It was 25 meters in length and 3 meters across. It should have served as a drainage pipe instead was serving as a house for a four member family. Changing governments, deferring politicians, and altering policies have all abandoned the pipe, but, well, Moorthi found use for it. Orphaned at the age of 6, he has been living in this cylindrical house for 34 years now. Of course, he did not know that. He never knew his age as well. Men who fear death count their age, not he.
Moorthi has been married to Selvi for 12 years now and had two kids, Muthu, 11 and Meena, 10. For both Muthu and Meena, the abandoned drainage pipe has been their only house. Right from birth, they both have crawled, learnt to walk, and run within the blackened concrete walls. They played around it, sat on its roof to watch the vehicles speeding on the National Highway, slept within it an lived in it. And they were in love with it. It provided them protection from the scorching sun, chilly winds and heavy rains.
Moorthi and Selvi never had a chance to go to school. For them, living on a two-meal a day, education was a luxury they couldn't afford. Moorthi picked rags and Selvi worked as a housekeeper. Both had to work 12 hours a day to afford the cheapest education to their children, which they did. Muthu was in class V and Meena was in class IV. Both were naught, Meena more than Muthu. Both went to school to the nearest Government school, 3 kms from their house. Both liked the school, not because the education was good, it provided free lunch. And introduction of Eggs with afternoon lunch was an added incentive. Egg was a luxury in most of the homes in a country where is meal means boiled rice, raw onion and buttermilk. Everyday, they go to school and wait for the lunch bell to go.
The family had a very simple, yet normal life. They worked day in and day out, sincerely, shared both happiness and sadness with each other and lived peacefully. They were one family who never worried about GDP, who never ate fast foods, or visited any malls or multiplexes, never traveled in anything faster than a bicycle. They celebrated no festivals, ate no sweets, wore no fashionable clothes. They were among the 70 crore Indians who were living below poverty line.
It was November the fifth. The retreating North west monsoon was flooding Chennai. The Friday morning has already seen 4 mm rainfall and the forecast is that it will be over 10 mm before it closes. Muthu and Meena got ready to school eagerly. Two reasons, It was Saturday tomorrow and it was Diwali, the day that every Indian celebrates irrespective of religion, faith, age, colour or status. And Diwali meant new clothes to them. Not really new ones, but new to them. One of their mother's employers gave her a couple of discarded clothes every Diwali. Muthy and Meena had always appreciated the new clothes, no matter in what bad condition the clothes were.
As usual, Moorthi dropped them at school in his bicycle. He promised them sweets that evening. he kissed Meena in the cheek and waved bye to them. Both went to their classes. Meena was too excited about the next day. She thought of sweets, crackers, good food and new clothes over and over again. As any 10 year kid would do, she started telling stories about her last Diwali to her desk mate. She told her how her mother had got her the most beautiful dress she has ever worn. With colorful flowers over it, it was a small wonder to her. She had worn it many times and each time, managed to keep it clean and ironed. Even after an year, she was still fond of it and told her desk mate that she wouldn't worry too much if she got no new dress this Diwali, thanks to the flower dress.
Meena's afternoon lunch was almost tasteless. She even gave her precious egg to her desk mate, who was more than happy. She was dreaming of jilebis and ladoos. And to add to this sweetness, her father had bought her a pack of crackers last year. She had held it carefully in her hand, took out one cracker at time and burst everything, all by herself. She felt the next cracker always burst louder than the previous one. Dreaming about the sound of crackers, she never realized the bell was gone and her brother was dragging her out of the class. She stepped out of her class, for one last time, day dreaming.
The rain had stopped a couple of hours ago. But the sophisticated drainage system of Chennai, kept the road flooding. The road was full of murky water and mud. Muthu and Meena walked on the deserted road, hand in hand. A couple of kilometers to the National Highway and a better road. They were almost there when Muthu suddenly realized that his sister was gone. he scanned the entire road. There were no signs of Meena. He knew what must have happened. He needed help.
He ran as fast as he can and told his parents what must have happened. Moorthi raced to the spot in his bicycle. The water has started clearing and it was visible. A manhole. Fortunately, it was not a drainage canal, rather a small maintenance cell for underground cables. He immediately jumped into it. The body was floating. Moorthi could see a lot of cuts on the face. He spotted few bruises, guessed there might be even fractures and there was also the smell of roasted flesh. Meena was unconscious, but there was a low pulse and a faint heart beat. Moorthi raced to the nearby Government hospital. The full scale of her injuries was assessed there. The fall knocked her unconscious, left her with bruises and fractures and add to that the shock she received from loose cable that was leaking electrons into the water. Half her lower body was burnt. the nurse advised them to Private hospital due to lack of facilities.
Moorthi could not afford an ambulance. he pedaled his bicycle. Selvi was in the back seat, carrying their dying child. It took an hour to reach the hospital and one more to fill all the forms to admit the patient. But apparently all doctors were busy. Meena had to wait in the corridor on a stretcher . The hospital followed procedures. Her parents were in tears when Meena opened her eyes.
Meena looked at her father and mother. She asked her mother if she had got her a new dress for Diwali. her mother nodded. Meena wanted her to explain how it looked. Selvi told her that it had alot of butterflies, a hut, a tree, a blue sky and running river. It was golden in colour and had twinkling starts her and there. Meena was thrilled about her new dress. She told Selvi, she would wear it tomorrow. She also asked her father to buy 2 packs of crackers which she would burst the whole day. She was also sure that her crackers will be louder than her brother's.Muthu smiled at her.
There was no sign of a doctor still. Meena was lying in the stretcher and tried to turn right. She managed to stare into a doctor's room through a half closed screen. She could not see the doctor, but she could see a small girl more or less the same age sitting on a desk. She was being tended by three people. And then, as if by intuition, the girl turned in the direction of Meena. With an innocent look, she raised her arm and showed Meena the blade cut on her forefinger. Meena spotted a drop of blood on it. And she smiled. the girl smiled back. Meena's world went dark.
She is going to miss he house, her eggs, her school, her brother, her parents and the dress with flowers all over it.
