Lying below, the shop keeper’s jute bag, only my head peeping out to see these kids enjoying with the toffees. Of all today’s activities, this was the most memorable moment I can think of. Happiness for so many kids, with their sweet smiles and in their sweet smiles, this old man trying to find his happiness, I was getting emotional now.
I was in the middle of sliced mangoes, pineapples, watermelon on steel plate, 4 jars of different colored toffees, dry tamarinds, peanuts, dates etc. There was a small stick on which the shop keeper tied some old cloth and he was waving that over us, to drive the flies away.
After a long hot day, I started feeling the cool breeze around me. The jute bag below which I laid was giving me more comfort than I expected.
Thinking of what happened the whole day, I got into my own world. My travel from call center employee till this road side shop keeper looked better than staying inside some stupid lockers. I got all the excitement, which I wanted. I was hurt a couple of places, but still I had the same energy, value, power.
I don’t remember when I started sleeping but woke up with a sudden shock, when the jute bag was pulled out.
I was holding the jute bag tightly, which flew away from the shop. I saw the shopkeeper shouting and crying at four guys around his shop. They were breaking the glass jars and took the money from his pocket and the shop. One of them came towards me plucked me out of the jute bag and pushed me inside his pocket.
His pocket was dirty, and I couldn’t see anything out. The guy started running and I was able to feel it from inside. The smell of the tobacco was filled inside his pocket. After a few minutes, he stopped. He pulled me and others out of his pocket and held us in his palm.
I saw three of the other guys surrounded his palm. They also pulled some of my family members from their pockets and placed them over me.
“Count it!” shouted one among them.
“Okay, wait, let me check how much we got” he started separating us according to our heights and started counting. He licked his fingers when he did that and this time I was not able to escape from his wet fingers.
“Two hundred…….!” He shouted.
“Wow, come on we got enough for today” the other said and snatched us from the first person’s hand. He folded the bundle and his hand went below his hip level. A curtail below his hip opened and he I was able to see a trouser inside the curtain. He pushed us inside that trouser pocket and patted twice.
It was dark inside but I was able to see a bundle of Indian beedi, match box, dry tobaccos, a small knife, and some papers inside it. We all were scared inside that dark trouser, which was torn slightly at one end. I thought of escaping from that hole, but I realized, I cannot move without anyone’s help.
I found that guy had stopped walking and pulled us out of his dirty pocket, after getting us out, his curtain closed automatically.
My eyes got a slight irritation, when I first saw so many lights around me. There were bottles all around me.
“How much?” handing over me to the other guy he asked.
“180” a big bellied fellow at the counter took us in hand and started counting. I escaped from this person’s saliva.
“Give some plastic glass and chips for the rest of the change” the curtain clothed person said to the shop keeper.
They left leaving me there, it was bright here and again I was inside a wooden box, whenever the box opened I was able to see the bright light and hundreds of bottles placed in racks around me. They were placed, type wise, height wise, weight wise, and color wise. I wasn’t able to find many differences between each rack and the only thing which didn’t change was, whenever I came out to light, one of them was missing from the rack.
I was in a deep thought, who are these guys? Why are they staked? Why those guys hit one shopkeeper and gave the money to this shopkeeper. What is there in these bottles?
……………..To be continued. concluding next week.....
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