This is story of a garbage bin. Yes. Garbage bins too have stories. And this one is a man. Since no one gave him a name, he gave one to himself - "Dump-wen-U-please". And he had a nickname too. He called himself Dumpo. He stood near the main gates of a residential building. All day long and all night long. Till the time in the morning, when a dumper truck from the municipality came to pick his belonging by turning him upside down. And he would be bottom slapped until he freed himself of the last piece of waste. And though he didn't quite enjoy being slapped on his bottom, that would make him feel lighter and ready to begin yet another day.
This was a typical day for him. The summers were approaching and the sun was getting harsher within a short time of arriving in that part of the world. Soon the maids working in different households of that building started coming in and dumping the garbage into him. They were harsh with him. They never showed respect to him. No school taught that. No parents taught that. Only thing they knew was to get close enough to make sure the garbage went in. And distant enough not to get the stink."My fate", he sighed. And tried to shift his thoughts.
"Mr. Khanna is lucky. His wife cooks delicious chicken curry. Do not know really why she dumps most of it everyday. And then why does she cook so much in the first place?"
Little did he know about the old aged Khannas and their reason behind making enough food to last few guests just in case they arrived.
"Anyways, her curries really smell good. But they become rotten by evening and the nights become difficult for me."
Dumpo was sometimes helped by the cows and stray dogs in his locality who got the smell early to clear the mess. The cows flocked when leafy vegetables were dumped in him. But when chicken curry was dumped, the dogs made sure, they do not let anyone around. And in the process, they at times toppled him and let the contents spill out. And so the life went on.
But this was a special morning. It was way past 10.30 am. And no maids had yet come to dump the waste on him. Not even the one who worked at the Khannas' place. He had seen some of them walking in. But they had not yet left the building. And then after sometime, outsiders started. Some were from neighboring areas. And some unknown faces too. They all entered in silence and walked towards the block where the Khannas stayed. Soon the picture got clear. It was a funeral that left the building. Mr. Khanna walked in the front with tearful eyes. There were women who were seen sobbing. A group of men who carried a dead body on their shoulders walked behind and they soon put the body in a mini bus and left the building. Dumpo could quickly figure this out. Mrs. Khanna had left for her heavenly abode. For a few minutes, his mind went blank. This was sudden departure. But when did ever a garbage bin get to hear health bulletins about people?
The night past. The next day was more stinky. More garbage except the chicken curry arrived. Dumpo silently mourned for the death. He knew that his feelings mattered to no one. And he had reconciled to this reality. So the day passed as usual. And then few weeks passed. Life went on ...
It was a Sunday afternoon. Dumpo saw Mr. Khanna walking towards him with some waste bin. He seemed to have lost a lot of weight. The grief was still evident in his looks. He came and dumped all the content in that brief moment and walked back. The polythene bag got torn as it fell inside the Dumpo and few loose papers came out. Dumpo could see and read the contents of the loose papers. They were torn pages of a personal diary. A cursory glance aroused his curiosity and then he started not to stop before reading what was written.
Mrs. Khanna had written - " My dear Sujay, our bundle of joy, your mamma's teddy bear, it has been 15 years today that you left us to fight for the country on the borders. You always wrote me in your letters that you miss my chicken curry on the war front till the time you stopped writing to me and started coming to see me everyday in my dreams. You would promise that you are coming with 3 of your best friends in army whom you have been telling about the awesome chicken curry that I prepare. That they do not have a mom whose cooking they ever got to taste. That they are too keen to have the curry that you keep bragging about. And I have kept my word every single day in those years. I have been preparing the curry for four of you and waiting till late in the night for four of you to arrive. But I am angry with you. You have not shown up. But no worries. Mamma understands your job. It is just that I am getting older. Sometimes, I hurt my hands chopping the onions and sometimes handling the stove. Sometimes I put more salt. And I have to prepare it again. Come soon. My eyes are failing. I want to see the love and pride in your eyes before I am gone."
Dumpo now had tears in his eyes. "So this is the story behind the chicken curry" he thought. He was miserable for the whole day and night for next one week.
It was a Sunday morning. Dumpo was recovering from the sadness. And he saw Mr. Khanna walking towards him with yet another pile of papers. He dumped the pile inside Dumpo. And now Dumpo started looking into what were the papers about. And a letter opened itself to reveal its message. It read " Mom n Dad, I am coming back home next week. After spending 15 years in enemy captivity, I am eager to see you both. And Mom, please be ready with the chicken curry. Make a lot. My friends are coming too. Love." Dumpo suddenly heard a sound. Mr. Khanna had collapsed on the way of going back to his block. He immediately realized. It was yet another full stop to a life. He was shattered. He was in a shock. The time had come. The next day people saw that the garbage bin had cracked completely and the contents had come out raising a stink in the building. A funeral left the building that day. And soon after, the garbage bin was also on its way to the dumping ground in the municipal truck. It had served its life ...
But this was a special morning. It was way past 10.30 am. And no maids had yet come to dump the waste on him. Not even the one who worked at the Khannas' place. He had seen some of them walking in. But they had not yet left the building. And then after sometime, outsiders started. Some were from neighboring areas. And some unknown faces too. They all entered in silence and walked towards the block where the Khannas stayed. Soon the picture got clear. It was a funeral that left the building. Mr. Khanna walked in the front with tearful eyes. There were women who were seen sobbing. A group of men who carried a dead body on their shoulders walked behind and they soon put the body in a mini bus and left the building. Dumpo could quickly figure this out. Mrs. Khanna had left for her heavenly abode. For a few minutes, his mind went blank. This was sudden departure. But when did ever a garbage bin get to hear health bulletins about people?
The night past. The next day was more stinky. More garbage except the chicken curry arrived. Dumpo silently mourned for the death. He knew that his feelings mattered to no one. And he had reconciled to this reality. So the day passed as usual. And then few weeks passed. Life went on ...
It was a Sunday afternoon. Dumpo saw Mr. Khanna walking towards him with some waste bin. He seemed to have lost a lot of weight. The grief was still evident in his looks. He came and dumped all the content in that brief moment and walked back. The polythene bag got torn as it fell inside the Dumpo and few loose papers came out. Dumpo could see and read the contents of the loose papers. They were torn pages of a personal diary. A cursory glance aroused his curiosity and then he started not to stop before reading what was written.
Mrs. Khanna had written - " My dear Sujay, our bundle of joy, your mamma's teddy bear, it has been 15 years today that you left us to fight for the country on the borders. You always wrote me in your letters that you miss my chicken curry on the war front till the time you stopped writing to me and started coming to see me everyday in my dreams. You would promise that you are coming with 3 of your best friends in army whom you have been telling about the awesome chicken curry that I prepare. That they do not have a mom whose cooking they ever got to taste. That they are too keen to have the curry that you keep bragging about. And I have kept my word every single day in those years. I have been preparing the curry for four of you and waiting till late in the night for four of you to arrive. But I am angry with you. You have not shown up. But no worries. Mamma understands your job. It is just that I am getting older. Sometimes, I hurt my hands chopping the onions and sometimes handling the stove. Sometimes I put more salt. And I have to prepare it again. Come soon. My eyes are failing. I want to see the love and pride in your eyes before I am gone."
Dumpo now had tears in his eyes. "So this is the story behind the chicken curry" he thought. He was miserable for the whole day and night for next one week.
It was a Sunday morning. Dumpo was recovering from the sadness. And he saw Mr. Khanna walking towards him with yet another pile of papers. He dumped the pile inside Dumpo. And now Dumpo started looking into what were the papers about. And a letter opened itself to reveal its message. It read " Mom n Dad, I am coming back home next week. After spending 15 years in enemy captivity, I am eager to see you both. And Mom, please be ready with the chicken curry. Make a lot. My friends are coming too. Love." Dumpo suddenly heard a sound. Mr. Khanna had collapsed on the way of going back to his block. He immediately realized. It was yet another full stop to a life. He was shattered. He was in a shock. The time had come. The next day people saw that the garbage bin had cracked completely and the contents had come out raising a stink in the building. A funeral left the building that day. And soon after, the garbage bin was also on its way to the dumping ground in the municipal truck. It had served its life ...
