Soggy Boots

 

“No.”

A somewhat aligned queue of primary school scholars was dispersing outside the gates of Delhi Public School, Bokaro. Miniature scholars scrambled out of their confines after their  share of enlightenment.

“No...No...No..Just Look! Its right here. See even one bulge?”

Five hours of educational involvement had had its toll on the first graders. The little ones, dressed in black half pants and unordered maroon ties were  swarming in groups towards the school bicycle stand.

“Its flat! There's no argument to it.This is brainwash!”. The earth isn’t round. That, was Hanni’s argument.

“But why would they lie to us?” said Rajan .

     “I thought that over.”said Hanni, wobbling under his weight among other first graders.His turban was coming loose and his curls fell freely onto his porky face. ”You see, maybe where our world ends,there's lots n lots of money. Ever thought where our daddies get them from every single day? where does it come from ?!”. His cheeks went in continuous constrictions steadily devouring a cookie inside while he delivered these gospels.On reaching the stand, the pack of five positioned themselves on the tricycles and paddled out of the premises.

     The day had been sultry. All day long it seemed like it would rain, but it hadn’t shown any signs yet.  The road outside the school gates was as always deserted,excepting a flock of parents gathered at the gates. From  there on ,it was a straight and  immaculate track  aligned with leafless teak on either side. A stream of little heads spilled out of the school gates  and moved in packs on their tricycles down this track that diverged into all other corners of the little town.

     “Hanni, Hurry up!”Pradyut called out as Hanni struggled with his ride. His weight shifted from one side of the bike to the other, from one paddle to the next.Dangling thus, he barely managed to reserve his regular position in his pack....the last.
“Anyone in for a race?”Rajan offered. The next moment, all of them were screaming at the top of their voices and fiercely pushing their paddles.

     It wasn’t  long before Hanni lost them all and pushed to a stop to  grasp some breath. He puffed, puffed and kept puffing. Slowly, he placed his buttocks on his seat . He was still panting when a tiny droplet settled on the tip of his nose. He looked up. In a second, another splattered on his left eye. And there it was, before he  knew it he was in the middle of a light drizzle. He had hardly made it through the lane when the heavens poured down furiously.For the little boy, it was hard to see what was ahead.He looked around. The only place of shelter close at hand was a little cabin with a long sheet of asbestos roofing projecting from its top.

     Hanni's tricycle shot for the cabin.Soaking all the way, he finally pushed his brakes under the refuge. The cabin was closed. The rain hammered  the overhead asbestos sheets like hail stones. Under the asbestos roofing was a wooden bench.Its wooden frame and support were all damp and had become shelter for proliferating fungus. This would typically be one of those countless  small time shops  where unemployed or barely self-employed juveniles would chew on  betel and bet on cards. 

     Today however, for whatever reason, the cabin had been left  alone. On the bench, sat a little girl, her attention diverted by the sudden intrusion from the  young refugee. She must have been the same age as Hanni and wore the same uniform. However, unlike our young man, she seemed to have made it in just in time to have avoided the rain. Groomed in speck less clothing, the seemingly well fed girl couldn't have been any fairer. Her cheek were notably round and porky and her hair was neatly tied to two strands that hung on either side of her head.

     Hanni gently left his ride standing by the rotting wood of the cabin. By now he was dripping. His shirt had turned diaphanous  and stuck all over his body. He saw the girl, but said nothing. Quietly, he went over to the opposite end of the bench and sat down with all his weight. His shoes had gotten muddy. Sitting on the bench, he stretched his legs out of the cabin.  The rain furiously battered against the shoe and  washed the mud away. He heard the girl chuckle.

     "You shouldn't do that" she said, giggling with her mouth covered with her palms."Your shoes will get all soggy." Hanni wasn't very fond of strangers. Besides, this stranger was a girl."Then you'll have to buy new ones" she ended with another giggle.

"My shoes will be fine." said Hanni drawing his leg back. The other shoe was still muddy. 
"You should remove your cap or you'll get cold."

     Hanni ignored her and proceeded to draw out his lunchbox from his bag. The girl slid from the other end and sat next to Hanni peering into his lunchbox.

“Are those muffins you’re eating?” the girl asked.

“Ya, my ma  makes them".  

The girl kept eyeing the muffins while Hanni munched on one ."But I don’t like them ” he added after a mouthful gulp.
After a long eager look, the girl finally said “Can I have some? Here, I have a candy bar left.”. She drew out from her bag half a candy bar untidily wrapped in a foil. Hanni looked at it , his mouth still going in rounds over another muffin. After a little thought, he traded a muffin for the bar.

“Hmm..These are  good! How could you not like them?! What's your name boy?"
“Hanni Durpreet Sidhu ”
“You’re not in second grade, are you?”
“No..I’m in first.”
“I’m Fatima” She volunteered to take another muffin from Hanni’s Lunch Box.  “You must be in Miss Larveen’s class.” Hanni  hopefully looked at her for another candy bar or something. "Miss larveen is nice ” Fatima continued, clearly snubbing Hanni’s hopes ”But I don’t like miss Ganguly”.

“Hey Don’t say that ” Hanni protested “Miss Ganguly is nice. She never punishes for homework.”

     “Na..Even I thought so in my first grade. When u’re in second, u’ll know.  she doesnt care about us doing our homework..Now that’s a bad thing ...ya?”  Hanni’s  gaze followed the last muffin as Fatima proceeded to stuff that into her mouth.  "when i was In first grade, i loved Miss Larveen, which teacher do you like?"
“You ate away all my muffins”
“I think you said you don’t like them.”   He didn’t. But he sure loved candy bars.  "Don't brood lil boy, they were just muffins. I'll buy you some tomorrow. Or no, I'll bring you strawberry cream cakes. You'll like 'em ".

     The rain was thinning down and the battering on the roof was loosing its vigour. Fatima sat looking  at a nearby puddle , observing thin liquid bullets splatter against them. Meanwhile, a little creature hopped out of the puddle. This amphibian was a one that invariably shared the disgust of the entire human race. A pity though, considering the  immaculate glossy skin and the vivid patterns that would have blended into a  spectacular display, had nature only done justice to its appearance. For a second or two, it stared at the two little denizens of land,and having determined them potentially incapable of any harm, the frog leapt on further. However, its emergence seized Hanni with some paranormal force and engaged him into immediate action. With the dexterity of a veteran, he stealthily knelt on the ground and waited for his prey. While the unsuspecting  organism aimlessly hopped on, Hanni drew out a white handkerchief and spread it out on the anticipated locus of the frog. Fatima looked on,her eyes enlarged and captivated by the sequence  before her. Unaware of its impending doom, the creature pushed the ground and soared int other air. Three jumps..... Two jumps....One jump...SNAP! Another successful hunt.

     The captor's face gave away a deep sense of ecstasy and contentment.  Fatima quickly ran from her bench and knelt beside Hanni.The little beast struggled with all its strength, vigorously kicking with its spring like legs inside the cloth.
"Wow" she exclaimed,completely thrilled at the sight."Look! Look! " she said pointing to a growing moist spot over the handkerchief."It just peed in your cloth."
Hanni carefully emptied his catch into his evacuated lunchbox. Fatima was growing increasingly curious about the animal."What will you do with that?". There was seamless thumping inside the box.
"I don't know....something".
Fatima looked at Hanni. Then, with an emphatic tone, she said "will you give me that if i give you a rubber pig?"

     Hanni said nothing.He pushed the box into his bag and sealed the straps. The answer was No.

     The rain had seized.Fresh from a shower, the world smelled of damp soil. All around, the foliage looked lush and profusely dripped.The world thrived with life and vitality. All life forms of land were drawn to the surface while the aerials populated the sky.This probably was the way god had imagined the earth to be before its flawed creation.

     The two children pulled their tricycles onto the road all the way from the muddy sidelines."Where do you live?"Fatima asked. Her attention however, lay with the frog inside Hanni's bag. She carefully listened for any signs of audible thumping.
"The second lane  from subhashjee's statue"
Fatima's face brightened."The black statue of the old man?"
"Hmm ya..I'm on the second lane"
"I'm on the first!"
For a moment, Hanni seemed to relish the fact. "Come. I'll show you a shortcut." Fatima offered. Hanni hesitated for some time but then followed.
                                                                *****************

“Here”. 
They stood below the statue of an equine Maharajah, his sword high above his head. From the looks of it, arrogance was this man’s foremost motto. That look - the pointy moustache under a gallant turban, all seemed to be badges of conceit he adorned with pride.

  Hanni looked at the old egoist king. He kept looking at it for so long that it occurred to Fatima that something was not right.

"What happened boy?"she finally asked when Hanni's sight left the statue. With a little tremble in his voice Hanni replied “That’s not Shubhashjee”. A strange fear seized the boy immediately. With fluttering voice and heavy eyes he finally spoke “I’m lost”.

Fatima looked at the boy who almost broke into tears. “Oh don’t be a cry baby Hanni.You’re not lost. You’ll find your house somewhere around the town. Just keep looking.” With that she paddled away. Hanni stood there alone,helpless.
                                                                                ***********

                That evening, it wasn't only under the roofs of the Sidhus that men were loosing themselves in a spirit of pomp. When its Cricket, when its team India and Cricket,when its team India thrashing its opponent in  Cricket, all else is but of trivial significance. If there is  one thing that grown up Indian men will give up smoke, liquor and women even for a day, it is to witness team India crush its rivals on field.Here, within the confinements of Mr. Sidhu's television room, the whole male community of the block had conglomerated. Even those like Mr.Bhatia and Mr. Singhal who had bet against India were only putting up a pretext. Secretly though, they were willing to lose ten times as much just to witness team India pull to a victory. Men will take opposite sides in a war, but cricket is really something else. 

                Five men sat on the sofa and Mr.Sidhu  was on the floor with three other men, all over themselves , garrulously screaming out their opinions with every ball delivered. It was outlandish, the way Hanni's father moved his heavy arms around when he talked. Hanni's mother and the spouses of two other men were permanently stationed in the kitchen, baking dhokla and chutney for the gathered men. Every half an hour, one would come strolling with a fresh top up.
Hanni sat stuffed on the sofa between these out of control gentlemen. The cheers and shouts within the room often went with,if not surpassed those from the  television.  Hanni slowly squeezed himself out of the crowd and walked to to the bed room where his grandmother sat. Grandma was telling her beads, but it was hard to tell whether she was still awake. Most of her "telling" ended up in dozing in quick succession.  Hanni went over to the bed and sat cross-legged next to the dangling figure. There was a subtle jerk.

"Bibiji, did you go to school?" Hanni asked, while the old woman repositioned her thick round spectacles. 
"Oh my dear, you shouldn't startle me in the middle of my prayers. No no no. In our days school wasn't for girls. Weee all were kept at our homes darling.We had old men teach us in our huts. why? why do you ask dear?"
"Our maam told us that the earth is round. Its even  written in our book with pictures. Did your old men tell you that?"
There was almost a revolting expression on grandma's face."Hmm...no dear, nobody told  us that. No nobody. You see plum" ,she said drawing hanni to her bosoms." Our world, is the back of a tortoise and on top of the tortoise, stand four giant elephants with their trunks....."

"Bibiji, what do girls like?".

                 The woman was taken back for a moment by this sudden interruption. Then she faced the boy and  widening a nearly spoilt jaw, she said "Oho! Has our young man found his young lady! Come here sweetie plum lemme have a good look at you". She kissed Hanni on his cheeks and continued."When I was a girl, I loved our ragged dolls. And i loved swings and i loved it most when it had a cushion. But of all good things, i loved sweets. All kinds of them...". 

Breaking free from grandma's hold, Hanni headed for the kitchen. Inside, it was all smoky. It was as if the only phenomenon alive in there was sizzling. The three ladies had collaborated for the dinner preparation. Mrs Sidhu's was the dough making and shaping department. From there it went to Mrs Patel for the frying job. And of course, with women around,  unconditional  ranting, fabricated smiles and laughter are naturally unavoidable.
Hanni crept close enough to his mother, so she could hear. 
"Ma, Can you make me muffins tomorrow?"
Mrs. Sidhu didn't look up from the dough."Oh why dear, i thought you didn't like muffins. I'll make you something else really."
"No Ma, i want muffins"
"Oh I know you'll just throw them away to a dog like today and come home looking for   cookies. We'll get you some cookies for tomorrow."

"I didn't throw them to a dog. I ate them all and its all right here." Hanni said patting his flabby tummy."Make me more tomorrow"
Mrs. Sidhu opened the tap, washed her hands and left the water running."No problem dear but you could really have an egg toast, some pasta  and  some salad to go with it. Now go." 
The dough was shaped and now it went into the pan.

"No Ma, I'll have muffins".

Now Mrs Sidhu looked up.  She closely watched   the boy with notable curiosity and asked, "Why muffins Hanni?". Now she wanted to know.

"Nothing Ma.."said Hanni peering  at the open tap, "I just loved the ones you made me today."