Liti chokha
The thela was taken care of by two young boys in their 14s and 19s. The younger one was shivering with the fallen temperature of the nearing winter. He is new to the city. He forgot his jacket in his place before coming for work. It was newly bought to him by the elder guy. They both belong to the same village.
Unfortunately, the younger one lost both of his parents and was living with his uncle. He was dropped off the school and sent here at Delhi to earn for himself. He kept on a heavy oil on his black hair. He was skinny and wheatish with a refreshing smile that reverberated some kind of gratefulness. At his 14s, he will still gain some height. They were selling one of Bihar's special - liti chokha - a dish made out of flour and roasted and toasted with ghee along with other ingredients to be ready served with aloo baigan bharta!
Their thela was situated besides India's one of the most profitable industries - IAS coaching institute preparing the aspirants for one of the building blocks of Indian bureaucracy. Nowadays due to the COVID-19 spread, the students have gone home and their business is hampered. The thela stands beside an empty dark auditorium that could hold at least a thousand students in a hall. Still, they manage to go smoothly with their regular customers.
"Our village is near the city of Darbhanga", the elder guy said. "I don't actually work here. I am here temporarily", he said. He was a skilled fellow and proudly pronounced that he works for the interior deco and his per day pay scale could be 5,00 INR. He could do all the fitting works and the works of decoration. He pointed to refer to the ceiling of the domino's situated across the road. He used to work near the city of Agra in Uttar Pradesh. "I knew many works...", he said with a hidden smile. "I have never sat idle and never asked for money from anyone. I can earn for myself!".
When the lockdown was announced, he along with four others were charged 60,000 INR to hire a Scorpio to drop them home. Earlier they used to board the general compartment of the train that could only cost them a few hundred. Staying for three months in a lockdown they were burned out and home sicked. After reaching their village they were quarantined for fourteen days. "Even at home, I could earn and do the household work all the time...", he said. He studied till 8th standard before dropping off at the age of 13.
Paying them thru Paytm, the notification rang on the loudspeaker to inform him about the payment. Turning back to check this, he did smile in self-appreciation of being one of the lords of Indian jugaad! "When will you come tomorrow?", I asked while on my way back. "8 AM sharp!"
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