HW- The Secret…

I had no clue that today when I get down from 604 bus..my life wud change completely. Not in literal sense though. i still did not think that what happened in the bus would make me think about it so much!

Cutting the suspense short..i begin..

Once upon a time, when I was sitting at the bus stop waiting for 604,I saw two kids playing..Technically, doing full splits...Though they were not doing anything great or different, one of them caught my eye and when I looked at him..he smiled. There was something in that smile, it made me feel better. More like, a smile which could heal any wound! I smiled back and the bus came. I boarded the bus, bought the ticket, and adjusted myself on one of the seats reserved for ladies, plugged in earphones and got lost in my own world until I saw him! There he was playing a dafli . “HE” here is the same kid; H e was singing SAI bhajans in the bus(one of the very modes of “self-employment” of the poor, to sing and earn money). Again, nothing new in the sight (And sound) but yet I was very curious.There was something very strange (or special) about him, the way he looked at me, at others, the way he was playing, the way he was singing and all his other ways were different and he never failed to make himself get noticed. So, when he was done, he was rewarded with some coins and a few bananas. All this while, when others were hearing him, I was busy taking pictures(without flash, without noise and special focus).

While making an exit, i could not help but ask him about his life and how he reached here. *I would like to thank my journalistic abilities and my humane curiosity which made my do so* (I consider this as my first STAR interview!) He said that he was a resident of Punjab. The family was rich and had sufficient to serve his 4 brothers (including him!) and 3 sisters, but due to some unavoidable circumstances, they had to leave the place and everything they had. OK. Honestly, after hearing this, I was a bit disappointed. Except for the part that he was from Punjab, all I could gather was that he was just another boy of the you-are-taught-to-strike-right-emo-chords-of-listeners-to-get-money gang! But what he told me next completely changed this perception. He told me that grave reason as to why they shifted and how he landed here. I was shocked. Stunned. So much in just 10 years of age! Unfair is all I could term his life. I did not say anything, not that I did not know what to say but just that I couldn’t..i just could not! I knew it was true. Somehow, I knew it.

Everybody in the bus tried to hear the conversation, the eavesdroppers as people always are!! But, lucky or not-so-lucky, nobody got even a bite of that cake! He was narrating to me his life and I was going through a state of sheer numbness. And, I knew it then and there that I had to do something. More like, something has to be done! I was looking blankly at him but my mind was running here and there and looking for a solution. He gave me a banana and said,” Didi, tum itna mat socho. Sochna us bhagwan ka kaam hai. Bas meri 3 baatien manogi”(Sister, don’t think to much, its not your job. God is there to think for everyone. Give a nod to the three things I am about to say).Okay. An 8 year old who sings in the buses and earns a living, a kid who as seen tooooooo much in life, (he may just be next to god!) Is giving me guidance. Creepy but acceptable. And so I prepared myself to hear him.

What he said next would not mean as much to anyone except me, not even to those 23 people in the bus, including the driver and conductor !!

Firstly, he asked me not to mention his name anywhere, if I ever decide to pen down my days events. This as promised has been done.

Secondly, he took m y camera and with that very calm smile on his face deleted one (of the 5 pictures) I took which had his front portrait and requested not to disclose his identity in public. But allowed me to flow pictures with his side portraits if I plan to post his pictures anywhere or get them developed.

Third and last, He requested me to keep his SECRET a secret and never ever tell it to anyone. Never ever! Which I won’t, ever!

I nodded to everything he said. Maybe because I thought I could do all the above or maybe because I did not have a clue of what was happening. I would go with the latter, now.

He then got busy again in collecting the salary for his work. I was still blank with a smile on my face. While de-boarding the bus,he turned around, gave me that same smile and said,” Didi, ek din jab main bada aadmi ban jaunga na..to aaj tere diye hue in 5 rupey ke badle..tujhe 50000 ruper dunga. Agar soch rahi hai kyun..to bata dun..jis jahan ko main chhod aaya tha..uska ek tukda aaj bhi mere paas hai..aur tu dekh..ek din tu hi mere paas aaegi mera interview lene aur jab tu aaegi to ye leti aaiyo, main tujhe isse pehchaankar tujhe auron se pehle milunga” (Sister, one day when I earn a name and fame, I would return to you a sum of Rs.50000 in return of the 5rs you gave me today. IF you are wondering why, let me tell you that I still have a piece of the world I have come out of and you wait and watch, one day you yourself would come to me to seek my interview and when you do so, get this along, I will recognize you and would address you before anyone else present there)..And he gave me a piece of rock which had the letters-HW inscribed on it.. And before I could ask what it meant or why was he giving it to me..He de-boarded the bus. And for the rest of that day (till today!) I am thinking about that piece..Though one thing is clear, that it belongs to that secret, I am still wondering why did he give that to me and what does HW on it means.. Hence, the secret is told and yet it remains like one.

This is his picture. As my second promise to him, I have not posted his front portrait (I don’t even have it anymore!) but his side picture. The picture, even though taken with a lot of focus isn’t that clear and as I am not a photographer it isn’t that brilliant either, but it does speak a thousand words..at least to me!