The real Realities

He gets down the bus with one hand in his pant-pocket. He checks his pocket for the treasure he kept there. Yes, it was there. He crosses the road to reach his house. It’s early in the morning. The sun is just peeking in the horizon spreading light and warmth everywhere. He inhales the fresh air and keeps walking.

He reaches his home and opens the gate…slowly. Though he was careful not to make any sound, she woke with the faint sound made by his shoes. By the time he leave his shoes outside and gets in the house; she came running toward him squealing ‘Daddyyyyyy!’ and hugged both his legs with so much of delight. He lifted her up with both his hands and kissed her forehead. ‘I’ve got you something princess’ he said to her. She is small, so cute and so naughty. She lifts her eyebrows and asks, ‘Blue Bichee?!’. He let her down and took out from his pocket – the Milk Bikis pack. It’s a treasure for him; not for its value, but for the smile it can put on her face. Her face is bright with happiness. That’s her favorite. She got that from him and ran toward the backyard saying, ‘Mom, Daddy came!’.

Now the silent reality behind the screen……

His family was into the handloom business a few years back. He worshipped his work for its traditional and historical background. But, then a time came. The time, which made him move out of it. The rise in price and loss of importance for the handloom due to the Machineries; doesn’t do any good to him. Being middle-class will not help you much too. You’ll be forced to move with the swirl of situation. And, he has to move now, for the sake of his family.

And, this is when he went for this job in the Automobile manufacturing company. He has to work a six-hour shift. That job took more than he planned to give. The pride of having an own business, the joy of being in his own town, the freedom of doing his work in his own way. It took everything. It just gave the money. Money, he needed to keep his family running and his life going. More than that, he has to support his Princess.

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The staff bus would take him in the afternoon and drop him off by early morning after his night shift work. He has a tag in his shirt – his uniform. The uniform is neatly ironed. It gives him salary. He’ll be given a biscuit pack and a cup of tea every day, kind of refreshment. And, he would take that back home to her Princess.

People would say ‘he has a secured life’. They think that’s perfect. But, no one has seen this.

He has to look after the production of bolts and nuts, with all that scorching heat from the furnaces and sweat dripping down his face. He’ll change into a brown shirt and re-change to the neatly ironed one when he is about to go home. The tag in his shirt owns him now. He has to work, and that’s not a choice for him. No one would see any of this.

And, that’s the way life works for some.

It made me realize……

There are these people who work; to make things which would make our life comfortable. We invest our dreams and money to own things. Of course we do that. But, do we realize the journey of it? A little bit of realization and a tiny bit of gratitude won’t hurt right? That will be the little humanity we can muster. It won’t create any serious change to those people. But that can change the nature of our society – at the most. And, in turn those – sacrificing – people can walk straight with pride in stead of regrets.

-Sp-