Poor Man’s New Year

Something was certainly different today. All the passengers who he had conveyed to their destinations were carrying packets, chickens, sweet-boxes, edible things, and bottles of drinks. Baleshwar was unable to understand why people were buying so many things on that particular day. It was not the day of any festival or religious ceremony. He scratched his head and sat on the seat to take a little rest. Hardly had he sat down when a passenger came to him and ordered Baleshwar to take him to Gandhi Nagar.

Having reached his destination, the passenger said, “How much?”

Baleshwar quoted the money and the passenger paid him without haggling. It was quite strange because often passengers quarreled with him over the fare.

Since morning the business has been good. No sooner he drops a passenger than a new passenger occupies his seat in his tricycle-rickshaw. He has been paddling for hours now and he thinks he should rest a while.

He feels that it is his lucky day because he must have seen some lucky person’s face in the morning. But he remembers that the first face was his wife’s.

Generally he leaves his hut without eating anything in the morning. On usual days he doesn’t even earn enough money to buy two square meals. When he leaves his hut empty stomach, he parks his rickshaw in front of Chaman Lal’s tea shop. He understands that Baleshwar is hungry so he gives him two bread slices and a cup of tea. After driving for about four hours, Baleshwar comes back to the tea shop for lunch and pays the price of bread slices and tea.

Today it is different. He has been getting passengers one after another. He is trying to remember the person who was his first passenger in the morning. Suddenly, he remembers that she was a fat woman. She was so fat that she had to struggle hard to adjust herself in the seat. For a second the thought of refusing to carry that lady had passed Baleshwar’s mind but he decided to drive. Actually she was his first passenger and refusing the very first passenger in the morning was definitely going to be inauspicious. The fat woman had paid her ten rupees and he was happy.

After that woman, there came a man carrying a few live chickens, their legs tied together with a rope. The birds were in panic and they were crying. Baleshwar thought how that man would feel if he were tied and hung upside down like the chickens! A thought crossed his mind that he should snatch those birds from that man and free them but then he realized that he was a passenger who was going to pay him after the ride.

“Take me to Ram Nagar!” his voice was trembling and his breath gave an indication to Baleshwar that the man was drunk.

Since the man had already taken his seat, Baleshwar had to accept it, though he did not want to take that passenger.

After about half an hour, the rickshaw was stopped at the place shown by that man.
“How much?” said the man.

“Twenty rupees,” said Baleshwar.

“I am not an outsider! Twenty rupees! This is not right!” said the man but he gave him twenty rupees.

Baleshwar muttered to himself, “Bastard! I thought he would not give me even five rupees but he gave twenty rupees.”

Though it was not the time for lunch, Baleshwar felt hungry. He came back to Chaman Lal’s tea shop.

Chaman Lal said, “What happened? Why have you come so early?”

“Is lunch ready? I am very hungry,” said Baleshwar.

When the lunch was served, he pounced as if he had not eaten for many days. Having finished his lunch, he came back to his rickshaw and occupied the passenger seat for his siesta.

Baleshwar has been driving his rickshaw for about months but today this town appears to be different. The streets and markets are more crowded than earlier days. The new hotel at the Main Road is being decorated. There are many buyers at sweet and cake shops. It is very strange. Whatever the reason be, Baleshwar is very happy. He has not been able to rest even for fifteen minutes. Having worked for more than six hours, he is not tired.

One day, being unable to control his curiosity, he had said to a passenger, “Sir, what is Republic Day?”

The passenger got angry and said, “Look in front and drive carefully. Don’t ask me absurd questions!”

After that day he could never rally enough courage to ask any of his passengers.

In the evening, while he was paddling towards Chaman Lal’s tea shop, he had decided to ask Chaman Lal about Republic Day. Chaman Lal has passed High School and he must know the answer.

He said to Chaman Lal, “If you don’t mind, may I ask you something?”

“Yes…what do you want to know?” said Chaman Lal.

“Why are all the markets crowded today? What is the reason?” said Baleshwar innocently.

“Tomorrow it will be New Year and people are buying things because they want to celebrate that day,” said Chaman Lal.

“But why is that big hotel being decorated?’’ said Baleshwar again.

“The rich will enjoy themselves at the party tonight. Man, woman, all will drink and dance tonight,” said Chaman Lal.

“Women will drink?” said Baleshwar with obvious surprise in tone of his voice.

“Yes. Modern women drink like men. They have become Memsahibs now,” said Chaman Lal.

“One more thing, what happens if you celebrate New Year?” said Baleshwar like a child.

“I don’t know this but they say that if first day of the year is good, the rest of the year will also be good,” said Chaman Lal.

Baleshwar was confused and he was not able to understand how they celebrate New Year and how he should celebrate it.

……………………………..

That night he suddenly woke up. He began to think about the New Year. His mind could conclude that New means not old and everything was going to be new the following day. It meant everything will be new. He decided to go to the lake near his hut before the sunrise. He wanted to see the new sun. He would minutely observe the new sun and try to feel the delight of newness.

The noise made by the passing train disturbed the calm of the night. The train passed by that place every morning, at about 5:00 am. The train is Baleshwar’s alarm clock. He opened the door and began to walk towards the lake. Not a living soul was around and he was the only person in that deserted town. Not even birds had started chirping. It was unbearably cold and he thought to go back to his cozy hut but he didn’t. He wrapped the bed-sheet tightly around his body and walked purposefully. A few people were sitting around bonfire near the big temple. He joined them and began to enjoy the warmth. No one said anything to him. He knew them and they knew him.

Baleshwar’s eyes were fixed in the East direction.

“Why are you staring in that direction?” said one of them.

“Nothing special,” said Baleshwar like a thief who had been caught red-handed.

Baleshwar saw the colour of the sky change gradually. He composed himself as if something grand was going to happen. The eastern sky was gaining reddish-ness, and then appeared the first rays of the sun. When the sun was up, it was light all around.

He had been waiting for a great scene but he was disappointed. There was nothing new in the phenomenon. When the sun is the same how there can be difference in the other visible things! He was quite confused at the thought of New Year and he began to walk towards the other side of the lake. He wanted to confirm whether there was any difference there.

…………………

At about 10:00 am, when he reached the bus stand with his tricycle, he saw that most of the shops were closed whereas they used to be open by this time. Car-loads of people passed by him. They seemed to be very happy.

He cursed them because the sun was high and he had not gone even a single passenger. Yesterday it was his lucky day. He began to paddle towards Chaman Lal’s tea shop.

A boy came running to him and said, “Come soon, my mother is sick. She has to be taken to the hospital!”

He let the boy sit on the seat and he followed the instructions given by the boy.

After the hospital, while he was returning, he saw a lot of people standing outside the show window of the big Television shop at the main road. He stopped his rickshaw and got off. He struggled his way through the crowd of people and reached in front. A big screen TV was showing a woman dancing. She had hardly any clothes on her body. The news announcer was telling that the famous dancer had performed that dance the previous night in a big five star hotel.

The announcer’s voice was echoing, “Famous dancer Miss Malika charged ten million rupees for half an hour’s dance performance. However, an organization of women has filed a court case against her on the charge of public display of vulgarity and obscene gestures. The income tax officers are also carrying on their investigation in this regard. We will keep you updated.”

Baleshwar was not at all happy. He reached Chaman Lal’s shop.

“Brother Chaman Lal, how much is ten million rupees?” said he.

“It is a lot of money. Why?” said Chaman Lal.

“Can you buy a car with that money?” said Baleshwar innocently.

“You can buy hundred cars!”

“The man on TV said business was good yesterday. They say more than fifty million were spent on drinks,” Baleshwar was confused.

“Yes, my dear. They are rich people and they earn millions. One bottle of good whisky costs more than one thousand rupees,” said Chaman Lal.

“Yesterday, it was my lucky day and I earned eighty rupees,” laughed Baleshwar.

Baleshwar began to think about his village. Most of the people of his village could never afford good clothes and they drank locally brewed drinks. If someone drank a little more, he would be called a drunkard. These town dwellers had drunk whiskey worth millions of rupees in one night. He began to think what these town-dwellers should be called!

He stopped his rickshaw in front of the grocery shop where he usually bought his provisions. He had to buy half a litre of kerosene oil to light lantern in his hut. During day time it was not necessary but in the evening he had to spend three rupees to light his little hut. He used to buy rice, vegetables, and salt, etc. every evening from that shop. Generally, he spent about thirty rupees in the evening on these things so that he and his wife could eat something in the evening.

He saw that the shop was closed. It was about 7:00 pm but he knew that the shop remained open till 10:00 pm.

He said to a person sitting outside the shop, “Why is this shop closed?”

“It is New Year today and the owner has a party in his house. Come tomorrow!” said the man.

Baleshwar was sad. How he could tell the man that it was his first year in that town and that New Year of the town-dwellers had brought at least one night’s darkness in his life. He knew that without kerosene oil, there would not be light in his hut. How he could tell that man that he and his wife would have to sleep empty stomach on the very first night of that New Year because he had nothing to eat in his hut. He did not like that New Year at all.