We can’t change the entire world. We can’t change others. We can’t change the ways of our family members. Why others? It is so very difficult to change ourselves too! But this anonymous woman says she will feel happy if she is able to bring about a small change in others – even if it is only for two minutes. This is her story……
I looked up at the clock. “It must my istry-wala!” I said to myself. It was the first of the month. So I took my purse along with me when I went to open the door. It was the istry-wala. He put down the bundle on the chair and waited for me to give him the bundle of clothes that I had kept ready on the sofa. He moved towards the door.
I said, “Bhaiya, ruko!” I wrinkled my nose, put my hand on my hip and asked him, “Bill kitna hua? Aaj pehli tareek hai na! Bill nahe lena hai kya aapko?” I could smell the strong odour of tobacco from his mouth.
My istry-wala did not dare to look up at me. He just said, “Ummmmugguu?” I looked at him sternly and said, “Kya hai aapke muh me? Tambakoo kha rahe hona aap? Phir se? Kitni baar bola hai maine aapko. Kyu nahee sunte ho aap. Aapko phephde ka cancer hojayega. Aapko pata hai kya? Please bhaiya. Aap ye sab mat khao.”
My istry-wala gestured to me and said that he would collect the bill from me tomorrow. Yes. You guessed right. He could not talk because his mouth was full of tobacco. I sighed and tutted to myself. How do these youngsters get addicted to such things? Who influences them? Why don’t they think about their future? Who will take care of them if they fall sick?
I felt sad but forgot all about it as I went about doing my household chores. A couple of hours later, I decided to take a quick trip to the market. The sky was overcast and I knew it would rain any minute. I saw my istry-wala when I was waiting on the pavement to cross the road. He was holding the arm of a young woman. She looked frail and weak and was at least 8 months pregnant. I sighed again. But I did not want to make any assumptions. I tutted to myself. What were these youngsters doing?
The next day my istry-wala came at the usual time. This time there was no tobacco in his mouth. He smiled at me and told me the bill amount. I looked at him squarely and said, “Bhaiya aapke saath kaun tha kal rickshaw me?” He looked at me, blushed and said, “Bhabhi, woh meri wife hai.” I swallowed quickly and said, “Aapki shaadi bhi ho gayee? Aap kitne saal ke ho? Aapke kitne bacche hai?”
He looked at me and said, “ Mai? Mai bees saal ka hoon. Ha bhabhi. Hamare gaon me to atrah saal me hi shaadi kardete hai. Meri ek beti hai. Ab ek mahine ke baad meri wife ki delivery ka date aayega.”
I said, “Aap itne chote ho. Aapki shaadi bhi hogaye. Aapke bacche bhi hai. Phir bhi aap tambakoo khate ho? Aapke paas paisa jyada hai kya? Agar jyada hai to mujhe de dijiye. Mai aapke liye jama karti hoon. Theek hai bhaiya. Aap to meri baat nahe sunenge na. Aap sirf itna karna. Aap jab bhi mere ghar ayenge na, aap tambakoo nahe khana. Aap mere liye utna to kar sakte ho na?”
My istry-wala looked at me for a long moment. I looked right back at him. He looked down quickly and said, “Aap bill kal dega kya?” I said, “Yeh hai aapke paise. Gin lo aap. Barabar hai na? Ab jao aap and sirf thoda sochna. Aur mai jo bolti hu uska thoda sa dhyan rakhna.”
He said, “Theek hai. Theek hai bhabhi” and left hurriedly.
I don’t know if he will come back with a mouth full of tobacco tomorrow again. I feel he won’t listen to me. But I hope he thinks about what I said. Sometimes, I can’t help wondering about these youngsters. They have no money. They lead such a hard life. They live in shacks in slums. They work hard from dawn to dusk. They leave their hometowns to make a living in big cities. They save every paisa that they can so that they can go home once a year. Yet they somehow get addicted to such things. Why don’t they understand that they are inviting life-threatening diseases into their lives?
I looked at the closed door and wondered if he will even think about what I said. Let me see ….Maybe he will not have any tobacco in his mouth at least when he comes home tomorrow. I will be happy if listens to what I say for at least two minutes.