TREAT

It was a foggy and grave winter day. Sun was not visible since past 3 days. He was wandering with kaalu. Summers were nice according to his 5 year old understanding. At least he was able to sleep anywhere on the street without much difficulty. Rains were fun too, he used to get to play in the water clogged streets. But winter was bad…. Very bad.  All the time he has to shiver. His tiny and wiry frame would ache due to constant shivering. He would try to bury his neck as deep as possible in between his shoulders, but still a chill would run through his body. It was even worse in those days when a wind would be blowing.  At night he would have to sleep inside the night shelter tents. There no one would allow kaalu to enter. Kaalu was one of the many street dogs of sector 18. kaalu was his best friend. Kaalu would search for the best garbage and would take him there. He too, used to share everything with kaalu. Summer was nice in another way too. He and kaalu would sleep on the street, snuggled into each other. But winters…. were not nice.

On this particular day of January, he was roaming aimlessly with kaalu on the streets. Everything was normal. The kid and kaalu roaming on the streets was a normal sight. He and kaalu were growing up together. They have been together ever since he learnt to walk. Both were an essential part of each other’s survival.

At 8:00 pm, the fog cover was starting to get thick. The night was fast approaching. Apart from some half eaten, thrown away burgers, he and kaalu have not eaten anything. Sector 18 is known for the numerous shopping malls and eating joints. Much food used to be thrown away earlier, but ever since the municipal got strict, not much food was thrown away in the open, making it difficult for him and kaalu to survive. So, like other children of the street, he too had to slowly master the art of begging.

Sector 18 was mostly visited by wealthy people. So begging was a good option. This fact is supported by the numerous beggars dwelling in that area. Being a kid, getting alms was not much difficult for him. But some days alms were not enough. One can't even dream of eating something with just 15 or 20 rupees in sector 18. Some days  kaalu would find out something eatable in the garbage. That day he would eat. But on the whole, such days were very few. Mostly he would have to be content with the left over contents of thrown away cups from restaurant.

Today has been such a day. He was roaming with kaalu, hoping to locate some eatable. Mostly young crowd comes here. Most of them have cars, such that sector 18 is in constant state of traffic jam..! One such car stopped. 4 young people stepped out from the car. All of them were below 25 years. All were from well to do families. Wearing coats and all the winter clothing to keep themselves warm. Stepping out from car they went straight to a pub. One amongst them was giving rest others a treat. Spotting a car and rich people the kid went straight to them pleading for some money or anything. They ignored him and went straight in the pub.

Four hours later, and few thousand rupees poorer, they emerged from the pub. Fully drunk. The kid was looking for something in a nearby dustbin. Seeing them he again went to them and started pleading for money or some food.  His brief experience has taught him that while begging one should sound as miserable as possible, but he did not needed to act tonight. Hunger and cold has made him as miserable as possible.

The drunk guys, found his pleadings amusing. They were laughing uncontrollably. One of them took out a bar of chocolate from his coat and showed it to him. Rather he moved that chocolate in front of him in an arc, teasing him, urging him to take the chocolate. The kid was apprehensive, he wanted to snatch the chocolate from his hand, but he feared they would beat him up. On the other hand his hunger was urging him to do otherwise. Others were in the car by now. The guy holding the chocolate got in the car. Through the window he kept showing the chocolate to the kid. The guy driving the car struck upon an “AMUSING” idea in his drunken state. He drove the car few meters and stopped. The guy holding the chocolate peered out of the car and forwarded the chocolate to the kid asking him to come and take it.

The kid, driven by hunger ran behind the car to get the chocolate. Kaalu was also running with him. Just when he was about to reach it, the driver again moved the car. The guy at the back was still holding the chocolate in the air and the kid was standing at his previous position wondering what to do. After moving around 30  metres, the car stopped, the guy at the back peered his head outside the window and invited the kid to come and take the chocolate, all this time all four of the passengers in the car were laughing uncontrollably. The kid again ran behind the car, determined to get the chocolate, but again when he was about to reach the car the driver started the car. This time the kid didn’t stopped. Driven by the sinister power of hunger he kept running behind the car. The driver was amused by this, so he didn’t stopped the car rather he kept moving the car at such a speed that the car was just ahead of the kid.

The passengers of the car found it very amusing. They were in splits by laughing. But the kid didn’t gave up, he kept running behind the chocolate. Sector 18 was about to end. At the end sector 18 has a canal, on top of which road has been built, like a bridge. After crossing that road comes the final red light of sector 18. This amusing game of the passengers of the car has continued, till the bridge was about to come. The guy holding the chocolate at last grew tired and threw away the chocolate.  The chocolate fell in the bank of the canal. It is an area covered by dense weeds and bushes and over growths. Not maintained at all. The chocolate went there. Behind the chocolate went the kid and kaalu. Dense fog was falling on the canal. The people in the car saw him and kaalu going towards the bushes and all of them again had a fit of laughter. They drove away. The fog kept getting denser and denser.

Next morning was again a foggy morning. Sector 18 moved at its usual pace. Cars came and went. Young, happy people, some with friends, some with girlfriends, boyfriends, some with family, spouses. They all came, had fun and went away. Everything was normal. But there was one very minor change in the life of sector 18. No one ever saw the kid again. But for many days, kaalu could be seen crying and howling in a painful voice and running along the length of the canal…..stopping somewhere in between to sniff around….and then crying and running again.

Arjyajyoti Goswami