Face-Book

Face Book - A Short Story

Anand was a Senior Manager in a MNC with a pay packet exceeding Rupees 20 lac per annum. Being a Sunday, he had gone to pick up the spare tyre, given the day before for fixing a leak in the tube. The shop was inside a petrol pump complex owned by a Face-Book friend of his. The following conversation ensued between Anand and a little boy of about 14, named Gautham, who had fixed the job.  

“kinna hua puthar” asked Anand . 

“Pachees rupiah saabjee” answered the boy.

Anand did not quite like this quoted figure and argued with the boy that the amount could not exceed rupees 15. He also casually mentioned to the boy that as he had to fill up gas he would settle this after filling up petrol.  

The boy was petrified. His boss’s instruction was clear; no customer was to be allowed to leave till the bill is settled. Added to this there was this problem regarding the amount. The poor boy could only wail a bit louder

“Saabji kuch log petrol leke chale jaaten hain aur hamara paisa reh jaata hai. Malik tho humara thankwa se kaat dega jee”.

Tho mannu kee hua ?thundered Anand most irrationally,

He also added in good measure that if the boy wailed further he would ensure that he lost his job. An old man witnessing this entire episode, offered this piece of advice to Anand.

“Sirjee sirf dus rupiah ka mamla hai, aur ladka bhi chota hai, why do you have to make such a big issue of it?”

Anand turned furious; he said something to the effect that someone has to stand up to these “chors” who just cheat given half a chance. Hearing all this commotion the owner of the complex came out enquiring and finding his friend Anand, quickly restored order. The boy was given a mild dressing down and asked to be satisfied with rupees 15, and after a bit of back slapping bonhomie, all was back to normal.

Anand went home in a good mood after this trivial triumph, and even posted this entire episode in brief in the Face-Book. He took extra pains to thank the petrol pump owner, and giving emphasis to what he termed as the boy’s rude behavior. He had only heard about boys being dishonest, he posted, but he had now been a witness to a mere 14 year old lad being an actual “chor”.  

His group of friends in the FB had honed in a nice culture; they were all so fascinated by this mode of being in touch, that spontaneously euphoric responses like “awesome, Gr8, way to go” to almost anything that got posted became a kind of norm. And if there was a slightest demur from a member, it became unacceptable, and if this reservation was from one who is not in the group, it would be rubbished collectively.               

Thus a sane comment – amongst a host of sympathetic responses- from one unknown “mutual friend” greatly agitated Anand and his circle of friends. This man pointed out that the boy –barely 14- was perhaps merely doing the bidding of his bosses. A mere 10 rupee extra payment would have made no difference to Anand, but for the boy it was a matter of life and death. The broad generalization that many of such boys were potential cheats was grossly unfair.

Hell broke loose; every one pounced on this man with remarks ranging from “it was not the question of money, but principles” to “it is impossible to reconcile such illogical defenses from so called educated people” etc. Anand was more than content that his views had a resonance amongst his friends.   

The next day – the beginning of a week- was to be a very important day for Anand; he was to finalize a huge order for his company which if it materialized would ensure a promotion and a sizeable increase in his salary and perks. He therefore decided to go to sleep early. His wife Simran had a nice kitty party during the day and was quite content in her own way and didn’t really mind her husband dozing off without the usual sweet coo-cooing-on before retiring to bed. Their children aged 6 and 4 after watching cartoon network till about 10 were admonished by their grandma Kalyani Devi – an orthodox widow- and they too retired to bed after switching the TV off.

Kalyani had only one son. Her husband had passed away a year back and the house where she with her son Anand, daughter-in-law Simran, and the children lived was a legacy of her late husband.  Though hers and Simran’s was not an ideal Saas-Bahu team, - the former a devout and an old fashioned lady, and the latter, a modern day product with little of the former’s bhajan keertan mould – they somehow managed to get along well. Kalyani however occasionally expressed her disapprovals to the next generation’s style of living; their apparent disregard for conventional prayers, and a preponderance of that negative sentiment called pride in their psyches which were conveniently masqueraded as self-confidence.

Monday passed off excellently well for Anand. His presentation to the potential customer – resulting in savings for them – was a huge scoring point. And though the final word was expected in the next few days, there was hardly a doubt about a favorable verdict. By Thursday, the order came and within a mont

h Anand got what he expected from his own establishment; a promotion/sizeable increase in his pay packet, and an all-paid holiday for a week in Singapore for him and his family.

It was once again a Monday and around 4 in the afternoon when this last bit of happy tidings came Anand’s way. He decided that he will go home a bit early and break the good news to the family. It was also around the same time that Kalyani started off for her usual visit to the nearby temple. She was a bit unwell since morning but something prompted her not to miss the trip. 

She had a good darshan, and was walking back home when suddenly she felt giddy, and would have just gone under a speeding car, had she not been saved by our boy from the garage- Gautham- who saw her and pulled her to safety at the nick of time.

He insisted on accompanying her to her place. He hailed an Auto-Rickshaw, reached her home only to find the house locked. The keys luckily were available with the neighbors, and Gautham helped her in putting her up in her bed, searched the frig and gave her a glass of fresh juice and in spite of the old lady’s protests  was determined to wait till one of her family members was back home.

Anand, as decided, came back home early only to find his mother in bed, and this garage boy waiting on her, in his own house. Before he could react however Kalyani narrated the events of the past hour, ending with profuse praise for this boy who she said saved her life.

Gautham felt very uneasy; he wanted to leave as early as he could, but Kalyani would have nothing of it. She was clear on her mind that the boy should be rewarded handsomely, and picked up a 500 rupee note to be given to him. Anand tried in vain to protest; Kalyani brushed it all aside with the remark

“puthar thoo na samjega eh tera facebook dost nahin hai”.

Anand shrugged and went inside. Gautham was curious to know what this facebook meant. In his own naïve way he asked

“yeh fassbook, wasbook kya cheez hai dadi maa?”

Being innately uncomfortable with her son/daughter-in law’s FB friends and their ceaseless chatter, she said to him

“beta dus pandrah faltu log apne aap ko dost kahte hain aur ganton, computer ke saamne baith kar gappe ladaathe hain”.

Gautham responded in his rustic style

“ Faltuon ka bhi Bhala”.

The old lady chuckled to herself; it seemed to her that this was an apt representation of FB… “faltu,but let these people also be blessed by Him”  kind of remark besides being profound coming from an illiterate boy, actually amused her.  She gave that boy the 500 rupee note, blessed him, and went into her son’s room to look him up. Simran had also by then returned.  The children however were still outside, playing.

Anand chose this time, to break the news about his promotion and the free trip to Singapore. There was immediate feeling of joy all around, and when the children returned and heard about the Singapore trip, they did not quite know how to react. They were just overwhelmed with sheer happiness.

That evening each of these 4 different people had their own way of savoring their good fortunes. Gautham – the poor illiterate boy- decided that he will take home a good meal from a local dhaaba, along with a packet of choice ice-cream for his 5 year old sister and parents. The family had not eaten a good meal for the past few days as his father -a daily laborer- had been unable to bring in enough money.  He was extremely grateful to God for choosing him for His Favor, which would ensure that his little sister would not have to miss a good meal tonight..

Kalyani thanked the Lord for all that Grace He had showered on her, and her family, and decided to offer special Prasad to Him. Simran had won a tidy sum playing poker with her kitty-party friends, and was full of plans for a wonderful holiday with the family in Singapore. Anand was looking forward to refreshingly challenging assignments in office along with those liberal perks such as a separate car for his wife in addition to his own official one that will now be part of his routine which will go with the new title.    

Both Simran and Anand had a huge face-book following.  Messages to all had to go immediately. Having done this they were overjoyed receiving the usual “awesome gr8” kind of responses from every one of them. There was however something that was missing to a casual observer. There was neither time nor a thought for Him, who had been very kind, and made it all possible.

Perhaps Face-Book also contributed to the hastening of this process of a gradual fading away of “His memory”.  The irony was that His Grace seemed to flow in abundance mostly to such people. 

Sutradhar’s comment  ….Could “faltuon ka hee Bhala” be a more apt description of FB in today’s world?

Ekalavya alias Vichu