Excerpts from my new book "7.5" please read and comment.... :D :D :D :D The Abhishekam was still fresh in Pintu’s mind. It was the official Day 1 of his yearlong drop from college. He stepped out of his house and walked over to the rickshaw stand and got in. He said, “K Murthy College” that was the entire information the driver needed to know to get Pintu to his college. After paying the hefty sum of Rs40 he got out and walked into the college only to be stopped at the gate by the security. The guard said, “Show me your ID!” Pintu searched his bag all he found was papers. He said, “I don’t have it they took it after the exams!” The guard said, “You better come back within 5 minutes if you don’t have an ID, do your business in there and get out, is that clear?” with a stern look. Pintu got angry, “Abe C******, I already have a drop and I am not a student here for another year!!!! If you think I am going to be scared of you, you are a goner!!” And he rushed inside the property and went straight to the office. He stood in front of the front desk and said, “I am here to take my mark sheet! I am in a hurry could you please do it fast?” The receptionist gave an annoying look and said, “You are a student here, not my boss! Wait here give me you hall ticket and I’ll have it brought here!” Pintu’s anger grew and was about to peak. Just then the receptionist picked up her phone which rang rudely into everyone’s ears. She looked at him and then kept the phone down and said, “Your mark sheet is not ready take it next year when you come back!” That’s it Pintu got pissed off and yelled, “Abe B***** yeh kya faltugiri he? Why do I always fall victim to such nuisance?” The receptionist was astounded by his language and got so scared of his temper she said, “GET OUT NOW!!!! DON’T COME HERE UNTIL NEXT YEAR!!!!” and she threw a pen out of fear. Pintu caught the pen and left the room. At the gate the guard looked at him and almost wanted to slap Pintu for his stupidity. But something about Pintu stopped him from doing anything and stunned him. He let him go. Pintu got out and walked with immense pride and slipped and fell on the wet road with his pride hurt he got up and ran his fat ass to a nearby auto rickshaw and got in. He yelled, “Take me to sector-10 New Panvel!!!!!” as usual the rickshaw driver knew the way and started driving. The driver suddenly turned and spoke, “Could you turn the knob near your leg it’s the choke.” Pintu looked at the man he was in his 60s, then Pintu turned the knob and then the rickshaw driver looked at him and said, “Can you sit in the middle? The rickshaw is losing balance because of your weight, please.” Since he was so polite Pintu listened to him and sat in the middle. Then Pintu spoke, “How long have you been driving a rickshaw?” The Old withered rickshaw driver said, “You know I was a businessman with a good education? Since the recession I have lost everything and my kids have kicked me out too!” Astonished by a reply in fluent English Pintu could not reply for quite a while, but he recovered, “Are you kidding me? Seriously? It’s hard to believe this man.” The driver replied, “You young kids don’t know the value of education and hard work, in my case it was bad luck but it can happen to anyone.” Pintu was so shocked at the man’s wisdom he slowly realized that he needed an education no matter what he wanted to do. Pintu then said, “What if I wanted an education but not in a field that I hate? What if I wanted to be an artist and not an engineer?” The driver said, “Grow up boy, you don’t always get what you want! Right now you need that degree so that you can have a backup when you risk it all to become an artist!” Pintu still recovering from the driver’s fluency slowly said, “Alright stop near the corner my house is right there!” Pintu got out of the rickshaw and asked, “How much?” The driver replied, “20 rupees!” Pintu was shocked yet again and said, “Its 40 right?” The driver replied, “For a fellow English speaker I’m willing to give a discount. Not many people speak fluent English with me you know!” Pintu had another sense of pride and he forgot the incidents that happened earlier. He walked home and his mom opened the door. He got in and went straight to the toilet to pee. A loud lid hit the seat and an even louder flush occurred and then the serene noise of tap flowing water from the tap was heard and then a door banged behind Pintu as he came out of the toilet with clean hands and feet and a relieved physical sense. He calmly walked towards the living room and said to his mother, “Mom I met a rickshaw driver who spoke fluent English!” and then he narrated the entire incident to her his mom said, “Wow, that’s strange I guess god is trying to save you after all!” Pintu ridiculed the gesture and said, “Stop it mom enough with the god crap, I know he doesn’t exist and I will never believe he exists!” He smiled and turned on the high end 56 inch LED TV.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 06:47:48 +0000
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