Muddy Pool

The woman screamed, the man standing next to her giggled, puzzled others burst into laughter. There were men and women. They were all beyond recognition, wearing thick layers of mud. They were in the large pool for cleaning it for the first time ever after its construction very long back. The old gentleman in a cleaned ironed white cloth, standing on the footstep, could not make out anything from their act. The proud social activist polished his position to become more authoritative by creating more clear lines on his forehead, ordered the people in the pool to stop laughing, and focus on their chores. To his disappointment, the anger on his face was too vague for them to give any attention. They involved in playing dirty games and ignored his presence.

The boy, with his mother, standing on the balcony of a nearby house was clueless about the source for the amusement over there. He queried to his mother: “Mom, why do they all laugh? I can’t see anything happening. I can’t identify anybody.”

“They are enjoying the slushy dirt. Concealing life is a pleasure for them, so they laugh.” His mother said.

“Buffaloes like dirt, but that is to escape from the heat and flies. The teacher said they would come out of the dirty water in the evening, what about these guys?”

“I don’t think so. ..Seems like their eyes are also filled with dirt moreover they won’t like the unsoiled world anymore.”

One of the guys tossed a basket of mud near to the old man. The muddy droplets splattered on his white shirt. People in the dirty pool laughed aloud. The maddened old man blasted out on everybody nevertheless nobody cared him. Realizing his helplessness, he tried to smile. The guys asked him to jump into the dirty water. Reluctantly he stepped down towards the muddy water. Their rhythmic whistles prompted him to jump. He jumped at last.

The woman screamed, the man near her giggled again. They all laughed. The old man joined them in laughing. Now he understood the dirty joke. The boy was sad. He looked at the guy in a clean dress standing on the step nervously.