LET ME CLEAN YOU

So much dirt, grime, dust, soot, smut is everywhere around us. Not only in and around our house, in and around our working places, or in and around the places where we go often, but also in so many heads around us we often meet and speak every day. The need and affection are twins and where there is a need, automatically, the affection is also found there.

The society is full of beautiful people and beautiful moving mannequins around us. We do not peep in to the depths of the life around as, if not we are sure to find some SAVAGE thoughts in them and we need not go to any forest for seeing cruel animals and the barbarian beasts; because they are the heart of our beloved society, where we are living.

They are not any primitive or savage, but they are highly modern and civilian, and the real savagery, barbarity or malice in them will be the undercover ruthlessness which appears as vanity, conceit, egoism, arrogance, pride, boast and ostentation.

“CLEAN AND SHINE” is the name of this expedition and if you like, you can be a part of this drive by cleaning around you. I love cleaning, washing and shining. I want to clean things I use, inside and outside. I am very touchy about all things I use regularly. I don’t like anybody not showing care towards keeping things clean and tidy. I know what I mean. ‘Keeping things and minds clean’ is my motto.

So much dirt, grime, dust, soot, smut is everywhere around us. Not only in and around our house, in and around our working places, or in and around the places where we go often, but also in so many heads around us we often meet and speak every day. The need and affection are twins. Where there is a need, automatically, the affection is also found there.

I am a woman of a middle class family and I think I have to clean the dirt spreading in society under a peculiar ‘clean and shine’ drive, and I wish this as the motto of everyone, I mean, an ideology of action meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of people around in the society. A good system for revealing as yet unknown facets in man consists of placing the subject in a totally new situation and then starting observation of the reactions of it.

“Hi, I like you… you look like my childhood friend”

If anybody says this, we don’t have to believe this, as we do not know how much truth is there in this statement. The mind is like a magic box and it conceals every thought in side, and the ‘face is the index of a mind’ also fails as we see many faces with no index or see-through hints.

The storekeeper is looking very nice and cordial when I went to make my purchase and I thought he is all amiable and affable with a lot of smile. When I have finished shopping and some small change he has to give, but he said that there is no change. His voice looked like asking me to forget about change and go home.

In the cases like this, your unforeseeable reactions work perfectly. But mostly people do not react thinking that things like this are petty and they leave without giving much importance to these things.

The dispute is very small,it is about some change, shopkeeper has to give to the customer.

Change is a typical problem, mainly in city buses. The conductor says, “Bring correct change for your ticket.” When there is no proper change we have to lose petty coins there.

This change episode happens in theatres also and when we will be in our mood to go in hurry and ready to leave the petty change of twenty or thirty.

In Railway stations also, we will be busy to catch our train in time, so we leave some change with the booking clerk which is never returned to the customer.

Often in Autos and call taxies, it happens. We have to give eighty five and the change of ‘fifteen rupees’ is not with the drivers (always) and we have to lose that money.

I can forget and forgive the shopkeeper like how the others are doing, but why? What for I have to excuse the criminals? The crimes may be small or big, a crime is but a crime.

This is a general tendency of common folk. They are being cheated in hundreds and thousands every day and the shopkeepers are getting benefited in foul means in thousands and thousands of rupees.

I don’t like to leave him. He is doing the same thing of cheating with many customers. I saw few more customers there with me, standing for the change from him. I understood that cheating like this is the habit of this shopkeeper.

Some customers are seeing him with discomfort, irritation and little pain also, but they are helpless, so they excuse him and go away. But I am not that kind.

“If you don’t give the change, take back your groceries and return my money” I said with a discomfort.

“Not possible madam, once purchased goods cannot be taken back. Look at the rules on the wall.” He showed me a small poster on the wall.

I desired him hanging to a nail besides that poster with a note – “Cheating gets punishment like this”

The shopkeeper’s covetousness is clearly visible. I want to wash him with my surf powder and hot water. Like I wash my little boy of two years who plays in dirt and returns and I drag him in to the bath room while he weeps and cries and I wash him with the soap and hot water.

“OKAY! Then get ready to go behind the bars!” I said with a bitter intolerance, reminding him that what he did is a crime and I started calling a number in my mobile.

“Whom do you call?” Shopkeeper asked, but in careless and ironical tone.

“ACP” I said.

“Are you joking? Your face looks like one who did not see the name plate of ACP! I know thousands of people like you, who boast to make me afraid. I am not a rabbit to get afraid of the murmurs of dry leaves crushed under your feet.” The shopkeeper said in his mocking voice.

In a few minutes, a police Jeep stopped before the store and ACP Shankar entered the shop. He looked at me and I looked at the shopkeeper and he looked at the ACP with blank face.

“He refused to hand over the change to me after my purchase.” I accused the shopkeeper in low tone.

Shopkeeper was angry at me and he is not in a state to believe that ACP came for a petty change case. Now he started saying me thousand excuses and took the right change from the counter and handed over to me. He simultaneously handed over the change to few more customers waiting there for the change.

ACP Shankar has no chance to say a word to accuse or make the shopkeeper afraid of him.

“ACP Shankar sir, this man is doing fraud like this and so many people are getting cheated. I saw, many people are getting worried, but not complaining on him, thinking that it is a small amount. Anyhow, a crime is a crime and I request you to keep an eye on him and arrange something to take the complaints on these petty cases also as severe cases.”

I requested him and he nodded in acceptance as if I am his higher authority, and this has puzzled the shopkeeper.

This is a small incident. If you start searching for incidents like this, you will find plenty of such things, which we ignore to brand them as problems.

If the police or media comes with the cheated, these criminals will be like scorpions crushed under the shoe. They will be like INNOCENT FACES and they try to hide their vicious nature with polished words.

As I am leaving the shop with ACP Shankar, I observed satisfaction in many customers there with immense relief and there is pale color on the face of shopkeeper.

*****

One day, I found my neighboring woman sad and when I asked the reason for her grief, she said.
“You know, my husband is honest man and he never accepts any bribe. Now I have a peculiar problem, I am facing. I have to get my daughter joined in the school where they are demanding a donation. I can arrange donation from my personal account and get my daughter joined. But my husband’s honesty is my real problem.”

I am really in a state of variegated colors of disbelief. Is this woman really feeling her honest husband as the problem, instead of the people who are demanding donation as a precondition for the girl’s admission in to the school?

‘Your husband is not a moral or social problem to the people, try to understand that your weakness to get surrendered to the bad practice of the school administration is the real problem.” I said as if I am scolding her intention to give the bribe in disguise of donation.

She looked at me with a wonder. She accepted for all this and she questioned like this.

“How to solve the problem of getting my daughter admitted in the school?”

She gazed at me with zero confidence. I built her confidence level reach cent percent with my words.

“Just forget everything, your girl is admitted. Let us go tomorrow to school.”

The other day, as planned I went with her to the school and met the Headmistress.

“It is our principal to collect the building fund from the parents before children are admitted.” She said.

“Madam, some parents are not comfortable with this demand. I know, she is my neighbor and her husband is very honest. He never takes bribe.” I said.

The headmistress is angry, at my words.

“Do you mean to say, I am taking bribe?” She sharply reacted.

I was cool, cool enough.

“I don’t mean to say so. I am telling about her husband. He will not give bribe or Building fund”

“What can I do for that? Pay and get the child admitted.”

The voice of Headmistress is stiff and inflexible. I requested her with every effort and she bluntly refused. Then I took my mobile and started calling ACP Shankar.

“Whom do you call?”

“ACP Shankar. He will come and book a case of fraud. He has direct links with the CM.” I said.

The headmistress is like a balloon, loosing air slowly.

ACP Shankar came and had a talk with the Headmistress.

“I will get the child admitted without any donation. Forget all this and bring the child tomorrow.” The Headmistress said.

I insisted that no other child, hereafter, should be demanded a donation like this.

She is so much afraid of the cases and media that, she accepted to do so as she is the correspondent of the school.

*****

I know the boy who is in love with the girl, the daughter of the high court pleader. One day, the court pleader came to me and put a request.

“Madam, I know you are doing something good for the society. I am worried about my daughter who is in love with a boy. I don’t know how to deal with this matter, without hurting my beloved daughter. I don’t know anything about that boy. I request you to help me so that my daughter is saved from any unforeseen problem.”

I promised the father and other day, I called the girl in to my room and asked about her love.

“He is my classmate and I love him, aunty. He is a reliable friend. He is the son of assistant professor in English department in BT College.” The girl told me everything sincerely.

She is a prim, rather silly and let’s say quite pretty girl. If anybody becomes acquainted with her, sure he will be in love with her. So I wanted to see how much the boy is in love with her. It is not so easy to understand the mind of a girl or boy, now-a-days. They are having their own beliefs and their self confidence which they do not reveal before me as easily as she did. I am entirely a new person to him. But I had my own way of approach. It worked.

I met the boy and he said, he is in deep love with the girl.

“She is a pretty girl. I ask her for a consideration for me. I told her that I love her, I become her fiancé and thus we are in pure love, madam. I request you to see that the engagement is done. I convince my parents and I request you to convince her parents.” The boy requested me.

I was happy for everything is so easily turned in to a success. I made everything on my own efforts. The engagement is arranged. The celebration is about to take place at her house.

The boy is the toast of the evening. A toast is prepared. Another toast is made. Third toast is also finished.

Finally, the long-awaited moment arrived. The boy, the fiancé, a well-mannered boy, offered his betrothed the beautiful surprise of a package of gift.

The bride-to-be, the sweet girl seems happy and the gift, whatever may be great to her.

“An expensive jewel!” the sweetheart or the girls around may be thinking. The gleam of avariciousness is seen in the eyes of the girl.

The girl’s fingers rush to unsnap the automatic lock. The lid rises with a click and a beautiful, multi-colored wedding gown flops up. It is very beautiful.

The engagement is finished. Then the boy’s father came. He is not happy for the engagement. I looked at the face of the boy who promised me that he will look after his parents.

“I love and I love to marry this girl, it is my dream. I don’t care what my father says.” The boy said.

When the boy’s father started to create a problem, ACP Shankar appeared in the scene. The assistant professor knows the ACP very much and he saw him many times with CM.

“The boy loves the girl. I know the girl, very nice and suitable to your boy? What is the problem if they are married? Please accept for this match.” ACP Shankar requested the father of the boy who looks soft.

The boy’s father has his own calculations. By accepting what Shankar says, Shankar will be good behaving person to him and he will help him in climbing steps in the society.

He accepted. I have completed the task. The girl’s father thanked me. We are all happy.

*****

I am serving the dinner to ACP Shankar on the dining table. He is my husband.

“I am working more for you. You have to pay me a salary.” Shankar said with a smile.

“I have to clean the society. You are my first volunteer worker. Volunteers are not paid servants like in government services. I request you to give me more volunteers in my drive. I want to wash every crime-thought with my ‘tender soap of just threatening’and I will clean them with my consolation water.” I said with a sweet smile.

ACP Shankar looked at me with an intrigue smile and put a question.

“If I take a bribe, what you will do?”

“Let me clean you, first of all, I start cleaning family. Then I will go to clean the society. The expedition should start from home if you are my sweet criminal husband.” I smiled.

“So, I am saved. It’s a nice drive, I agree. But why don’t you start gathering more people for your drive. The drives like this need many followers and then only your ideology lives. This is not something to do as just a personal drive”

I am seriously thinking what Shankar said. It is true. People should come forward to join the hands for certain big things like this.

I believe that good system in any form will attract people and good things survive for a long time, so doing good to anyone in any form is “something good” to be hailed by any one, every one everywhere.

LET THE HANDS JOINED TOGETHER ALWAYS FOR GREAT THINGS LIKE SOCIAL SERVICE. THIS SERVICE ALWAYS NEEDS EVERY ONE LIKE YOU.

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