This story is selected as Editor’s Choice
Social Short Story – Menagerie of lives
Photo credit: veggiegretz from morguefile.com
“I won” yelled Mr. Modi’s son.
“You cheated” shrieked his brother starring at the iPad.
“Stop fighting and eat quietly!” Mrs.Modi chided.
“Get some food!” Mrs. Shah pestered her daughter. “Fries and desserts are not dinner!”
Except for these occasional concerns, the ladies resumed their complaints about their maids and cooks. Amidst clubs, gym, parties, shopping, salon and movies, how do these women even find time to notice their flaws?
“Now I have to use my sari more than once” Mrs. Shah even scowled at her husband’s remark.
Their husbands, oblivious to all these conversations discussed their business. For the partners, it was the dragging dispute over labor and wages. Seasoned laborers demanded higher wages which frequently interrupted their construction schedule. Despite the delay, both partners refused another wage hike in 12 months. After weeks of haggling, both partners finally relented to increase the wages. With a grimace, Mr. Shah dialled his contractor’s phone number.
“Vote for your favorite contest, online or send us an SMS”, the T.V echoed as Murgan watched his favorite show amid the clamor from 3 other rented portions. His wife was amongst those women watching the melodrama next door. Their ears were tuned to crying babies, screaming children and complaining husbands. These T.V. serials held the “reins of life”. “Veni, water” the wife heard as she walked in after the serial.
“You waited 45 minutes to drink water”, she whined.
“Can I eat now?”
“Chutney is ready, the idlis will be in fifteen minutes” he heard her from the kitchen.
“Lower the T.V. volume” Murgan gestured to his wife as he picked up his phone in the bedroom. He exchanged his greetings with Mr. Shah and apologized for his absence this morning. “I am expecting new labors next week our work schedule will be better sir”. He pouted as heated words were passed from the other end. His wife stood puzzled by his gradual submission to the conversation and his content smile.
‘What, happened?”
“Mr. Shah has agreed for a wage increase”!
Mr. Shah paid by head counts and not by age. Child labor accounted for 15 percent of the total work force for only half the pay. The remaining half filled his pockets. These laborers were illiterates so pilfering went unnoticed making their dreams of a one bedroom house closer to reality.
“My eyes burn” the kids whined as smoke from the mud stove enveloped the shack.
“Go outside and play” the mother grumbled but the kids were restless to fill their growling stomach. They wished the school lunch program served dinner too! She turned the T.V. on, served them rice and stepped out. The kids ate their rice, amaranth and pickles to their heart’s content, but never to their stomach’s. Still they rarely complained of the absence of color, palatability or the monotony of the food. They stepped out to wash their plates.
The staggering father walked in and sees the the empty house and the blurred television. He calls his wife a few times. He mumbles as his cynicism peaks, and kicks the pot. The kids rattling their plates enter the house and see the staggering father and the scattered morsels. The boy shouts for his mother. As the wife walks in cursing, she sees her husband’s hand across the girl’s face and hitting the wall. She grabs her daughter and rubs her forehead. Despite the ruckus, the mother feels a thump on her left shoulder.
“Serve food”. She empties the last morsel ranting on to his plate. He satisfies his ravenous appetite, kicks the plate aside and stretches on the floor.
As the night gets deeper, she still hears the whimper. Tears roll down as she stares at this everyday misery which gradually weakened her (repulsive, yet the ingrained culture of loyalty in our society). The physical and the emotional scars of abuse were deeper on the kids. Tonight the acute misery, the frequent hungers, tears and thoughts transposed into the dark morning hours. She gazed at her kids, and closed her eyes.
The tired, sleepless mother hustled the kids to school and left to work. Murgan was surprised to see her early at work. “I can’t work today” she told Murgan. Unlike the usual frowns, Murgan was upbeat today. He passed on the news from Mr. Shah, but she remained impassive as he conveyed the good news.
She picked her kids after lunch on Saturday’s and took them to the construction site. “No work today,” she told her kids on their way to the bus stop. “Where are we going?” her son asked as they boarded the bus. “Hold your sister’s hand, few more stops to get off the bus”. “Is it a new construction job?” Her son was perturbed by the detour.
They got off the bus, but the questions continued until they reached the unfamiliar. “Everything is going to be fine from now for all of us. It will be a better tomorrow”, she uttered with a content smile as the kids read the board:
HOME FOR THE DESTITUTE AND ORPHANAGE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
