Raghu's Quest

Raghu woke with a start. He had a few errands to run before running late for school. He could smell the delicious dal mum had set up on the stove, dal wasn’t a regular at Raghu’s place. Daal was getting expensive, so mum would usually serve some dry chutney or onion subji for meals along with bajra roti. In no time, Raghu was all geared up and out of the door.

Raghu was a scrawny little kid for his age, although, quite ardent. He lived with his mother whom at times, he looked up to as a goddess, for when his granny would visit from the village, she would shower him with the thrilling stories of the almighty gods and goddesses. For Raghu, the goddesses would have an uncanny resemblance to his own mother. He always felt granny’s urge for him to find faith in her gods, as for Raghu, he enjoyed the tours into the worlds beyond the world.

The first task Raghu had in the morning was to look for things from his mental-list. He walked past a few stores asking for the things he needed but, they all seemed too expensive. Slightly dispirited, he headed for the school; he was already late. Now running a little, he took the unusual short cut. The alley used to frighten him as it was the territory of a vile pack of stray dogs, some of which seemed even bigger than him. He came to a halt near Mansukh Da’s dingy little shop. The rugged old place was stuffed with dirty old goods that may have been on the shelves for longer than his own life, thought Raghu. Hoping against the hopes, Raghu entered the store. Mansukh Da, as everyone called him, was a grumpy old man with the little most interest in the surroundings. Wearing his thick, worn out glasses he would sit behind the counter, occasionally, glancing at the passers-by with utter disappointment, while the radio playing in the background all day long. He’d bark at the dogs louder, each time they would try entering the shop or squeal at each other.

From the other side of the counter, Raghu listed out the things he wished to purchase. Raghu merely needed four small things, three of which Mansukh Da had at ready and was selling at a lower price than outside. Things again started looking promising to Raghu. Raghu asked for the final total, it seemed out of budget but he could manage it somehow, he reckoned. A man entered the store asking for a packet of biscuits. With some trouble, Mansukh Da got up from his chair and reached out for the shelf. He fetched one out and handed it over to the customer. The customer seemed unhappy. Mansukh Da tried explaining to him that the product was fresh and suggested to check for the expiry date. But the man seemed annoyed as he had asked for another kind of biscuit packet with a different brand. Mansukh Da bellowed that it was the standard most popular packet but reluctantly, went on to fidgeting through the biscuit packets again when Raghu quickly pointed out the packet the man was asking for.

After the man left, Mansukh Da turned to Raghu and snapped, “Do you want the stuff or not?”.

Raghu fumbled for a bit, muttering, “Well, y-yes! I want it all. But the thing is, I can’t pay for it right away. I-I haven’t got enough money right now”.

Mansukh Da furrowed his brows and glared at Raghu. “How much do you have?”, asked Mansukh Da.

“Well, s-sort of none..actually..a-at the moment.”, Raghu said dubiously.

“Well, get outta here then, why ‘you wasting my time, boy?”, bellowed Mansukh Da.

Gathering some courage, Raghu said, “I was wondering if you c-could save the stuff for me fr-for a few days, till I accumulate the money.”.

Mansukh Da seemed a bit annoyed now. “Get out of here, boy, it doesn’t work like that! ‘Accumulate the money’, he says! Heh! Get out!”.

“I will get the money, I promise!”, urged Raghu as Mansukh Da was waving his hand in disapproval, “Or I could teach you”, Raghu added with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

“Teach me what?”, Mansukh Da furrowed again.

“Teach you to read?”, Raghu added.

Flushed with embarrassment, Mansukh Da straightened up a bit.

Raghu quickly added in a manner of asking, ”I will teach you to read and you give me the stuff I need in return.”

"GET. OUT, I said", yelled Mansukha Da who seemed angrier than ever.

With that bark, Raghu was out before he even realized. For the next couple of days, Raghu didn't visit. But this could be the only real shot Raghu had. He already started thinking about arranging for the cash.

Mustering up even more courage as Raghu stepped into the store again that morning, Mansukh Da shot down Raghu’s proposal instantly; of helping around in the store in return for the cash. “I don't employ kids!”, he mentioned. But, Raghu’s honest urge was drawing him in.

He was looking at Raghu with utter disbelief. But to Raghu’s disbelief, he wasn’t furious at all. Both went silent for a while. Looking down, Mansukh Da seemed to have been contemplating. Mansukh Da took a detailed, judgemental look at the kid.

A giant wall clock in the store rang 9 times and Raghu realized that he was already too late. He had to leave Mansukh Da hurriedly, lost in thoughts. A little enthusiasm took Raghu over as he brisked up his pace to school through the small alley.

Mansukh Da stalked up all kinds of goods that were old enough to be bought cheaper than usual and new enough to be sold. Raghu had noticed, in a small basket by the counter, Mansukh Da even kept fruits and vegetables at times; the ones that were overripe, yet, edible. Occasionally, Mansukh Da would give away the remains of whatever edible was left at the store, to the stray dogs. Mansukh Da was a man of few words and mostly kept to himself.

Reluctantly enough, Mansukh Da kept on contemplating Raghu’s offer subconsciously. Mansukh Da liked kids, “they are innocent, dealing with them is simple”, he thought. Plus, he didn't have anything to lose either. Being illiterate was something he was always ashamed of. 

After some significant persuasion, a fine deal was struck between Raghu and Mansukh Da. Raghu was to teach Mansukh Da to read. After each session of fifteen days, he will get paid with one of the things from his list. Every afternoon Mansukh Da closed the shop for 4 hours. After school, during that span, Raghu was to visit Mansukh Da’s shop and give him lessons. Mansukh Da didn't possess the fourth thing Raghu required, but he might be able to arrange for it, something he mentioned to Raghu in passing.

Raghu was delighted beyond himself as he needn’t worry about cash for this endeavor. Raghu had no plan whatsoever, for arranging the cash anyway, ever since he started off with the list. Mum was working three jobs and was still already distressed with the money matter. None of the jobs were permanent as such; trash picking for reusable goods, selling utensils for old, worn-out cloths, and selling roasted maize in the evening (which was fairly seasonal). Thus, she was simultaneously taking up any new work opportunities as they came. Grandma would give Raghu little cash for sweet treats each time she would visit. Raghu hadn’t used any of it ever since the idea struck him.

Mansukh Da realized the importance of reading when he sent his kids to school. He worked hard to make ends meet and educate his children. But now, the children were too embarrassed to hang about their illiterate old father, especially after their mother’s death. And Mansukh Da too was proud and stubborn. He was good at keeping accounts at the store though. He could identify the bills and coins well, and keep the accounts in check, for he had let his wife, who was a fourth-grade graduate, teach him the basic calculations for the business’s sake. For years, she looked after the accounts at the store but he took a keen interest too. As a kid, Mansukh Da had some introduction to letters as well.

Raghu’s visit was Mansukh Da’s favorite time of the day, as it was finally a dream come true; a dream, Mansukh Da himself had no clue when he saw. It was coming true at this time and at this age which was quite unexpected for him. With sheer excitement, Mansukh Da woke up each morning and tried reading each and every word he could encounter written anywhere. When the words made sense to him, he would almost jump with joy. Raghu too lent Mansukh Da his old school books for reference. By the end of the first fifteen days, Mansukh Da was so impressed with his own ability to identify letters, that he was overjoyed when Raghu asked for the first thing of the list– a small tube of glue.

By the end of the month, Mansukh Da was able to read words and make sense of small sentences. Raghu, on the other hand, was still trying to deal with the dogs in the alley. They were certainly not warming up to him. He enjoyed his free Subdays particularly as ‘no bark day’ as he didn't have to visit the alley. Mansukh Da mostly was not as difficult to work with as Raghu had anticipated. He was substantially cheerful, give or take a few times when he was faced with comparatively longer sentences. Raghu taught him the trick of breaking the sentence in parts and then looking at them separately to extract the meaning. Mansukh Da seemed fairly impressed, for a tact coming from a small kid. As baffled as Mansukh Da was with the kid’s weird demands, by now, he knew that the kid was smart for his age. When Raghu demanded a ductile metal coil, Mansukh Da instantly knew that the kid was clear about what he wanted. Mansukh Da was already thrilled with the progress he had made so far and thus, could throw in a few more things along with the coil, possibly some cash as well. But he thought otherwise, as a good businessman as Mansukh Da was, he wanted the kid to keep visiting and revisiting.

At the beginning of the next month, Raghu suggested Mansukh Da to try reading the newspaper, something suggested by his own teacher at school. As stingy as Mansukh Da was, he bought a stack of old newspapers from the scavenger and started reading. His pace was significantly low but soon, he got so interested in reading the stories that he found himself hunting for a fresh newspaper more often than not.

Mansukh Da’s sales were going low, so it seemed to Raghu’s notice, not that there usually had been many customers in the shop anyway. Although there was no new incoming of supplies lately, the basket of fruits and vegetables looked empty as well, with the occasional exception of lemons and chilies.

One such afternoon, as Mansukh Da was reading one of Raghu’s old books under his guidance, two of the stray dogs outside started barking weirdly, one of which seemed injured. Mansukh Da rushed out of the store, fed them water and some biscuits. The dog seemed to have felt relieved after drinking water. One of his legs was bruised slightly. Mansukh Da caressed the dog lovingly. Raghu was standing at the edge of the store watching the scene.

“Don’t you like dogs?”, asked Mansukh Da.

“They scare me.”, Raghu replied.

“Ohh, they are beautiful creatures, son. The most loyal, for sure. Besides, you gotta learn how an animal wants to be treated. Once you understand that, there’s no fear. For instance, look the dog in the eye. That way, you gain their trust. Come on, try it out. Try patting him.”, urged Mansukh Da, while still playing with the dog.

Raghu was still standing, hesitating.

“Ohh come on, boy! It's just a dog. He won’t bite unnecessarily. Besides, I’m holding him! Look!”, insisted Mansukh Da looking now at Raghu, as he pulled the dog close, more in the manner of hugging him gently.

Raghu had no choice but to make advance. He went over and pat the dog ever so slightly. The dog sniffed and seemed to like it. That was the first time Raghu ever went in the close proximity of any animal.

By the end of 45 days of training with Raghu, Mansukh Da had a feeling that he had acquired a friend and a guru. This was particularly a big deal for Mansukh Da as after a long time he had made a decent human interaction. Raghu was gaining confidence in fulfilling his wishes too, for he asked for the most pricey item yet, a light bulb, and got one!

As days passed, Mansukh Da was getting better and better at reading. The passers-by would look in awe, at the sight of him reading the newspaper out loud every morning, yet, there was not even a tinge of shame on the man's face.

On the other hand, Raghu was growing slightly anxious by the day. The fourth and the last thing that he required was nowhere to be seen in the store for a long time. It was a significant thing and something that had to be kept for the last. Mansukh Da seemed to have no effect whatsoever of the fact. In the end, was he going to have to buy it from outside, Raghu wondered. Raghu did have his bit of savings, yes, but by looking at the things going so well, he had found another use for them, a more practical and essential. Most importantly, if it was all going to work out in time was his concern now.

The end of his last session approached. Mansukh Da didn’t really need Raghu’s assistance anymore, for all he had to do was practice. On the last day, when Raghu was about to leave for the day, Mansukh Da called him out to hand him a small piece of beetroot. That was exactly what Raghu wanted! He was so delighted looking at it, "so fresh", he thought.

“Don’t you want it anymore, son?”, Mansukh Da asked rhetorically, beaming at Raghu.

Raghu beamed back. Finally, he had finished his quest.

“For what do you need all these odd things anyway, kid?”, asked Mansukh Da.

“You will know!”, replied Raghu, and with a joy that matched with no other in his life so far, he rushed out of the store.

“Do we meet again?”, Mansukh Da called out after Raghu.

“After Diwali!”, yelled Raghu with much excitement.

Raghu was feeling euphoric as he was running back home. He had all the things he wanted and there was still enough time. Raghu rushed inside. Mother was still out, probably selling maize on the usual block of the street. Raghu hurriedly opened the dirty, patched jute bag for his stash of the collection; the collection he made out of wastes. Sometimes, he’d go with mum, rummage out the piles of trash to find interesting things like books, battered toys, card boxes, even some good old clothes. It seemed like a treasure to him. One such Sunday morning, he found a stalk of used paper cups, most of which looked clean to Raghu’s standards, that’s when the idea hit him. He had picked them all and stored away in his favorite little corner of the house along with his school stuff. By now, in a small bowl, he was putting up water to boil over the stove flame. In the bowl, he then carefully inserted the beetroot.

It was not even dawn yet. Mum was cooking dal again because he loved it the most. He knew it was a special day. The little things such as the smell of mother’s cooking, his little corner of stash gave him the homey feel in the twelve-by-fourteen room. He shot up with the excitement of festivities and hugged mum tight from the back as she was stirring the dal.

“Every Diwali, you give me a present. This time, I too have a present for you!”, Raghu said with utmost joy.

Raghu brought out a beautifully carved lantern and placed it before her. It was magnificent! A beautiful magenta-colored Diwali lantern.

“Did you make it?”, asked mum.

“Yes!”, said Raghu beaming ever so boldly.

He explained how he cut the bottoms of paper cups, glued them adjacent to each other, secured them further with the metal coil to form a firm round-shaped lantern. He had painted each cup-bottom using his fingers with juice made from boiled and squashed beetroot. Mother was in awe at the amazing product. She helped him tie the lantern by the door and attached the bulb inside it. When they switched it on, the lantern shone with scintillating beams of light that shot everywhere through the various small pricks made on each cup-bottom. Raghu’s most important project was successful, he felt exhilarated. After all, it was the beginning of the festival of lights!