Thursday, February 25, 2010

Manasi : Final story

"Sir, please sir, I am really hungry haven't eaten for days sir, please give me some money, ur life will flourish sir, please."
"Go away, i don't know where these people come from, go away, get out of my site, early in the morning i had to see such a face, get lost"
The little boy was upset, disheartened, hungry and tired and to top it all was the morning heat. He steps to the side and see's the cars passing one after another, in the cars he sees various kinds of people, families, mothers, fathers, people going to work and really wishes he would be there someday. Many a time he wonders who is he? who our his parents? where are they? why is he alone in this world? but his questions remain unanswered.

On day on a hot afternoon in a road in Delhi, with the scorching sun taking the life out of him,sweating, he tried his luck again, he picked a car with an elderly man inside and knocked at his window,
"please sir, please give me some money, its really hot sir and I am hungry i haven't eaten a meal in days sir please."
The man in the car was watching this little boy intently and smiled, "What is your name."
"Shiv sir"
"Shiv, why do u beg, you should go to school."
"Sir i don't have enough money to even feed myself where will i get the money to go to school, though one day i do want to go to school sir."
The red light turned green and people were aggressively honking at this car, among all the aggressiveness there was the humble man who spoke to shiv as if he was a human. Just as shiv was about to leave his man stuck out a 50 Rs note.
"May god be with you always."
Shiv was overcome with joy, his eyes full of tears he took the 50 Rs note.
NO ONE had ever given him so much respect, he was always treated like a nobody, shunned, pushed around, abused. He felt like a person after a long time. His face and eyes had lit up, his heart ecstatic, his mind rushing with things he could do with that money. He put it in his pocket.
"Thank you so much sir"

The Traffic signal's of Delhi has its own dynamics. It runs on a territory bases, it reminds me a lot of a jungle where you don't know who is the king of the jungle the lion thinks he is and the elephant thinks he is because of his size. Even here you didn't know who ruled the signal, people that were older and came here before or people that had more followers and a gang. There were these three boys not very old in their teens, around 17, 18 who thought they ruled the place. They are what you call insecure bullies.
These three boys from under the fly-over were watching this whole scene happen, the exchange of the 50 Rs note, it was the most anyone had earned in two weeks.
The three boys were furious with jealously. It became an ego issue with them.
"What does he think he is, how dare he not come and give us the money."
"He thinks we didn't see him?"
"He thinks he can mess around with us, i think he has forgotten who the boss is around here."
"I think it is time to remind him who we are and what we can do."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHA."

That night, when the little boy was praying and thanking god for a good day, these three boys went up to him.
One of him smacked him on his head, and started laughing.
The other pushed him from the back and he fell flat on his chest.
Shiv did not know what he had done.
" why are .yo........."
before he could end his sentence, one of the boys slapped him.
Shiv started crying.
"You think you can out smart us."
"You think we wouldn't have come to know about the 50 Rs you earned today."
Shiv tried to get up.
this time he got smacked on his ear which started bleeding. There were other people from the area witnessing this incident but no one came to poor little shivs rescue.
His eyes helpless, his body numb with fear, his head spinning and his ear bleeding, the only thing he could think about was his 50Rs note that a kind man had given him with a lot of blessing and hope.
"Please leave me alone, i haven't done anything to you."
"Hahaha, give us the money and we will leave you."
"No please that money is mine, I am hungry."
Shiv was on his knees and begging for mercy.
He knew he would not have been spared.
Egos of the boys flared up on being refused. Without thinking they all pounced on the little boy, punched , kicked and beat him up,till he didn't have the energy to keep up the fight, they ultimately took the money away, leaving him in a corner as if he was abandoned garbage.
Shivs clothes were torn, he was bleeding profusely. His eyes were so helpless and full of tears yet no one came to help.
Shiv cried and cried and cried. He wished there was somebody to defend him. He felt alone and abandoned.
That night he went to sleep crying.

He started having a dream about his parents, all the questions that he never got answers for started appearing, he tried to picture what his parents might have looked like. Would the situation have been different if they were around? Would his mum come to save him and probably teach those boys a lesson? He many a time dreamt about his parents so he made a picture of them in his head it was almost like he was living a parallel life in his dreams.
Little did he know that this dream would change his entire life. While dreaming about his parents suddenly a boy appeared. It seemed so real, he was a boy as old as shiv with the same physic but blue in colour. He is a happy, carefree, naughty little boy, he looks like an impish pixie with mischievous eyes, is exuberant, and is a prankster. He loves to trouble people in their dreams. He is a dream hopper, and is a lot like marry poppins, he comes to those who need him and when his work is finished and the helpless can help themselves he goes to another little child who needs him. But the difference between him and marry poppins is that she is disciplined he is naughty and loves to harris people. He also becomes like a alter ego of the child. He was exactly what shiv wanted to be or wanted to live like.
On seeing him shiv got alarmed and he woke up in astonishment to find that he was just having a dream, the night was still and the sky clear and it was very very quiet.
Shiv went back to sleep and this blue boy appeared again, this time shiv was less intimidated to see him. He doesn't know how to react to this creature. He by now realizes that he isn't harmful.

He shows shivs some tricks, hops from one dream to another and troubles people, he pretended to be a snake and climbed on to someone's chest, resulting in the person yelling on top of his voice. He then stuck a twig up someone's nose. Shiv was laughing again :)
He then goes to where the bullies were sleeping.
sniggers
He starts of by putting a rat in one of theirs boxers.
Then he ties their feet with a big cloth as if he was in a maze tangled in all directions.
He then puts pepper into their noses
(need to develop this scene some more)
He teaches them a lesson, the three boys wake up alarmed as they don't know what is happening. They are scared and screaming.
The boys suddenly see shiv in front laughing at them so they decide to get up and beat him up but as soon as they try the all tumble and fall over each other.
They give up and apologize to shiv and promise never to trouble him again.
Shiv feels satisfied and feels that there is someone for him, this blue boy is his creation, he came from his dream, his alter ego, he wants to hold on to him forever. With him around he feels safer, stronger and more confident.
He peacefully goes back to sleep again having taught the big boys a lesson.
The next morning shiv gets up and finds the blue boy gone but he is wearing his T-shirt.
He realises he now has to stand up for himself.

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