Category : Stories

Sub Category : Drama

    Sirish was brought up in Gupta Family when he was four years old.His father was penurious and vendor of Indian spicy snacks Gupchup,potato chops,Kachori and Dahibada. He daily toiled for five to six hours in preparation of snacks and viands where his family members joined him daily since morning to cook chickpeas and prepare snacks. Sirish"s father Vishamber daily opened his makeshift shop on cart afternoon where he used battery to enlighten his portable shop a tiny motel and arranged five stools and five drum shaped chairs.He had four children and was maintaining expenditure hardly so life was harsh and frivolous.Pauper Vishamber tight-handed and penny-pinching so he asked his aunt about financial help where he might promote his petty business and maintain the family affairs and education of children. His aunt was having a son who was landlord in a nearby village and he had twenty acres farmland near the bank of river whereas Vishamber's aunt was running a small motel of Indian food. she daily opened her motel in morning and had a cook or chef and two attendants or servants for serving the eatables say as Jalebi, Kachori, Gulabjamun, Cheese or Rabadi and the popular signature recipe Pudi-sag . customers tasted or consumed Pudi -sag or fried flour cakes and potato vegetable with pickles in rush and groups steadily since morning to night hence customers devoured cheap food mostly passengers and villagers.She invited Vishamber to come and join her business as she was old and likely to retire but Vishamber did not join her business in city because he was only head man and earning member and it would cause exorbitant and gruesome efforts to rehabilitate or shift to another city with the existing one. Hence he asked his aunt to adopt his son in her family as Vijay was childless whereas he was married twenty years ago. Vishamber convinced his aunt for adoption of his son Sirish to her family. However ther was an obstacle or impediment for the adoption of Sirish because Vijay did not like Vishamber and his family so he would deny the legal adoption. But Vishamber got success to send Sirish to his aunt"s home for temporarily stay. He said that Vijay would accept categorically the adoption of Sirish in Gupta Family in due course. 
          His aunt said to his son Vijay that Vishamber was wretched and penurious so she wished to help him financially and she granted permission to Vishamber for bringing up Sirish in Gupta Family. Vishamber was shrewd so he asked his aunt to register Sirish for the admission in nursery and primary school. He went to a nursery school along with Siriish and his aunt for the admission . He made officers to write or register name of Vijay as father of Sirish with verbal consent of his aunt.his aunt said to the staff that her son Vijay was going to adopt Sirish in due course . They were to this point of adoption and registered Sirish as son of Vijay on the records in the year 1977. Vijay was not informed the change in the guardianship or adoption deed of school records. However Vishamber told Vijay that his name was registered as father of Sirish in schoolrecords and he transferred the liabilities to bring and educate Sirish in his family.hence Vijay was accountable for the nourishment , growth and education of Sirish as his son.he commented also that if Vijay did not like or agree with him then he would withdraw his name as father of Sirish from the school records but it was the will of his aunt or Vijay "s mother that she would take responsibilities of bringing, growth and education of Sirish in Gupta family so would afford all expenditures thereto . Thus Vijay took this advice of Vishamber in good part. Thus Vishamber got success in his evil design of extortion of money and fraudulent transfer of properties where his aunt put a spoke in the wheel.  
          Neighbours reacted a lot on the illegal adoption of Sirish in Gupta Family . They enjoyed a lot in the dirty games of backbiting, filthy dialogues and annoying Sirish. They trained and played irksome dialogues with Sirish that was infuriating and maddening. any adult neighbour time to time offered Sirish chocolates, ice creams or sweets and gave him tips of one rupee or two rupees then the miscreant neighbours taught Sirish some filthy dialogues and abuses say as motherf.., sisterf.... Some neighbours carried him from one building to another and motel and said to Sirish that he was owner of all those properties. In  due course Sirish passed the middle school examinations and he learned to consume tobacco with betel and mixture of lime coated aniseed and  cardamom seeds etc called Gutka or Kharra. He was an average student and not good at studies so Vijay arranged copying etc to make Sirish pass the examination where he spent a lot of money for malpractices where school staff involved.But Sirish could not pass the High School Examination as it was State Board Examination. 
        Companions of Sirish were interested in sports,games and watching movies they adopted the life styles of cine actors and started consuming wine in parties rather in night they drank country brand liquor and beer and foreign liquor too. They consumed fried cashew ,roasted grams and peanuts and some friends consumed Pulao and Papad. sometimes any friend paid bill of pittance only. 
         Most companions of Sirish either joined some private services or became helping hands to their fathers in traditional trade or business. But Sirish neither joined any private service nor started his own traditional business of farming, hotel and catering along with Vijay. When Sirish was twenty years old ,Vijay fell ill and admitted to hospital for treatment ,his pathological report stated that he damaged his liver and blood formation ceased to be so blood transfusion was done and doctor advised for healthy appetite of vegetable,milk and food without excess oil and spices.But Vijay did not follow the ordeal of appetite and consumed oily snacks Samosha and Aloogoonda so he again fell ill and died of malfunctioning  of lever and digestive system. Vijay left vast properties for Sirish . Grandma of Sirish or aunt of Vishamber called him to run her motel after the death of Vijay. Vishamber got opportunities to transfer the properties in his account. so he went there to join the business. He was a good cook and chef to prepare Jalebi,kachodi,Pudi,cheese and Samosha and other Indian snacks.He ran the motel three months smoothly but local people criticized him a lot that Vishamber came here to loot the properties and wealth of Vijay and his aunt.They said that he time to time gazed at building from terrace to the top roof from the motel. Local people refuted Vishamber and said that he was cheater and Sirish was not legal son of Vijay as no Adoption deed was executed in the court and he came here to extort money and to take over the business of farming and hotel.He could not resist the adverse remarks and unfavourable circumstances so he left all the controversial properties and business and returned to his hometown . however he daily duped money partly collected from the sales of hotel to secure the days of adversity. 
     Sirish now took the charge of motel and farm land he was running the business under the supervision of his grandma and maternal aunt. after a year his grandma passed away at the age of eighty years. Sirish was alcoholic and chewed tobacco and consumed betel or Gutka time to time. he daily drank liquor in night along with friends.He sold and fed snacks and sweetmeats on credits to his friends and some customers so his business gone in loss and he closed the hotel due to set back and he was at the brink or bankruptcy . He stole jewelry from the chest or safe and mortgaged it with a moneylender. He purchased two cars on loans and started the business of transport where he hired the services of two drivers for his taxis.He enjoyed parties in night with his friends so he was prodigal or extravagant and he spent the whole amount and daily income of the business of transport in pompous life styles,parties and luxuries so he could not pay the monthly instalments  of  loans towards cars whereas his financer or creditor sent him notices to forfeit the cars if loans not paid in due course and after three months they confiscated the cars.  
       His maternal aunt wanted him to marry a girl , guardians of girls denied to marry their daughters to a bankrupt and alcoholic. Sirish was out of work he made a plan to sell the farm land of village where he asked his maternal aunt that all the cost or money obtained in the sale deed would be credited to her account so she would maintain the expenditure of family affairs from the income of interest thereto.He sold the farmland and deposited the money in account of his maternal aunt as she was legal successor to deceased Vijay. A pauper villager was agree to marry her daughter to Sirish as he said that Sirish lived in a mansion and worked as moneylender.Luckily marriage of Sirish solemnized with Ranjana who was middle school educated. Sirish started a new business of Sale of  Indian snacks packets of a brand rather he was sub dealer and did the transactions with small shop owners and restaurants As he was an addict so he drank liquor in night and spent a lot of money he wanted to manage the business run smoothly so he invited his brother in law Vinod to help him in supply and stock of the packets of snacks so his brother in law came there and acted as the helping hand . He was also  alcoholic and drank Green Label beer and country brand liquor or Daru. Both brothers in night drank excess quantity of liquor and they were extravagant so could not keep or maintain the proper account of the business so they went in loss of business and they spent the capital money also and could not recover the loans or credited amounts from the shop owners for the supplied consignments to them. it was fiasco and his brother in law returned to his home town. 
       Sirish started a new business of water sachets and bottles supply to restaurants and grocery shops and juice shops ,eateries and outlets. He supplied daily water sachets and bottles to the outlets and took orders there on credit of a week or fortnight but he ran this business hardly for three months only because he invested daily money on liquor and feast . He was extravagant and his income was meager so he was under a great debt. He could not collect the money and recovery of money from the customers was short hence he was running business in loss. Even he could not pay the monthly  instalments of loans that he purchased a scooter hence his scooter was also forfeited along with stock of water sachets and bottles by the creditors. 
      Sirish"s maternal aunt fell ill and doctor advised for complete bed rest because her digestive system and liver were malfunctioning. She was treated with saline transfusion and blood transfusion also. She was patient of gastroenteritis and leukemia. Ranjana nursed her mother in law keeping an eye on her. Doctor advised avoid excess salt , oily and spicy food so Ranjana served her mother in law milk, sweet lime juice, butter milk, Roti, Khichadi, porridge (Dalia) ,biscuits and fruits and she also served her medicines or potions as per prescription. Once a month saline transfusion and blood transfusion became an ordeal in treatment. Sirish"s  aunt was loosing weight day by day and within six months she lost ten kilos weight.In a year she lost twenty kilos weight. her health was deteriorating she was on bed rest even she staggered and could not walk properly rather she moved slowly on sitting position with the pull and push of hands. she came to moribund and she was feeble with leaning wrinkled skin from skeleton hence it revealed that fats were siphoned off the body. She pissed and pooped  or defecated in the drainage pot on bed. Doctor informed Sirish that she was dying as she could not digest the meals and vomited . she developed breathing shortness or Dyspnea in night and she was sleeping even she asked Ranjana with gestures to serve her water she felt difficulty in speech . Ranjana served medicines ,water and milk in night she asked Sirish that he would fetch doctor for treatment or medication but his aunt denied nodding her head. Sirish said Ranjana that he would carry his aunt to the hospital for treatment in morning , at present good medication and nursing would serve the purpose to evade the medical emergency. Ranjana and Sirish slept besides aunt and in morning they saw her aunt was breathing very heavily and she developed traumatic Asphyxia means her pulsation rate was decreasing and she was breathing orally hardly as it looked that any mysterious force was choking her so her breathing rate decreased also she breathed hardly four times a minute suddenly she breathed with a great inward pull orally and three times she poured out three puffs or three decreasing soft air blows or gusts and died with open mouth and open eyes. 
        Now Sirish was head of the family having family members his wife Ranjana and two children -- one boy and a girl. Sirish was poverty stricken and out of work so he joined a political party and contested election of municipal councilor but lost the election. He worked for the party and various programmes and rallies, road shows and campaigns prior to the assembly election and candidate of his party won the election. He got some petty tenders of civil developments along with some friends where they constructed cement roads in colonies and earned a lot of money. He took a resolution to construct two rooms for shops on rent in his house and he renovated drawing hall with plaster of paris[POP] roof and interior decoration of sofa chairs  
etc. as he was alcoholic so he invested a lot of money in liquor and feast and became penny less. He in a  favour  joined another political party along with his friends who were alcoholics so he was having no project for civil construction and was out of work again.He used to take advance rental amounts from the tenants that he gave two shop keepers of general commodities on rent. 
         He was so depressed that he dared not to start a new business . Ranjana started some house hold business of boutique ,sewing wide belt [Fall] and Pico women's dresses and selling Sarees on commission. Her daughter Ranu passed high school examination with third division in fourth attempt and was not good at studies. She learned the art of Mehandi or Henna and she earned money painting  Mehandi designs on palms , hands, wrists of girls, women and men during marriage functions. Ranjana"s son Pravin was never good at studies even he could not pass the middle school examination. He passed his time in chatting and watching TV programmes. They purchased daily grocery and vegetables for nourishment of a small family. Life was stiff with weak economy. Sirish was pompous and liked to talk about false richness he talked about his share in property of his father Vishamber. he also referred the maternal properties of his aunt in Banglaru what the share she had there he wanted to be a stakeholder. He was defaulter and tax evader where he failed to pay water tax so family members were forced to bring water from the public drinking water source or Tap and bore well. Sirish was in adversity and hardship he asked his friend Tanay to provide job to his son Pravin. Tanay was stockist of medicines so he empolyed Pravin as a salesman there. Pravin was extravagant like Sirish ,his salary was Rupees five thousand a month and he purchased a mobile set worth Rupees Fifty Thousand on monthly loan payment. He purchased a scooter worth Rupees eighty thousand on monthly loan payment scheme. he used to wear clothes of popular brands. His lavish life style was troublesome and creditors daily came to him asking for payments. He mortgaged his scooter illegally and his creditors came to know about  the fraud then they sent a notice to Pravin for legal consequences. Sirish came to know that creditors wanted payment and other creditors dunned to Pravin for payments of the debts. He asked a political leader and money lender for arbitration and settlement of the case. that rogue politician and hooligan or Chhutbhaiya or low cadre small brother politician helped Sirish to settle the case. In setting aside the loan case of scooter creditors forfeited the scooter and resold it but a charge of penalty Sirish evaded requesting condone or waive the fine as his son Pravin committed first time this offence. Pravin and Sirish both were spendthrifts and they paid a little bit debts and purchased useless atticles too. They were foodies and all family members were gourmets they consumed Panipuri daily and Ranjana prepared  Dosa, Idaly, Pulao, Dahibada, Aloogoonda and Samosha day by day. Sirish asked for petty loans or debts to family members daily say as Rupees hundred or fifty because he daily consumed Green Label beer along with friends in night. he was mentally retired and talked about a bid trade or venture say as establishment of a mall cinema or pub and business complex or tower for rental purpose. Sirish talked his neighbors inebriated to cooperate him and invest money in construction of a Business Complex of shops with restaurant and game theater or game zone etc. He made plans also to sell his properties and settle in another town.he dreamed to be a millionaire. 
       Ranjana asked Sirish to join any private service as they were facing hardship and family maintenance expenditure or budget exceeded the associated income from rental property and salary of Pravin .Sirish said that he never served under a private business man in past life and he done petty trades as entrepreneur so he felt humiliation or embarrassment to esrvr under a private person or trader.It was below dignity to serve a business man to earn breads or livelihood. I was king, I am a king, i am my own master. he saved himself from the dunning of creditors playing hide and seek game. If he paid some debts then he sought for a new debt or loan and he often times received advanced rental amounts from the tenants.  
     Once a relative visited him he called on his neighbor Daga to discuss a business vplan. He talked about the establishment of business complex where the budget  might exceed rupees one crore .Daga discussed about estimating and costing and financing agencies etc. About one hour they discussed  for the raising of the funds and plans of construction of apartments and shops there. His relative who was his brother in law of distant relation joined this discussion reluctantly along with his wife and Rajanja . Sirish brother in law was millionaire but did not want to invest money in that venture so he kept mum till the discussion was over. When Daga left the house after the meeting or discussion . Sirish"s sister commented " see ! this man Daga is also adopted son of Daga family but he is a successful business man and his parents are proud of him. 
         Sirish went for evening walk . Ranjana , Pravin, Ranu and Sirish"s brother in law and Sirish"s sister joined a conversation regarding family affairs and pecuniary plight where vthey were living in hardship and adversity and Sirish was ideal without any work and irresponsible towards family affairs. He did not think to earn money doing a private service . Ranjana asked her sister in law to give advice to Sirish to do any job. 
         In night after dinner they were watching a musical concert progamme of TV channel and sirish was also present there . Sirish"s sister pleaded for responsibility of Sirish in family affairs and she asked Sirish to abstain from liquor  addiction because he was weak and alcoholic and damaging his liver ,his eyes looked light  red and mouth oozed stink like sewer or foul smell. He is irresponsible and sometimes it was difficult to purchase daily grocery and vegetables as Sirish and Pravin both were lavish and their miscalculation foiled the economy of family. Salary is half a rupee and expenses are whole a rupee. so income of Sirish was inefficient to run the family. His sister said to Sirish that children looked to want for each crumb and sometimes Ranjana prepared only vegetables and rice but not lentils rather she received daily vegetables and other recipes from her women friends. Sometimes Ranjana ate left overs  so he would do service under a trader. sirish was speechless for a minute and in desperation he shouted, " Never ask me to do a job under a trader otherwise I will commit suicide; I can not abstain liquor addiction, I was king, I am a king, I am my own master. Now it is time of Pravin to earn and run the family I am retired."  
      Pravin told his aunt and uncle that his father bullied him time to time and claimed money for drinking liquor ; Ranu also complained that her father bullied her and claimed money when she earned wages of Mehandi or Henna Art in marriage functions. Ranjana also complained that Sirish grabbed money from her what she earned from house hold business of boutique. She also reported that Sirish went for a trip to Vashno Devi shrine with  Paresh who is a disabled man and gauche car- painter because he got concession for him and his accomplish in railway journey. they travelled Kashmir and visited Vaishno Devi shrine in very economical budget of Rupees one thousand only. Sirish did not care for the dignity also he went with Paresh to Jaipur to attend a marriage function because he spent only Rupees three hundred for to and fro journey of Jaipur and Paresh did not spend a single penny whatever the expenditures incurred towards meals and lodging and drinking all amounts afforded by Sirish. paresh was concession free and a respectable guest. Even Paresh did not spend a single penny on betel, tobacco and transportation in city buses and taxis. they had visited Hawa Mahal, aamer Palace and other sites in Jaipur. They had also visited Mumbai and carried a letter of the member of assembly to stay in the hostel or quarter there. They visited juhu, Chaupati, Sidshi Vinayak temple and Gateway of India etc. they stayed at Mumbai free of charge or cost and availed free meals at hostel. They had to invest money  rupees three hundred towards railway journey or fare. 
       Pravin was nervous and he said that it was difficult to mend habits of his father . Ranjana said, " a dog"s tail is curly always."  Sirish's sister laughed and said, yes " kutte ki dum ko nali me dalo to bhi sidhi nahi hoti." [ A dog"s tail is curly not straight and if put in a tube to keep it straight but emerges out curly.] Sirish"s brother in law commented he is a proven crook and foolhardy he born in this world to live for food and drink so he is gastronome or gourmet and such foodie is careless but not careworn for family affairs . He threatens and  intimidates if asked for work or job to do and he bullies every member or relative asking money for drinking so he is useless and ungrateful and his life is just like an animal or beast who is self centered and self interested . So ,  Pravin, A dog"s tail is crooked forever and time and tide needed your service to run the family.    



                  Kamal Kishore Sharma , Behind Hotel Mid Town , Sneh Nagar , ward Number 27 Balaghat [ MP] India 481001
                  9424614441  8966088853   Date: Sunday May 11, 2019