Metamorphosis!!!!!

So came the much awaited weekend, they call it TGIF (Thank God, it’s Friday!). There was no lecture today, so it was kinda relaxed day. On top of that, if Friday morning at Hyderabad treats you with clouds, cool breeze, and dark sky, it’s like heavens down on the earth!

By the time day had started peaking in towards noon, it was getting even darker. It started with drizzle and quickly had started raining heavily! Scorching land of Hyderabad was spreading romantic aroma of wet soil all around. Fragrance of this soil was making me romantic enough and there couldn’t be a better timing to take my most expensive brand White Horse Scotch Whisky out on this very welcome Friday noon when someone knocked at my door! Who the hell could knock when it’s helluva torrent outside!

I opened the door to find a little child, must be around 8 years old peeping in, little nervous and very shy. And all he could do on seeing me was to bow and join both his hands in respect. And before I could even ask his identity, I saw his mom, the maid who cooks my food behind him.

Man, I could sacrifice my date with even the hottest chick in the campus in this violent downpour, and here’s this lady, who came all the way in this rain to cook my food and clean my utensils. Jesus!

“Come on Lakshmi Aunty, you didn’t have to come in this weather!” I admonished her. And on top of that, she had brought her son alongwith!

“And even if you had to come, then why with him?? What if he falls sick or gets fever? Who would be responsible for loss of his study???” Either it was White Horses running in my brain after having 2 patiala pegs or what, but I was damn serious and concerned about that kid. Probably because he was the only one who had bowed and joined hands to me in my entire lifetime…….and that’s what was making him special for me 

Lakshmi Aunty gave back no response but put her head down as if wanting to say something but keeping within her heart. And I, not bothering much this time, headed to have my 3rd Patiala peg. White Horse Scotch is hotter than hottest chicks in cold weathers!

“What’s your name dude?” I asked the child in damn accented English as if speed networking with some batch mate.

And all I got in return was his usual head down with both hands clubbed.
“Which class you study in?” I asked having another sip of White Horse. Times Now was showing Breaking News on television that all charges against Tamil actress Khushboo for her pre-marital comments have been quashed.

He didn’t respond back.

“Ok, don’t tell me your class, tell me which school you go to?” I wanted to be friends with him but he didn’t’ respond to this too.

I put my hand on his chin to put his head up and to my wonder, I saw little tears in those eyes……they were like those small beautiful dew drops we see on flowers or wet grass…..but they weren’t looking any beautiful coming out of eyes of this lovely kid 

His Mom (Lakshmi Aunty) kept watching while cooking chapatti on the cooking gas as if she was aware that his tears were anyways imminent at my questions. Her indifference to come forward to solace her son surprised me though but it looked like this wasn’t the first time she was facing this situation, so she apathetically kept changing sides of my chapatti while I was standing having my one hand on his chin and other hand carrying White Horse Scotch!

I immediately put my scotch somewhere away on the ground for this kid. This doesn’t happen very often that I care for someone else more than my scotch, but I wanted know what this is all about.

“What’s your name son?” I asked. My hands were automatically up wiping his tears with my palms.

“Anand,” a very sweet rhythmic voice answered. His hiccups were still on and his tears had started flowing on his cheeks now.

“Why are you crying beta?” I asked. I am sure he could figure out by now that I was a nice guy and was expressing my affection towards him.

“Won’t you tell your Uncle??” damn I was feeling so old calling myself Uncle, but what to do, this is bitter chronology that you become Uncle from Bhaiya with passage of time!

“I want to go to school….I want to study like you Uncle……Mumma tells me that all Uncles who study in this school become very big people……they get this much money,” anand told joyously expanding both his hands. “I will also earn this much money…..then my mumma won’t have to come far here in this rain to wash your utensils and cook your food…..Then she would cook for onlyyyyyyyyy meeeeee” Anand told innocently emphasizing on only and me. He was having a little smile on his face while saying this.

Anand had finished what all he had to say, but had put across me a very big open-ended question whose answer I had to explore now…..White Horse scotch kick had faded away in moments…..and whatever left was again those dew drops….only characters had changed…..Before I could realize, I had those moist eyes….Damn! there were tears in my eyes.

“Lakshmi aunty, why don’t you send Anand to school?” I scolded lakshmi aunty as if I had some right on Anand.

“Sir, I have got occupation in only your house. You 3 eat food cooked by my hands, 4th sir eats out in the cafeteria, and thus I earn 1800 rupees here. 3 other Sirs have given their laundry service to me, which earns me another 600 rupees. It’s very tough to sustain house for entire 1 month with mere 2400 rupees Sir,” Lakshmi revealed what I had never thought, and had ignorantly pierced heart of an innocent
child.

What I later found was that Lakshmi Aunty had 2 daughters and a son Anand with Anand being the oldest. Her husband is a laborer who earns 100 rupees a day. The combined income of the couple is approximately 5400 per month; hence they can’t afford the schooling of their kids in a big metropolis like Hyderabad. Ignorant of these realities, when Anand sees other children of his age going to school, he gets immensely hurt and sometimes his sorrows come out in the shape of tears. And every time his parents allure him with the promise of getting him a toy car which they never bring overburdened by their house rents and other daily expenses!

That’s why Lakshmi aunty was feeding me home-cooked food like to her son Anand, and who had this utmost need of money: to send her son to school, to make his dream of becoming a big man one day a reality so that his mom won’t have to come this far everyday to clean utensils and cook food for some unknown strangers just for the sake of money…..

Lakshmi aunty and Anand had left, but now I knew what I had to do. Anand had shown me the direction and I just had to implement like a trained manager (so called business-leader of future).

“Dude, was a great session,” my 4th flatmate Anuj told me as soon as he entered the flat from the same door where Anand was peeping some few hours ago.

“What was it about?” I asked without even looking at him as I was busy watching Times Now which was still showing news of Khushboo. Probably Khushboo hadn’t got as much airtime in her entire lifetime on national news channel as she had got today.

“It was a session on Social Entrepreneurship. Alums had come to speak about initiatives we can take to create social entrepreneurship opportunities…..We would start a mass movement on ground……and change the entire society and entire system,”

Anuj had enthusiasm in his voice.

“Then why not start from your own self dude?” I counter-questioned, and he, quite confused, stared at me.

“Dude, you talking about all these big big social entrepreneurial movements, the conclaves, the business competition ideas and God knows, what all else!!!...to bring change in the society and the system! Then why not start from your own self?” I knew what I was up to.

“What are you talking about? I am contesting for the president of this professional club to bring about social change in the societal strata of our system man.” Now, this is what people do. You tell them something blunt on their face, and they start coming out with their typical jargons to sound authentic, but this wasn’t gonna work today! Anand’s influence (and probably White horse) was still on!!

“You pay 6000 odd bucks for your meals at the cafeteria just for sake of little extra convenience! Why can’t you have your meals at the apartment paying those mere 600 bucks to Lakshmi Aunty??? It would just mean coming out little bit out of your comfort zone…..coz you would have to come back to your flat for your meals rather than in the campus. And it’s way cheap also dude!!” don’t know why but I just wanted to convince this guy. Those 600 bucks would mean a lot for Lakshmi Aunty and yes, for Anand also….

“Anuj, we all are future business leaders (big people in Anand’s words), we would create thousands of jobs in the industry once we go out of this institute. But why wait till then??? Can’t we make this unsaid rule in this campus today that we all would generate income for these maids giving them employment so that their children could study well????” damn I was being too theoretical (in business terminology), but guessed it was worth it!

“Anuj, if we have to start social entrepreneurship, then we have to start it right here…..right now……right in this campus….right with these maids for their children and families,” was my last ditch appeal.

“I will get back to you on this ,” Anuj said and left the room….Probably he wanted to contemplate on this or probably he wasn’t willing to get out of his comfort-zone…..

Anuj left the room, not sure when he will get back to me on this, or whether he would get back on this at all……Lakshmi Aunty must be busy finding work in some other blocks….while I was back on my statistics assignment, and every time sitting on my statistics assignment, one question was teasing me again and again:


Would Anand ever get to go to school...