, so we shifted him" she said. On the bed, a frail looking man in patient clothes lay on his side, facing the window. Rakesh sat on the bench nearby waiting for him to wake up, reading a newspaper. The bed creaked as Baba turned side towards Rakesh. As Rakesh looked up, he froze.

Lying on the bed was a clean shaven Baba, who looked exactly like his father. That calm face, well combed hair, sleeping comfortably, he looked like an Angel descended from heaven. Rakesh thought he dreamt, but did not want to break the dream. How he had anxiously waited to hear about his dad, how he rushed to the hosptals, wishing not to see him among the unidentified bodies, how he too murmured his Maa's prayers behind her, how he dried his eyes before going to meet her. And after 2 years, here he is, suddenly in his dreams. A tap on the shoulder broke his trance, as the Nurse informed that the Doctor is on the round. Looking from a corner of his eye, confirming it was  his dad, Rakesh rushed out before anyone could see his tears.

The Doctor signalled as he came out of the ICU, and Rakesh followed. Composing himself, clearing his throat, he asked "What happened to him Doctor"? "Nothing much, a bit of fever, severe dehydration. Do you know him?". The question had caught Rakesh unaware. Did the Doctor guess anything, he thought. "No, did he say anything about himself", Rakesh asked. "No" said the Doctor, "He seems to be suffering from Alzheimer". “What? Alzheimer? Which stage? Has he lost his entire memory?", asked Rakesh. "Well, if someone can tell us a bit about him and his past, we can check which stage" said the Doctor. "Will he not recognize me?, thought Rakesh. "Why is God playing with me like this? After years of search and wait, I cannot afford to lose him again".

2 days later before discharging him, the Doctor asked, "Where are you going to take him? Back to the platform?" "NO" Rakesh retorted strongly. Then gathering back his senses, Rakesh asked "Can you keep him for a few days at the hospital, while I come back from work"? Sensing his situation, the Doctor agreed. Rakesh shifted his father to a semi private ward. He tried hard to bring back his memory, calling his friends' names, his relatives, about Maa, but all failed. All his father did was smile. Rakesh tried to give him the 5 rs for the paper soap, but he did not remember that incident either. "Rakh lo beta" he said with a smile. 

Rakesh remembered how everyday his Dad used to drop a 5 rs note in his pocket before he went to school, escaping Maa's eyes. She had caught him once doing that, and had scolded both.When Rakesh asked one day, his dad said "Rakh lo beta". And today he was saying the same, albeit for a different reason. The only option left, was now to see if he could recognize Maa. Rakesh did not believe in miracles, but wished he could see one now.

"Maa kaisi hai" asked Rakesh, as he called Sudhir. "Same state, but otherwise Ok" replied Sudhir. Rakesh had to explain his absence for 2 days. He cooked up a story of how a fellow passenger fell sick in the train, and he had to break journey at an odd station, to get him hospitalised. Now that the fellow passenger was Ok, he would proceed to Bangalore and meet the client. Sudhir appreciated Rakesh's gesture and echoed the Doctor's words "We need more people like you Rakesh, in this world". 

"Sudhir, this place has lots of temples. Maa would love it. It will also bring her out of the house for a while. She hasn't stepped out since dad went missing. Can you bring her here, when I return from Bangalore”? Rakesh had many obligations on Sudhir, and probably this was one of the ways for Sudhir to pay back. Keeping his dad in the hospital, and somehow convincing his mother on phone, to come with Sudhir, Rakesh left for Bangalore.

The 3 days of work seemed like 3 years. Just thinking of dad gave him goose bumps, and he longed to hug him tight. He thanked God for bringing his dad back, and prayed for his memory to return. He prayed for a miracle to happen when he sees his Mom. Today he reached the station much before time. He did not want to miss the train. Maa had boarded the train with Sudhir and was on her way. Tomorrow would be the day of Reunion for the family. Rakesh's heart was beating faster than normal, and the night seemed so long without a blink. "How would they both react? Please God, please give me my parents back", Rakesh prayed endlessly. 

The rising sun brought with it a new ray of hope, of a new life for Rakesh. Running down from the train, Rakesh took the first auto, and without a bargain, reached the hospital. He heaved a sigh of relief, when he saw the Nurse helping his dad walk in the corridor. The wretched life had taken its toll, but he looked better in the hospital. Getting him into his room, Rakesh gave him a quick shave, massaged his face, and got him into the new clothes he had bought. Dad looked so handsome, ready to welcome his bride.

"We are at the station Rakesh" said Sudhir on the phone. With instructions of how to reach the hospital, Rakesh took his dad down to the visitor's lobby. Rakesh's heart was pounding with excitement as they waited for the Auto. As Maa alighted, she said "Sudhir ne kaha ki Mandir hai". Maa had spoken, probably with intuition, hinting a miracle. "Maa, main tujhe Mandir hi laya hun, tere Bhagwan se milane", Rakesh said. "Tu itni Puja aur Upwaas karti thi na, mujhe aaj tere Bhagwan mil Gaye" said Rakesh, as he turned her around to face the man in her life, whom she had snatched back from death, with her prayers. 

Her mouth opened up wide, as if concealing a loud scream, tears rolled down her eyes, and she stood frozen. Rakesh could not hold back his tears, as an equally surprised Sudhir captured the moments on his mobile. Maa with a surprised look and Dad with a smile seemed like eternity, with Gods showering their blessings.

Recovering from the situation, Rakesh put his hands around Maa and asked "Pehchana"? Finding no response, he asked again "Pehchana Maa"? Shaking her a bit, to pull her out of the trance he asked again "Pehchana Maa"?

With the same surprised look still on her face, Maa turned around slowly, and asked "KAUN"?

Alzheimer had claimed it's second victim that day.

A short story : DE-TAALI

DE - TAALI

A young Tantrik meditating in a long distance train is suddenly disturbed by the rude clapping of Eunuchs, who are extorting money from young men, by touching and teasing them. A young beautiful eunuch freshly inducted in the trade, is too excited to prove her worth. She chooses her target meticulously, and tastes success at every attempt. The young Tantrik is the next one. As she approaches him, she looks at his long hair, flowing beard and full eyebrows almost covering his closed eyes. With a stern look she asks the passenger sitting next to him to get up and seats herself. Positioning herself properly without disturbing him, she brings her hands together in a flash, resulting in a sharp clap close to his ears. As the tantrik gets startled, the co-passengers burst out in a laughter.

The tantrik's eyebrows twitch, and pull apart big eyelids, to reveal glaring red eyes spitting anger. The cabin noise dips into a resonating silence, as the eunuch feels a cold shiver running down her spine. "DE TAALI !" commands the Tantrik. "DE TAALI !" The sound resonates, as every eye turns at them, and other eunuchs in the group rush towards them. Shaken by the sudden loud command, the eunuch looks around and finds everyone expecting her next move.

Mustering all courage, she brings her hands together as fast as possible. But.....barely 3 inches away from each other, her hands stop on their own, as if they were repelling each other. She tries again....with the same result. "Are Bajaa na jor se" egg the other eunuchs. Twice, thrice, again she tries, but fails. As the tantrik's eyes close back for meditation, tears roll down the eunuch's eyes. Barely months into the trade, she was mature enough to know what was coming. The older eunuchs would mock her, cook up various stories, and make her the subject of discussion everywhere. That was the best way to get even with her and her fast paced success.

The eunuch rushes into the train toilet, as other eunuchs laugh at her. There she closes her eyes, and tries bringing her hand softly together. "Ah! Thank God" she heaves, as her palms touch each other. Trying again not too hard, but to result in a soft clap, she brings her hands together. Barely 3 inches away, they stop again. A thought rushes through her mind: Will she not be able to clap ever again? What will happen to her newly found identity? Will the group keep her with them? Tears gush out as she struggles with her identity crisis. "Arey nikal, agle bogie mein chalna hai" a fellow's voice followed by a loud knock on the toilet door startles her from the trance. A splash of cold water wipes away all her tears, as she composes herself and joins her team.

"Aa gayi TAALI?" mocks a fellow eunuch, "Chal ab".

Back at the home, as the story unfolds to the Guru (Chief), the young eunuch is assigned a new job. Finding out houses of new born and marriages, and preparing the daily route chart. This meant, that now she would not accompany the group on their daily errand, nor would she get to deck up herself, and have a low profile in the family.

Brooding over her fate that changed with that incident, she cursed the tantrik. Some said only he can reverse his curse. But where can she find him, and will he forgive her? The next day's route was made. Now the Guru had to decide who would go where, depending upon the locality, the family, their beliefs, and most important their pockets.

This was such a complicated exercise. So many parameters affected the group's composition, to result in maximum earnings. "How do you do it?", she asked the Guru, as the Guru signalled her to sit beside her. This Guru was soft and authoritative and commanded everyone's respect. Her ability to take right decisions in groups formations had resulted in high earnings in the recent past. As the young eunuch spent weeks with the Guru, she picked up the trick. Now she used to suggest and also argue with her at times. On some instances, the Guru made the group composition as per her young assistant's recommendation, and it had worked well. The other eunuchs were aware of her growing proximity with the Guru, and did not take it well. The young eunuch had also overheard some mumblings about her, in the family. Sensing trouble again, she googled to search for other eunuch groups around. 

A fast blinking icon on the right did not let her concentrate on the search. An angry tap on the blinking icon popped up a window that said 'Share information and earn commission'. "What was this?": she pondered, as she clicked to find more. This site was paying her for sharing addresses of people. In fact all the data she was handling for the eunuchs. She shared some data just to check and pressed 'enter'. A 'Thank you' screen asked her whether she would like an online transfer or a cheque. With the cheque option clicked and a friend's address given, she closed the site as she saw a fellow eunuch cross her bed. She had bookmarked the site and deleted all history too.

"Hey I received an envelope in your name today": screamed a WhatsApp message from the friend, after a week. Dressed as a man, she went to meet her friend. After everyone had slept, she pulled out the envelope and slowly opened it. In the bright light encased under the blanket popped out a cheque of Rs 200/-. "Wow! 20 Rs for each address": she exclaimed, as she started foreseeing the extra income with 500 new addresses every month. But still skeptical, she deposited the cheque next day at her bank. 2 days later an SMS confirmed the deposit.

The young eunuch had discovered a new earning opportunity. Convincing her Guru that she needed to move out, to find houses of new born and marriages, she started venturing into the outside world. Dressed as a man, she started changing her walking and talking style too. Observing professional corporate men behave in style, she too started imitating them. The eunuch within her was evolving. Noticing the change, the Guru sent her spies after her, but found her getting information for planning the next route for eunuchs. Little did they know that under the blanket, the same information was also being sold to the company, and commission trickling directly into her bank account.

With family planning and baby products in its product line, the company found all the leads given by the eunuch ending in sales. They increased her commission to Rs 25 per new address, and also gave her added responsibility of verifying addresses given by six other guys in the area. The young eunuch was now not only verifying but also advising the company on which families to target. Not knowing the background of the eunuch, the company found every advise of her, convert into sale. The year end sales had a prominent chunk marked in the young eunuch's name.

That day the envelope that came through the friend, was a bit hard, as it contained an invitation card of a felicitation event of the company. 

Dressed as a corporate professional man, the eunuch for the first time in her life, walked into a five star hotel with her friend, for the event. On introducing herself, she was guided to the second row. As she settled down, unknown faces started coming and shaking hands with her. Her changed character had no glimpses of her past. She had learnt to dissolve in both extreme roles perfectly, without giving either any hint of the other.

After a sequence of performances, the felicitation ceremony began. After the best managers, employees, distributors, retailers, stockists, came the best sales guys. The Managing Director after handing over the trophies to all, took the mike and said: "While everything ends with sales, and everyone honours the best performers, today I would like to honour the ones who start the process: the Leads men". He went on to describing how the company had experimented with paid leads, resulting in higher sales and lower costs. And today he wanted to honour one person whose leads had more than 90% conversion into sales. "Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Mr Sangeet, our Leads performer of the year". The entire audience stood up as Sangeeta (her eunuch name) walked up the stage as 'Sangeet'.

When the MD handed over the biggest Trophy, the entire audience resounded in a loud and long clap. The MD said: "Mr Sangeet, we have heard so much about your work. Tell us how do you do it". Clearing up his throat to sound like a professional, Sangeet said: "Without any achievements, life is spent in clapping with your hands for others. My past was just the same. Until someone told me that a clap is louder when you clap with other's hands". Saying that he held a hi-five to the MD, and said "DE-TAALI". The MD responded back with a loud hi-five and held his hand high. The entire audience roared into a clap again. For the first time in her life, others had clapped for her. Somewhere in the sea of heads, Sangeet could see the faint outline of the Tantrik whose curse had changed him from eunuch Sangeeta to professional Sangeet, and gave him a wink.