"Wake up, doofus! C'mon, get freshed up," the croaky voice of Anna startled him from a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
"Just a little more..." he said, turning on his side.
" No time. It's our shift today. And saheb will get pissed off if we don't finish in time. Come to think of it, he is always in a foul mood. That big..." Anna started his usual rant against the saheb, again. Prakash jumped down the bunk and stretched. Purple light filtered through the moth-eaten curtain.
He got fresh( washed his face and wore two days old clothes) and joined Anna near the paan shop. Their brooms were already secured by Anna's Atlas. He pedalled through the winding, cement road, dodging the occasional potholes. They had to sweep the bridge today, so naturally, Prakash wasn't in the best of moods. The dry, barren land below filled with heaps of garbage and the gutter running by the side of the bridge reeked real bad, I tell you.
They started their work, hoping, as always, to clear it before the usual influx of the people began. At this time of the day, everyone is a zombie.
Halfway through the low bridge, Prakash heard a small, weak yelping of a dog. He looked down at the heaps of garbage below, but he couldn't see it. He glanced at the gutter running by the side, and found the creature in a pitiable plight.
It was a brownish red pup, it's fur coated with grease and mud. It was shivering in the cold breeze of dawn.
"What's wrong. What are you looking at?" Anna came over.
"Huh? No, it's just this poor puppy. Look at its state. It's half dead."
"Yeah, hmm. Poor thing... C'mon, move your hands quickly before the traffic starts. We're almost done now."
"Hey, what? We should do something," he looked up at Anna, startled.
"Do what?"
"For the pup! Don't you see?"
"What can you do, Pandu?"
"We could feed it. Why are you talking like that?" he said, exasperated.
"We can't feed ourselves properly, you're talking about this damned creature. Stop talking nonsense and finish the work fast. It'll meet its fate, or whatever is written for him. Try to improve yours," Anna nudged him past the pup and went back to work. He waved the broom slowly, mulling over the pup and Anna's words.
They finished their work, late by their standards, but still in time. The monotonous sounds of horns and engines were increasing. They started to go to their next stop, when a car screeched and skidded a little. They looked back, expecting to see the worst, but the car had already regained control and sped past them. The small, dark body on which the car had trodden over lay motionless. A boy kicked it to the side of the bridge, and it tumbled down, onto the piles of swelling garbage.
'Anna was right after all. It couldn't do anything about its fate. I had to worry about mine. It met its destiny,' he thought.
Halfway through the low bridge, Prakash heard a small, weak yelping of a dog. He looked down at the heaps of garbage below, but he couldn't see it. He glanced at the gutter running by the side, and found the creature in a pitiable plight.
It was a brownish red pup, it's fur coated with grease and mud. It was shivering in the cold breeze of dawn.
"What's wrong. What are you looking at?" Anna came over.
"Huh? No, it's just this poor puppy. Look at its state. It's half dead."
"Yeah, hmm. Poor thing... C'mon, move your hands quickly before the traffic starts. We're almost done now."
"Hey, what? We should do something," he looked up at Anna, startled.
"Do what?"
"For the pup! Don't you see?"
"What can you do, Pandu?"
"We could feed it. Why are you talking like that?" he said, exasperated.
"We can't feed ourselves properly, you're talking about this damned creature. Stop talking nonsense and finish the work fast. It'll meet its fate, or whatever is written for him. Try to improve yours," Anna nudged him past the pup and went back to work. He waved the broom slowly, mulling over the pup and Anna's words.
They finished their work, late by their standards, but still in time. The monotonous sounds of horns and engines were increasing. They started to go to their next stop, when a car screeched and skidded a little. They looked back, expecting to see the worst, but the car had already regained control and sped past them. The small, dark body on which the car had trodden over lay motionless. A boy kicked it to the side of the bridge, and it tumbled down, onto the piles of swelling garbage.
'Anna was right after all. It couldn't do anything about its fate. I had to worry about mine. It met its destiny,' he thought.
'It couldn't do anything, but you could,' his own voice answered him.
6 comments:
you are really good in writing conversations .. keep up the good work.
also, do join and share your posts on www.indiblogger.in
the number of visitors on your blog will also increase and do make new friends there .. its a very good platform for bloggers
thanks, aur dekhta hu abhi indiblogger ko.
as always the best.but you can do more better.
keep up with the good work!...
i get your drift here . but execution was poor . if u got any free time write this whole thing again with a different approach !
i felt the same way about the writing. the content wasn't great anyway. will try! Thanks a ton!
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