When it had stopped raining, but I had not taken off my plastic raincoat. I was wearing a Black worn-out plastic raincoat even when it was not raining. I used to fear that raincoat separately from my body. The condition of my jean had become very delicate from behind. The shirt was also ready to give up the body at any moment. Due to the raincoat, the disrepair condition of my clothes used to be covered.
The hair on my head was growing and scattered randomly. Since when I had not shaved, I myself had forgotten. Due to all these things and not eating food for three days, my face was dripping with wretchedness and I was also feeling weak. The spectacles on my face repeatedly moved from its place to the tip of the nose.
I was sitting on a bench in the lobby of the railway station in Mumbai, trying to figure out a way out of my starving and frail mind that would get me food and not commit any crime. With the condition I was in due to hunger, such a time was also soon to come when I would give up the idea of not committing crime and start thinking of trying to fill my stomach forcibly somewhere.
I couldn't figure out an idea. The simple trick which was repeatedly playing like a hammer in my mind, even though it was so broken, I did not like it. Right now I was not ready to compromise with the situation to such an extent that it started begging. Right now I was looking at ways less fallen than begging.
A suit-booted man passed in front of me. While passing he threw down a piece of cigarette. That piece was more than a third of a whole cigarette. I licked my lips. I had not eaten food for three days but I had not smoked a cigarette for a week.
I bent down to pick up a cigarette hesitantly, as if someone were about to arrest me for picking up someone else's cigarette. My glasses fell down from my nose. A hissing came out of my mouth and I quickly lifted the glasses. The glasses were fine.
A long sigh of peace came out of my mouth.
I raised my other hand and picked up the burning piece of cigarette. I fixed the glasses firmly on my nose and put the piece of cigarette on my lips.
I started taking small puffs of cigarette with great love. I was thinking that maybe the heat of cigarette smoke would melt the wax in my brain and I would come up with some way to fill my stomach.
There was a time when far from smoking cigarettes, because of my religious rites, I was not ready to touch it, but now that era was not there and neither was I left of that era. Now I was living the life of a polymath and in this life there was no scope to abstain from something as simple as a cigarette; Especially when the cigarette smoke was helpful in the well being of my polymorph.
Today I - the so-called Vijay - was sitting on the bench of Mumbai railway station, a very lonely person in such a big world who had not eaten for three days.
"Hey! "- an authoritative voice rang in my ears. I raised my head and looked.
In front of me stood a chubby man, face look like delhiites, wearing tshirt-track pant, and cap, about fifty years old. His sharp gaze fixed on my face.
"Speak?" - I said.
I took the last puff of the cigarette and threw it on the ground.
Sometimes even a single word that comes out of a man's tongue makes a way to peep into his heart. Perhaps something similar was felt by that Delhiite about me. Perhaps he had not expected such a polite reply from me.
If I had said, 'what does he ask' instead of 'hey',
the whole process would have seemed more natural. There was a slight softening on his face.
" Who are you ? " - he asked softly. " I am hungry, sir. " - I said.
"I haven't asked you this." "I'm not in a position to introduce myself to you better than this at the moment.
"I mean do you do any work-faith?"
"I'm totally useless, sir. Get any work, no matter what kind of work.
"Where have you kept the work?" - he said in a slightly contemptuous tone, "I asked you this question for some other reason."
The man stared at me for a few moments and then said - "You want to earn 1000 rupees?
"My heart began to jump.
The man standing in front of me began to see me as a plate of food worth a hundred rupees.
"What should I do in return? I asked suspiciously.
- "Nothing." - Delhiites said - "Work is very easy. If you are really hungry then you will not mind doing it."
"What's the job?"
"I have to book a third class sleeper for Delhi. The day I have to leave, the booking for that day will start from tomorrow morning. People will start queuing from 4 am onwards. It is eleven o'clock now and the booking line will start from tomorrow morning. I have three men standing from now on. Booking will start at 9 in the morning. By that time the line will be so long that it will be impossible for me to get tickets. I am old man, I don't have the courage to do ten from now till 9 in the morning. I can stand in line for hours. If you stand in line till morning in my place, I will give you 1000 rupees in cash.
"Sir, you can't stand in line because you are old.
" - I said softly - "
I can't even stand in line because I'm hungry.
"But after getting a 1000 rupees, you will not be hungry!"
' By the time it is nine o'clock in the morning, my soul will leave the body waiting for a 1000 rupees.
you're a good man " - Delhiites said hesitantly. " I do not have any certificate, but if you believe my tongue then I am a good man. "Won't you run away with my 1000 rupees?
If I have the intention of doing something like this, then why would I run away with your 1000 rupees, I will not clean all your goods by pressing your throat!
"Come with me."
I got up and joined him.
He brought me to a booking office.
Five men were sitting behind each other in front of a closed window, the Delhiites stood behind them. He took two notes of 500 rupee from his pocket and gave me, and said - "I am standing here. You come back soon after having dinner.
"Okay."
And listen."
"Say it"
"What's your name?
"Vijay."
Where do you live?
"I laughed as if I felt pity for the wisdom of Delhiites. Those who have homes, their stomachs are few and far between.
Maybe he also understood the meaning of my laugh. He said quickly - "Okay-Okay. come back soon.
"Just went and just came." - I said.
My hunger doubled as soon as the money came in hand. I rushed out of the station pressing the note in my fist.
There was a average hotel across the street.
I entered the hotel.
To the left of the hotel was a long counter, behind which was sitting a big, tough-looking man with a big moustache, a crook in the face. There was a telephone booth near the inner end of the counter.
Half of the hotel tables were empty.
I sat down at a table near the counter.
A sloppy little boy stood in front of me.
"Bring food. I said with rolling my lips "Quick."
Have money in your pocket?
Before the boy could say anything, the crook-like man sitting behind the counter spoke in a stern voice. My voice had probably reached his ears. Paying him the price of food in the pocket of a man of appearance like me Didn't seem to expect to get as much money.
The two note of 500 rupees buried in my fist had turned into a ball and had taken the form of a roll. I tossed the roll of that note in front of the man on the counter.
He opened the roll, seeing two note of 500, a smile appeared on his lips and then he said in a loud voice - "little boy" bring food immediately for the sir.
"What should I bring, sir?" - said the boy.
"Whatever can come for a 1000 rupees." - I said.
The boy opened his mouth to say something but then went away without saying anything, shaking his head.
I started waiting for the food to arrive, pressing my stomach with my back, rolling my lips on my lips. I found it difficult to wait even for a moment after seeing other people present in the hotel eating food. I turned my eyes away from the people while eating.
My gaze once struck hotel owner sitting on the counter. He was still looking at me suspiciously. Maybe he was thinking that if I had brought two notes of one each by printing from home somewhere. The boy brought me five bowl of lentils,vegetables,rice,mutton,salads and four breads.
"That's all?" went out of my mouth on its own. "Eat just this much. "boy said" I will bring more bread.
"I swung as if I had seen the appearance of food for the first time in my life.
The boy had not disappeared from my sight yet and I had swallowed the four breads placed in front of me.
"Have you been hungry for a month? hotel owner sitting behind the counter said.
I didn't answer. I picked up the glass of water and drank the water. I waited for more bread to arrive.
boy brought four more breads. He give lentils, vegetable,mutton and rice again.
I started eating again. This time the panic that was riding on me due to hunger had subsided to a great extent. Now I was eating food slowly.
At that very moment a young stranger woman entered the hotel.
If Miss World had also passed before me ten minutes ago, I would not have known, but now I had food in my stomach and there was a gleam of contentment in my eyes.
I looked at the young woman wholeheartedly.
She was a beautiful young woman of about twenty-five years old, of slim body. His hair was cut in exotic fashion. She had a very fine make-up on her face and she was wearing a very expensive dress. Holding a dark red leather bag in her right hand, she passed the counter and headed towards the telephone booth.
owner sitting behind the counter was measuring it from head to toe with eager eyes.
The young woman entered the telephone booth, admiring the admiration and longing glances of almost everyone present in the hotel. The door of the booth closed behind him.
I can see through the mirror on the top of the door of the booth His faint face was visible.
I kept on eating slowly.
My hunger was over. My stomach was full, but because there was no guarantee of when I would get food again, whether I would get it or not, so I was eating food forcefully even after filling my stomach.
The boy gave me two more breads, a little lentils veggie and a little onion, and at the same time a notice was given that it was the last installment of food to be received in exchange for a 1000 rupees.
I nodded conscientiously and continued to eat.
While I was trying to forcefully put the last bread in my stomach, the door of the telephone booth opened and the young woman came out of the booth. The spring fitted door of the booth automatically closed behind it.
She was walking out of the hotel following her high heel's sandy-thumping nose.
Forgetting to eat, I was watching him go outside.
At that very moment a thought struck my consciousness like a hammer.
Red Handbag!
The young woman did not have that red leather hand bag which I had seen in her hand when she entered the hotel.
By then the woman was out of sight after coming out of the hotel.
She must have forgotten her hand bang in the telephone booth.
I looked around.
Owner sitting on the counter was still peeping outside.
The people sitting in the hotel were busy eating their food.
Perhaps no one, except me, had noted that when the young woman came to the hotel, she had a red leather hand bag and when she went back, the hand bag was not in her hand. I gulped down the last piece of bread, drank water from above, and stood up, rubbing my hands against the sides of the raincoat.
I walked towards the door, stopped after walking a few steps, put my hand in the pocket of the raincoat, held out my hand and then, making a thoughtful posture, headed towards the telephone booth.
Owner sitting at the counter was looking at me suspiciously.
I entered the telephone booth. I closed the door behind me.
Once through the mirror I looked towards the counter.
Owner's eyes were fixed in that direction.
I turned my back to the door.
The red hand bag was placed over the directory on a small rack next to the canon box.
Once a thought came to my mind that if I should pick up that hand bag and run to that woman, then maybe she will be somewhere on the sidewalk and hand her her hand bag. But that thought did not stay in my mind for long.
I don't know whether I was curious or dishonest at that moment, but I decided to open the bag first and take a peek inside.
I picked up the telephone from the hook with my left hand and put it to my ear. In the right hand I dialed a ludicrous number.
Busy tones started coming from the other side.
My right hand acted as if I had put coins in the coin box.
I was doing all this so that if Owner, sitting outside at the counter, was still staring at me, he could be satisfied that I was indeed on the telephone.
With my right hand, I opened the hand bag and looked inside the hand bag at the light of the light on the ceiling of the telephone booth. My mouth got dry.
A woman's bag contained the Bank's unopened pack of new hundred denomination notes on top of the requisite simple cosmetics.
My breath quickened. My body was bathed in sweat. I cast a sneak peek out of the booth towards the counter.
Owner standing behind the counter was not looking at me at that time.
100k rupees!
The fingers of my right hand slipped into the purse on their own. Before I could think of any sensible thing about the whole series, the pack of notes had reached my trouser pocket. The fingers of my right hand closed the bag again.
Bright dreams of the future started playing like a movie on my mind. My days of poverty were over. Perhaps God had gathered such means that I would come to that hotel to have 1000 rupees food and return with 100 rupees.
Trying to control my heart pounding like a drum, I hung it on the receiver cradle.
I turned back, extended my hand to push the door of the booth.
My hand could not even touch the door that someone pulled it from outside and opened the door with a jerk.
The mistress of the bag was standing in front of me.
It was like the time of death for me.
My lower jaw was hanging down. My eyes were tearing with fear, anxiety and terror. I was standing in front of the young woman made of stone. For those few moments the movement of the world had stopped for me. "My hand bag was left." - the girl said in a melodious voice.
I was like a snake sniffing. The words did not come out of my mouth. I stood in my place as before.
"I said my hand bag..."