tomorrow?

Would it be a better tomorrow?

By Parmesh Chand

THE dawn was breaking. The mist that was covering the little house on the hill was slowly disappearing.

A man came out on the verandah; he looked up at the sky for a moment and went back into the house.

Soon he emerged with a billycan in one hand and started for the road. A gentle breeze blew across his face, causing him to shiver in his tattered old clothes. But the cold did not worry him. He had become used to it over the past few years.

The mist was disappearing very quickly. The sun was just emerging on the horizon. As he walked along, the man mumbled to himself, some thing about the monotonous routine of getting up early in the morning, catching a crowded bus. and filling in hours with the humiliating job of cutting grass and collecting rubbish by the roadside.

Ten minutes later he was boarding the bus that would take him to his place of work. A man called out to him, “Bahut Thanda lage ka yaar?” (“You feeling very cold or what?”) “Bahut jor ” (“Very much) replied the man.

The man looked around for an empty seat where he could sit alone.

He did not feel like involving himself in the laughter and the conversation of his other work-mates.

As he sat there he began thinking about his home. His children must be stirring out of bed now. Funny, how he never saw them in the morn ing; the only times he ever got the chance of sitting with them and shar ing their experiences were in the evenings after work.

Then his thoughts shifted to his wife. His eyes seemed to cloud at the thought of her. She did not under stand his problems. Did she realise how hard he worked in order to feed and clothe his family? Just the other day, during one of their quarrels, she had yelled at him, “If I had known that my parents would marry me off to a pauper, I would have killed my self”.

He had cringed at that accusation.

He knew he could not meet his family’s demands. How could he?

He only earned $l4 a week. With this money he had to feed and clothe his five children, send three boys to

school, pay the water bills and house rent. It wasn’t his fault that he could not get a better job. After all he was an illiterate man.

THE bus made a sudden bump, jolting him from his thoughts.

He realised his other workmates were getting off the bus. So he got up and joined their queue. His hard work had begun. He was handed a cane-knife and was told to cut grass until lunch-time. The man was thankful the day was cloudy but he knew as the hours nassed it would become very hot and sticky.

So the man stooped down to work, cut grass for a while, stopped to rest for a few minutes, and then going back to cutting. Now and then he would stand up, take off his hat, wipe off the sweat on his forehead and then resume his work.

It was midday and time for a break for an hour for lunch. The man sat under a tree beside the road. He would view almost every vehicle that passed by the road.

Virtually everyone who passed him gave him a second look. He asked himself why they did so. Were they making fun of his tattered old clothes or were they pitying him because of the job he was doing? After a few

minutes of his meditation he shrugged his shoulders as if to show that he didn’t care. He couldn’t afford to care for he and his family depended on this “dirty” job. It occurred to him that in two days time he would be getting his pay. But what was $l4? Already he had received notice for his children’s fees. His sons needed raincoats, his son Pradeep had asked him for a school bag, but could he afford to give him his luxury? That $l4 will be sufficient only for their meals and perhaps pay part of the fees.

He wondered how long he would have to endure such poverty.

With these thoughts, he went back to work and continued till 4.30 pm when he knocked off. He took a bus back home. He got offat the feeder that led to his home. On bis way he J omed fnend wh o was going his way. They exchanged a few words about the weather and the cunrent happenings m their community. After some time they separated. The man trudged along towards his His sons, who were playing marbles on the road, when they saw him, ran towards him to help him carry his billy-can. They were hoping the billycan would contain some left-over food which they could eat.

THE man sat down on the chaiii on the verandah. Momentarily! he closed his eyes as though to sheo; his tiredness.

He heard his wife calling out frorai the kitchen, “Pradeep, go and aslh your father if he wants a cup of tea”"

Pradeep came and mumbled ther message. The man did not reply. Hei opened his eyes and began studying! the boy’s big head and thin legs. Thei legs were long, thin and covered with sores.

Suddenly the little boy gave him s big smile and ran down into his armse “Father, did you bring my schooc bag?”

The man answered, “Not todays son. Tomorrow maybe. Now run along and get me a cup of tea”.

The boy went to the kitchen ano came back with a cup. The man took' it from him and finished the tea in three gurgling draughts, snorting ano; sighing in between. He placed thei cup on the floor, took off his hatt and began smoothing his damp hain On the horizon, the sun was sett ting. The man thought to himself! another day has gone. Tomorrow will come but would it be a better tomorrow for me?