Equilibrium

20th May, 2015,

Hyderabad

“Awwwww…….Nahi, Nahi, Naaahh…..”

“No, No, No, Nooooo……” these screams which pierced through the alley-ways surrounding the place would have normally terrified the passersby, but no one was new to the place to be taken in by these crocodile tears and screams. They were the protests of 6-year old Raju, against his father who was pouring water over his head with one hand while holding his adamant son from running away with the other.

“Uff…..! What a mess! And I thought the work at the site in this summer’s heat was tough. It’s nothing compared to washing this devil”, he complained to the boy’s mother loudly over his screams.

The mother was washing their clothes just beside the father-son duo and was being helped by her 9-year old daughter. Her patience was slowly draining away because of her son’s screams and her husband’s complaint was the last straw. She shouted something loudly and whipped the wet cloth she was washing in the direction of her son. It didn’t touch him but the message got carried. Raju understood that he couldn’t win this fight, no matter what, and grudgingly accepted his fate by remaining silent for the rest of the bath duration.

His sister sympathized with his childishness and watched amusingly as the boy completed the bath, got rubbed all over with a towel by their father and then directed inside to wear his clothes.

This family migrated from their village to the city in search of work when their daughter was 1 year old. Since, that time they had worked in various construction sites, only the father for 3 years, joined by his wife after his son was 1 year old, and by his daughter when she was 7 years old. The 6-year old son was the only unemployed member of the family. He was underage by one year! Not by the country’s law standards but the parents’ tender heart standards. The country’s limit was much higher. Always robbing the poor, these government people! What do they know about the money a child can bring! He should be sent to a school, huh, what a preposterous proposition! Work makes a boy a man, the father concluded every single time they had this discussion.

The war of the ’bath’erloo usually took place every evening at the edge of the basement of the construction site. The water drained to the wasteland which lay beyond the edge at a depth of almost 3 meters. Next, it was the daughter’s turn for having a bath and the dutiful girl took the bucket to the open sump of the building, filled it with the help of the lever arrangement and brought it to the bath site and calmly went about her business, making her mother wonder why hadn’t God given just another sweet daughter in the place of the mischief machine.

This daily family drama of screaming was not new to the neighbors. Some enjoyed it, some found it disturbing but resentfully got used it, some still shouted across their windows,

“What’s with this ruckus? Has it no end?”

“What happens if he doesn’t bath for a single day?”,…..and so on.

The couple conveniently ignored these comments and went about the humongous task at hand with ease and grace. Raju equaled the ease but certainly not the grace. In summary, neither the boy yielded, nor the parents. The ’bath’erloo went on day after day.

The happiness of this family was immense and was certainly not in proportion to their meager means.

*

28th May, 2015

Hyderabad

Raju was missing!!

Initially, they thought he was playing with his friends but upon enquiry they said that he didn’t join them. There were a string of such missing children cases recently in their neighborhood, all labor children, and this worried the couple more than anything. They thought that such things happened only to fictitious people in the papers and news, not to them. Certainly, not to them! They reached out to their fellow workers’ families for a search operation, but to no avail. They then approached the local police station but couldn’t file a proper case because they needed a, what did he say it was, ‘foto’ of the boy.

“Photo, Bhai saahab, Photo”, explained a good-natured police officer with immense effort.

Anyways, finally a vague case was registered, and the Inspector said in an off-hand voice,” Dekhlenge.” ‘We’ll see’. It did nothing to decrease their torment.

Back home, the father did his best to not show his anguish as he had to do console the remaining two members. “They will not do anything to him, dear,” he said, to which she replied sobbing,” Yes, no-one who has ever been with my laddu can harm him, he is a gem”.

The girl couldn’t say anything. She stared silently at the stars above her. She knew her brother wherever he was would be gazing at the same stars.

*

30th May, 2015

Outskirts of Hyderabad, Express-way

A police officer pushed through the crowd congregated over the side of the road.

“Move over, move over”, he shouted as he made his way through the crowd.

As he approached the officer at the site, he was explained,” A child’s body, sir, head was beaten by a boulder, even his parents will have trouble recognizing him”

“Ugh, What the hell! Such a case right in the morning,” he grumbled,” send information to all stations that all a body is available and potential parents can identify and claim the body…..Ugh…..What a smell!!”. He rushed from the site, got in his jeep and drove towards the city at high speed.

The constables then painstakingly cleared the traffic, loaded the body carefully, sent information through the radio and left the place in their vehicle.

The body’s owner went by the name of Raju.

**