Fuck you, Diwali
October 26, 2011
This evening, I was accompanying a friend to a bazaar that was set up almost instanlty in a community grounds nearby with few stalls that are full of crackers, made and transported from sivakashi. While my friend was makng himself busy in identifying the right crackers that suit his son’s happiness most (and his too, money-wise), I slowly made my way towards the ground area where lot of guys were playing football. Suddenly a small kid of approximately 6 years was found handled by another ~13 years old kid and was being beaten up. Just like anyone else would, but with little faster response time, I asked the big kid in the wierd langugae that’s neither telugu nor kannada of what the problem is and why was he beating the small kid.
’he stole the crackers’, pat came the reply.
‘Those are mine’, the smaller kid said with tinge of helplessness quite clear in his voice.
Just a mere glance at the small kid would give it away the fact that the crackers he was trying to carry away by whisking them inside his half torn shirt were not his own, i.e., not the ones he paid to have.
The two cracker packets in possession of smaller kid fell off the ground following the resentful struggle that resulted in minor bruises on the smaller kid who was crying loudly that the crackers were indeed his own. Now that the cracker packets were detached from him, the smaller kid was just crying and desperately trying to get himself free from the bigger kid who is still holding him tight to take him somewhere where instant justice for stealing could be offered with no disturbance from the 10 odd pairs of eyes and one voice that’s still talking in telugu-kannada making its presence felt more than before. Lot of persuasion with bits of warnings from the few voices that started to raise and incessant struggle from the smaller kid to free himself resulted in making the bigger kid leave the smaller kid making him flee instantly. I saw the smaller kid’s face who inspite of having tears flowing down his cheeks incessantly, looked triumphant for getting himself free and dejected in the very next second for not being able to complete the task that he started. It looked crystal clear to me that the kid got richer by the knowledge of how not to steal and with few bruises on his body. Also with a bitter understanding that not having money means not being able to buy happiness, even if today is Diwali.
Some might wonder innocently or more often quite conveniently that what is having money to do with celebrating diwali with crackers. I say, fucking everyting!
