12 years later…
“Gandhi its getting late..sleep beta”, shouted my mom from the kitchen, making chapathis for dinner.
“Amma ! just two hours more ..please wait”
“what! Have you given any appointment to ghosts or what..what will you do awake till 12 ??”, mom enquired.
“Let him be..he may be having some work”, dad came from the room supporting me.
“AH! Ok ok you people do whatever you want..are you coming for dinner or wait till your son feasts with the ghosts??”, mom sounded harshly.
“Vidya ! I’m coming…where is my plate”, dad immediately reacted.
“No compromise while eating”, dad murmured in my ear while going to dine. I smiled.
I waited for the time to fast forward. Meanwhile to avoid sleeping I swtiched on the television.
“Sleep! It is the peaceful thing on this planet. One hour sleep can refresh you to work for next five hours…”
While the anchor was still continuing his ‘sleepy’ speech I tuned to another channel.
“Generally..people like to listen more about the good deeds they have done..by their close ones..it strengthens their relation”
The anchor on a music channel said this. I immediately took a paper and started writing.
“Hey !gone mad or what??”, why are you studying at this time..that too infront of TV??”, Mom came running.
“Amma please..don’t disturb me for sometime”
“Vidya !...” while my Dad was still saying,
“Ok! Im coming..always support your Son,whatever he does..but remember you were married to me first,then this fellow came”, Mom exclaimed partly angry.
“Amma! Ask the reason why Im awake, to papa”
She went inside. Dad came and sat beside me.
“Nice lines ,Vivek..”, Dad said examining the paper in which I was writing.
I continued writing for some more time and then looked at the watch..It showed 11:30 .
Dad was sleeping beside me on the floor.
“Papa! Papa! Get up ….go and sleep on bed”
Dad woke up. He was drowzy.
“Don’t worry ..did you complete??”, Dad asked.
“Yea! I shall go and come back soon”
“Gandhi ! take my scooter”
I immediately ran towards the shed and took dad’s old scooter out. The area in which we lived appeared dark by evening six’o’clock. All the daily wage labourers and other small workers lived there. Ours was a small house at the dead end of that street. We had three rooms in total.
I kick started the scooter and straight away raised to ‘Forty’ speed,which was too tough ‘pickup’ for an old Bajaj scooter.
It was damn cold and I could see no human being on that road . Dogs were busy looking for a person to bark at , or probably bite .
I stopped at the Iyengar’s bakery and shouted.. “Amar Bhayya !ready ???”
If even though he was not ready, he must have got alerted by my loud shout at that late hour.
“Ha beta ! take it”
He handed over the packet to me . I again kicked the scooter and finally stopped it at ‘Vimala homes’.
The time was 11:55 by then.
I parked the vehicle and ran fast to climb three floors at an instance. If existed, a dog would have definitely showed its Teeth strength biting me,taking to a thief.
I reached the third floor, panting. I knocked the door. After one minute it got opened.
“Happy birthday SKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!”, I shouted at a range more than a Himeshreshammia musical night speaker’s.
“Thank you hero!!!”, said Aakash, probably waiting for me eagerly, all these time.
Time was 12:00 by then.
I opened the cake that I took at the bakery .
“where are uncle and aunty??”
“They are sleeping”
“Vicky??”
I went into his brother’s room to look whether he was awake, knackly I put the paper I had written ,under a notebook there.
“He dies to sleep, that filthy fellow had slept at nine’o clock”, said Aakash with a pale face.
“Light! So, cut the cake dude…common its your birthday, man!”, I said to Aakash, not giving him a chance to think about anything else.
I handed him the knife.
He cut the first piece and put it in my mouth.
“To my best friend ….Mahatma”
“dude! Don’t even compare me to him, im just Gandhi”
Twenty minutes later….
“Ok!ok! sirji , so I guess its getting late for you”, Aakash said turning to me. “Do you want me to drop home??”
“I’ve got my scooter”
“That old one??...”, he laughed and teased.
“Do I have a new one too??”
“Ok! Sorry boss…anyways you are coming to school today right??”, he enquired.
“Ya! Definitely..Its our last day of school life”.
“Meet you tommorrow”, Aakash said and came to lock the door while I stepped out of his five bedroom house.
I heard a sound then. Someone woke up. I proceeded towards the steps.
I could hear some conversation feebly.
“you lost this time too, dad…Gandhi wished me first”, Aakash said proudly.
“Don’t even blame me for this, no one,…”
I couldnt hear the rest. I ran towards their window to impose an ear.
“no one can beat your friendship”, he said.
The rest journey was not that bad or cold or anything, as my mind got preoccupied with the last sentence of uncle.
*******************
“Did he feel happy??”, Dad asked standing at the entrance door.
“Even im happy, now papa”.
Categories:
i Hate Innocence
