Palani, an incurable alcoholic beat his wife Bhagyam daily in the
evenings for money for his booze. A lazy loafer, he brought no money for the
house. With three young children to feed, Bhagyam worked hard in many houses.
Life was a humdrum daily grind with only back-breaking work. It was the last
week of the month with not even a grain of rice let alone other essential
ingredients to cook a broth. The leftovers she brought from houses where she
worked hardly helped to keep even the kids from hunger at the end of the month.
In desperation, she often toyed with the idea of suicide along with kids but
would abandon such thoughts, when she saw their trusting eyes and start
visualizing a better tomorrow.
This particular day, she made in the dim light a thin gruel from broken rice she had
borrowed and diluted liberally with a small quantity of buttermilk that one
household had given. Hardly adequate for all and it only kindled more hunger.
Each one had a glass with a small quantity kept aside for the worthless Palani. The chimney lamp, the only source of light in the hut, was flickering starved of kerosene.
As Palani entered, he saw the children along with their friends in the neighbourhood jumping with joy amidst peals of
laughter. Bewildered, he saw a smiling Bhagyam with her eyes glued on a new but
small TV placed on the rickety shelf in the corner, a freebie from the generous government, ahead of a municipal poll. He too joined in the gaiety for a few moments oblivious of the irony of a TV in the hut bereft of electricity but chuckled later at the prospect of some money on its sale for his booze.
Very nice story! Poor families like this have no basic necessities like electricity, food and flowing water. I loved how you ended the story with the irony of starving kids laughing at an useless TV forgetting their hunger!
ReplyDeleteIt took very little to make those children happy. It is sad that their father fails them miserably
ReplyDeleteChitra
Excellent .short but very powerful message . We cannot blame these poor families. This free stuff gives them immense pleasure
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the kids and the neighbors can laugh at the irony of a free TV when there's neither food nor basic amenities. After all, laughter is free!
ReplyDeleteA good one, the irony of hunger pangs forgotten for a TV. It is sad that we hv irresponsible people like Palani. Phew, the vile thought & selfish motive of Palani
ReplyDeleteNice story. Felt sorry for millions of Bhagyams and their kids. But top most priority is to send Chandrayaan to moon.
ReplyDeleteTrue to the hallmark of a short story. The irony of some freebies in the lives of millions is a stark reminder of real India
ReplyDeletePoverty is cruel, especially if small children are involved. Unless each generation strives to make life for the succeeding one a better one at all costs, including giving them an education, it will continue being difficult. Freebies and subsidies are making people like Palani lazier and irresponsible. Let us not mock development for the cruelty of votebanks bought on freebies.
ReplyDeleteWish I saw some miracle that bailed out Bhagyam from the agonizing humdrum of her life! The characters jumped out of the story to make it so real.
ReplyDeleteA vignette of life captured well
ReplyDeleteStarkness of reality lovingly painted.
ReplyDeleteStarkness of reality lovingly painted.
ReplyDeleteHabits die hard,particularly drinking habits. Unconcerned about feelings and emotions of so to say near and dear ones.
ReplyDeleteYou have written the story so nicely.. small yet revealing the stark reality of poverty stricken people. Thank you
ReplyDeleteDark humour and stark poverty blended beautifully in a short frame, left for us to ponder over by the Author .
ReplyDeleteDark humour and stark poverty blended beautifully in a short frame, leaving us to ponder over by the Author.
ReplyDeleteohhh.....That's so sad.....Now a days, I am constantly reading everywhere that we are wired to be poor. Maybe we are conditioned in such a way that we do not how to dream and achieve to get out of this vicious circle.
ReplyDeleteShort, raw and stark reality of many households even today neatly penned down. Always a pleasure to nibble on the sentence construction of your write ups 👌🏻👏🏻
ReplyDeletePowerfully sheds light on the value of distraction as a coping strategy for hopelessness. We can all relate. (JJ)
ReplyDeleteThis story is very much like the story of my own maid, who is striving to lead a normal life with a drunk loafer husband, doing everything in her power to nurse him through his heart problem. And still finding joy in wearing a new sari or sporting some fragrant mogras in her hair 👍
ReplyDeleteThe reality for some.
ReplyDeleteTV without electricity!
TV sale for money.
Now there will be free booze too for many.
Nice story
ReplyDelete