Raj Kapoor. Raj Kapoor was his name.
The half torn shirt pocket was the immediate thing that caught my attention when I saw him for the first time; Hanging there harmless and of course, lifeless. I thought that it might be his favorite shirt, as he wore it more than thrice a week, and the pocket might be a part of that unique design. I didn’t want to think otherwise, knowing the fact that the shirt was twice his size.
And then it was his hair. It was always well combed and oiled.
He was different. Different for a seven year old kid. He did his work in silence unaffected by the fast paced world around him and that really impressed me.
I still remember the look on his face when he came to our home for the first time. He stood beside his father, Shankar, with his hands held behind his back. He observed the living room in silence and from that point onwards he became my favorite subject. The first thing that caught his attention was the Sofa – The three-seater leather sofa that was supposed to redefine luxury in our home and upsurge our serene seating experience. That’s what those well-dressed men said and enticed us when we went to purchase a sofa. I wasn’t sure what they meant by serene seating experience. I didn’t care either. I just wanted it to be in our living room and Aditya had to agree. I was glad that that’s the first thing that caught Raj Kapoor’s attention. I tried reading Raj Kapoor’s mind. May be he wanted to experience the comfort. May be he just wanted to touch the soft cushion once. But there wasn’t a spasm of awe on his face. He casually averted his eyes from the serene seating experience, which hurt my feelings. He then looked at the Ravi Varma’s ‘Lady with a lamp’ painting on the wall. Aditya bought it as my birthday gift knowing the fact that I didn’t have a flair for paintings. It was a gift Aditya bought for himself on my birthday. The painting didn’t impress Raj Kapoor much, which made me happy as I imagined a solid punch over Aditya’s face. Raj Kapoor finally turned towards our one week old forty inch LED TV, which had the word ‘high’ before it’s every specification, including the price. We didn’t care as our six year old son, Ishaan loved it.
‘Allah’ Suddenly the ubiquitous call for evening prayer, from the Mosque in our street, spread the space. That made Raj Kapoor alert. He averted his eyes from the TV and started patting his father, trying to remind him of something. Shankar gestured him to wait, but Raj Kapoor was anxious.
“Ok sir ji, we will start work from tomorrow.” Shankar concluded his discussion with Aditya. Raj Kapoor picked up the bag and they immediately rushed outside.
It was Aditya’s idea to get the furnishing work done as soon as possible as he felt that the TV looked imperfect without the wall unit. I didn’t agree to the ridiculous motive he provided. So he baited me by saying that the plan was also to complete the long pending Kitchen wood work. And then I gave a nod.
We called Shankar, who was well known in our apartment for the quality and efficiency of his work. Raj Kapoor was Shankar’s son. At first it was hard for us to digest his distinct name. But slowly we got used to the peculiarity and Raj Kapoor reminded us of this short creature instead of a man holding an umbrella. May be it was his mother’s fondness towards that hero which gave him the name.
At first I thought that the kid was just there to watch his father work. But soon realized that I was wrong. He assisted his father in every possible manner. When Shankar asked for a particular tool, he immediately ran towards their tool bag and brought it to him. He did that several times a day without even a single whine. He broomed the room and collected the garbage from his father’s work every once in a while. I pitied him for the kind of work he was doing for his age. But Aditya said that the work earned them their daily bread and there was nothing to sympathize about him. May be he was right. But I didn’t like the sight of Ishaan playing with his iPad reclined on the sofa while Raj Kapoor, who was almost his age, was sweeping the floor beside him. I know that I couldn’t ask Raj Kapoor to sit on the sofa. I didn’t want to ask Ishaan to play with Raj Kapoor either.
They were two poles apart, separated by a deep gulf – An imaginary territory that Raj Kapoor built around his work area. He never crossed it. May be he felt home there. And Ishaan never had to enter Raj Kapoor’s zone. It was as if they had a mutual secret agreement.
I talked to him a couple of times to comfort him and that also helped me to know him better.
They lived in a remote village, Odhapur, which was thirty five kilometers from our city. Most of the village dwellers commuted to our place daily for work, since it was their main source of survival. There were just two buses running from our place to the village – One in the afternoon, the second and the last in the evening. Raj Kapoor somehow mapped the timing of his bus with the afternoon and evening prayer calls from the Mosque. He starts packing up his stuff in hurry as soon as he hears the sound. He said that they couldn’t afford missing the bus, which of course happened few days before. That day they had to wait almost till the midnight to find a goods vehicle that took them to their place. He said that it was a bad experience only because he had to wait till the midnight without dinner. Otherwise, it was the most comfortable trip when compared to the bus, which didn’t even provide him adequate space to stand. Every day he got squeezed to pulp by the fellow commuters.
It was September 12th, Ishaan’s birthday. We planned to celebrate it in a grand scale and we almost took a whole week to plan for the party. We invited almost everyone in the apartment for the evening party. My parents and in-laws were also present. On that day we decorated the living room with a lot of balloons. Since it was Saturday the attendance was huge, as expected. We asked Shankar not to come to work that day. The Kitchen work was pending and it could wait.
Aditya brought a two layer black forest cake, Ishaan’s favorite flavor. Ishaan was dressed up in blue jeans and red hoodie. He was very particular about the hoodie and we had to search for more than three hours to find that. Everybody clapped as Ishaan entered the room. There were kids running all over the place, screaming, and we had to control them before he could cut the cake. Aditya was busy capturing every moment in his camera. Ishaan cut the cake while people sang the birthday song. Ishaan’s friends started smearing the cake on his face. He attacked them back. Soon Aditya joined the ritual and smeared the cake on his friends. The older generation didn’t like that. But they watched it silently. Aditya ran towards me with the cake and I escaped from him. The whole room was guffawing as he ran chasing me. I reached the main door of our flat and there stood Raj Kapoor. He didn’t have a clue what was happening inside our home.
“Tool bag,” He said pointing inside.
I could have called him for the party. But I didn’t. The very thought made me feel guilty. Hiding that, I allowed him inside. He quickly scurried inside, with his head down, and came back with his bag. Busy in celebrations, nobody observed him.
“You are working today?” I inquired.
He nodded.
He turned back to leave and I said, “Wait”.
I went inside the home and looked around. There was no cake. I could just find the remains of it on the table. I looked around and found it all over on the floor and on the faces. I looked around to find something. There had to be something to give him. And then I picked up a cookie packet from the cupboard and went outside.
“Today is Ishaan’s birthday,” I said and gave him. He calmly took it.
“When is yours?” I don’t know why I felt like asking the question.
“Tomorrow” He said.
“Oh” I stood there staring at him.
It was Sunday and they won’t come to work the next day. I thought for a moment and decided. I didn’t know if I was correct. I didn’t even think of checking with Aditya first. I just wanted to do it.
“I need you to come home tomorrow. I need your help in some work.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes” I could read his expression. Before he could say no I continued, “Come in the afternoon. Ok?”
Unwillingly, he nodded and left the place disappointed.
I wanted to celebrate his birthday in our home. I didn’t know what kind of plans he had for the day. But I just wanted it to be different and memorable for him. That’s the least I could do. I asked him to come in the afternoon as it was Sunday and Aditya and Ishaan wouldn’t prefer to wake up early, especially after the tiresome party we had the day before.
########
The calling bell rang at 11’O clock the next day, when I was busy cooking in the kitchen. Aditya and Ishaan were still in the bed, as expected. So I opened the door.
It was Raj Kapoor, in the same old half torn pocket shirt. It is your birthday, Dammit! I thought. He came early and I was not prepared to receive him.
“I asked you to come in the afternoon, right?” I said in a voice little less to a shout.
“Yeah but..,” Raj Kapoor said in hesitation, “there was a goods vehicle coming here. So thought I could come early, complete the work and start by afternoon bus.”
I looked at the time. I just have an hour time.
I allowed him inside. My next task was to keep him engaged.
“Ok. I want you to pick up a cloth over there and dust all the vessels in this cupboard,” I ordered.
He looked at me without any expression on his face. Seriously? You called me on a Sunday which also happens to be my birthday, for this work? He didn’t say it. But I could read that.
He immediately started the work and I rushed inside. I woke up Aditya and Ishaan, with some difficulty.
“What? Its Sunday right?” Aditya said, annoyed.
Ishaan got back to bed again.
“It’s Raj Kapoor’s birthday,” I knew that it wasn’t a great opening sentence and I sounded stupid.
“You are joking, right?” Aditya said as he hid face under the pillow.
“No I am serious. It’s his birthday. He is here.” I tried pulling his pillow.
“Oh is it?” he said staying in the same posture, “give him fifty rupees. “
“I wanted to celebrate his birthday here. I should have asked you before taking this decision but I didn’t have time…” I said in hesitation.
“You what? “ Aditya finally woke up and sat down. Ishaan too sat beside him rubbing his eyes.
“Just a small party. We will have a cake cutting and celebrate it. It will be memorable.” I tried to convince him.
“But why should we celebrate his birthday mom?” Ishaan inquired.
“Look Ishaan. He never celebrated his birthday till now. He doesn’t have money to buy a cake, new dress. We can do this. Let us surprise him and make him happy. Right?”
He thought for a moment.
“Right?” I asked him again.
“Let’s do it, then” He said and got down from his bed.
Aditya finally smiled at me and nodded.
They started refreshing as I went to check on Raj Kapoor.
“I am done,” He said and stood up. We just had another half an hour time for his afternoon bus. If he missed that, he would have to stay away from his home on his birthday and I would be responsible for that.
I looked around and found another cupboard filled with Ishaan’s toys. I am sorry Raj Kapoor, I thought. I asked him to dust them. He didn’t whimper at all as he started his work immediately.
Aditya and Ishaan rushed outside to the Bakery, which was just two streets away. I kept Raj Kapoor engaged while waiting for them. I didn’t want him to miss the bus, but it was worth trying to make him happy. I stared at Raj Kapoor, who was working in haste.
After fifteen minutes I called Aditya and he said that he was on the way back.
‘Allah’ it was from the Mosque.
Raj Kapoor immediately got up.
“I finished. Can I leave now please?” Raj Kapoor requested.
“Just wait for few minutes,” I said as I called Aditya. He didn’t pick up the call.
“But I finished my work.” He said innocently. I didn’t get the heart to assign him any other task.
“Yeah right,” I didn’t pay attention to him.
I went inside and tried calling Aditya thrice. But he didn’t pick it. So I came back and Raj Kapoor was still waiting for my response.
He asked me again, “I have to leave. If you have any other work, I will come early tomorrow. Please madam.”
I wanted to stop him. But I couldn’t. So he turned back to leave.
I called him on a purpose and I didn’t want it to go waste. I observed him carefully as he walked to the door. I knew that time was running out but suppressed the urge to check my watch. I took a deep breath and started counting in reverse under my breath. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five….”
Aditya and Ishaan arrived at the door, just as Raj Kapoor reached it.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY,” Both of them cheered as they entered the home. Aditya was carrying the cake and Ishaan had few balloons.
Raj Kapoor was stunned. He walked back towards the wall folding his hands.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAJ KAPOOR” Ishaan shook his hand with him.
Raj Kapoor understood. Raj Kapoor understood that it was his birthday cake.
He gazed at the cake which had his name on it. I was not sure if he could read that.
At last he looked at me and smiled.
Raj Kapoor smiled.
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