Raggu and the Sea
21 year old raggu sat besides me overlooking the quiet ocean from a little known corner. What engulfs him? He poses a straight expressionless face. This is the part of Mumbai where colaba ends, and somewhere an edge of Marine drive starts. I happened to find it when I realized a windy outlet over a road end. I jumped across the stagnant fishing boats, stepping over the fishing nets and crouched myself in, in no time. It was a little luck which brought me here. I felt happier and unstrained.
It is post noon time. The sun was overhead. Summer is almost there. Although as usual there isn't much winter in Mumbai, summer didn't take time to hop in. I had been walking for some time since morning. The traffic had started and I felt torn by it. Raggu was sitting along with another mate who wanted to know the depth of the ocean at the edge. He was asking Raggu's permission, if he can dive in. He couldn't gather the courage to do so. Raggu was not supportive. They were talking in the local dialect of Madhubani.
"The wind is not there..", Raggu murmured. We began talking. He has few cut marks on his forearm. Raggu has twice ran out of his native town. First, just before when COVID was to hit. He boarded a train to do to Bangalore all by himself. I compare a seventeen year old me, in place of him when I first went to Delhi along with my father. He is someone I may not. Our destiny diverges..
There is something about his love affair with a girl, which he was not very open to tell. He seems to miss his girl. At bangalore, he then got badly stuck when covid arrived. He had to rush back in over nine months' time. As we kept talking, a woman from around the community came and took a regular dive at the salty water of the ocean. She then posed to pour a handful of water towards the agonising sun.
Raggu works 9 to 4 on week days. He is staying at a single room chawl along with a bunch of others. They prepare their own food everyday.
Raggu could do the work of water insulation. As per him, he protects the infras to be water proof. Second when he ran away, he came to the city of dreams. Mumbai it is. He has been here for past three years now. There is no any phone connectivity with his family. He does has his girl friend's phone number. He never calls her. He seems to have married some other guy. Raggu carries the agony of it. He is now working as a daily wage laborer at some Metro project. He has no education post the eleventh standard. His teeths are gutkha-laden.
In some time, I felt to take a nap by the sea side. Raggu bid me goodbye in no time. Did we become friends? Some of us get to meet just one time, isn't it? When I opened my eyes, a man dressed as guard stood besides me. He asked for my credentials and whereabouts. All ok. Next he told me that this was the place from where Kasab and his mates landed on the soil of India. 26/11..
The wind has started a bit. I kept looking at the Arabian Sea.. I left the place in few other minutes...
--
Comments
Post a Comment