Between Two Worlds

It was time for the labourers to have their food. In small makeshift hearths, food was being cooked. My eyes were drawn to a family of four --a couple with two male children, one maybe six years of age and the other about four years. The mother offered them only cooked rice. I stopped and looked at them intently once again – yes nothing else but plain cooked rice was being served to the two small hungry children. The elder one ate from a dish while the younger one was being fed by the mother. The expression of satisfaction that I could see on the faces of the two young children surprised me beyond my imagination. 

At the first sight I could not place him very precisely. However, his style of talking and his voice ensured that he was the same person who was very close to me during my college days. Meeting him this way at a shopping mall in Mumbai was a little surprising. But I instantly realised that probably this was inevitable as this very man (whose shop I had frequented at Guwahati's Fancy Bazar area during my college days) was now a successful businessman in the city of Mumbai.

His forefathers hailed from Rajasthan. However, now my long lost friend has become a true Assamese in mannerisms, language and spirit. After coming to Assam from Rajasthan, his great grandfather had started the family business at a place called Puranigudam near Nagaon. As the subsequent generations took over the business started expanding and the family eventually had a big garment outlet at Nagaon town. Thereafter my friend, Saurav Sethia had established a ready-made garment outlet and a tailoring hub at Fancy Bazar Guwahati. I was a loyal customer and also became a friend (this was during my college days and Saurav too was a young man then). In no time his shop became my go-to shop for all kinds of attire.

I was sitting with a cup of coffee and browsing through a tabloid in a coffee shop at a mall in Goregaon when Saurav walked past my table. He was with another man and looked busy. Our eyes met and he stopped for a while. He did recognise me! After a hurried exchange of pleasantries, he left as he had an urgent appointment somewhere. He left his visiting card with me and requested me to connect with him over phone and in person.

My stay at Mumbai was scheduled for a fortnight and I dialled his number the next Sunday afternoon. On his request I decided to visit his residence at the Mahalaxmi area. Eventually I reached his home. He told me that exactly twenty four years ago he had shifted his business to Mumbai. His business was all about exporting textiles, readymade garments and designer outfits. His elder son looked after the market abroad and he along with his younger son looked after the Mumbai business. His business was flourishing but he had is share of pain as his wife had died of a heart attack two years back.

After spending an hour and a half in his company, I expressed my desire to leave. He invited me to attend the wedding reception party of his younger son that was happening a week later. I assured him about my attendance and left.

The reception party was a big affair at a five star hotel in the posh Church Gate area. I was impressed by the popularity that my old friend had garnered in Mumbai. Among the guests there were politicians and important business tycoons too.

Dinner was an elaborate affair of sumptuous vegetarian fare. Although not a foodie I ended up eating quite a lot.

Soon it was time for me to depart to my hotel. I went to Church Gate Railway station for a local. Quite luckily it was time for the superfast local and that curtailed thirty minutes of my travel time to the Goregaon station. I made a mistake and boarded a wrong bus thereafter and it dropped me almost a kilometre and a half away from my hotel. However it was a pleasant March night and I did not mind walking because the road was not much crowded with traffic or people.

The area was devoid of the usual hustle bustle that Mumbai is usually known for. On both sides of the road that I walked through, there were tall high rise buildings and small hutments (made of long pieces of bamboo posts and thick polythene sheets for cover) where construction workers lived.

It was time for the labourers to have their food. In small makeshift hearths, food was being cooked. My eyes were drawn to a family of four --a couple with two male children, one maybe six years of age and the other about four years. The mother offered them only cooked rice. I stopped and looked at them intently once again – yes nothing else but plain cooked rice was being served to the two small hungry children. The elder one ate from a dish while the younger one was being fed by the mother. The expression of satisfaction that I could see on the faces of the two young children surprised me beyond my imagination.

The wedding party that I had attended an hour or so ago was still fresh in my mind. The heaps of delicious food and countless number of preparations in the dining hall started crowding my mind. The scene in front of my eyes at the moment was completely different.

I realised there could be no comparison between the two situations. But yes, you could surely contrast the situations right away. Somehow this glaring contrast unsettled me and disturbed me.

(The name of the person mentioned in the story is fictitious)

By Bhaskar Phukan

The writer can be reached at bhaskarphukan67@gmail.com

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