Conversations with Life!

Brief Recap! It's 3 am. My mind is pre-occupied imagining all the odds that can turn my life upside down. Dadabhai gave us uniforms and told us to gather at 4 am. He was either gonna make our lives better or maybe betray us by forcing us to do some shady shit. My trust on mankind was gone for a toss. On one hand there is a virus killing us and on other there is a deadly creature killing the world. There will never be a vaccine to save you from another human being. Finally, I woke up for a bath. There was a queue at the tap from where we filled water. All 18 of us gathered to take bath and Dadabhai gave us a soap. We've never used a soap in our lives. There we were, dressed in torn clothes but trying to look sober for a mission unknown. We all looked like cultured salespeople in uniform, maybe representing a company. We were briefed by Dadabhai about our work. After hearing those words, my heart sank but maybe I was dreaming. All the negative thoughts that I had, seemed t...

Define Cellphone! Well, the basic idea was to create an electronic device that connects you to the network which further connects you to the other people on the network. Basically, a device which helps you communicate with all the other people on the same network.  But we've crossed the lines of basic definition by a long range. A cellphone is not just a communication device. It has become a status symbol, an information gadget, source of entertainment, source of knowledge, an instrument to capture memories, device that lets you understand the geographical boundaries, tool for the artists to create art and what not! It has become the eyes of photographers, canvas of sketch artists, trading and banking device for business people, library of knowledge for students. Name a feature and it is available on this 6 inch handheld device weighing few hundred grams. Did we ever imagine 25 years back that we'd be standing at this phase of technology? Imagine the world 25 ye...

I did not even kn o w the name of this cruel yet kind hearted person. He was like a shallow puddle of water but the water had the depth of sea in it. I asked his name to which he replied, everyone calls him DadaBhai but his original name was Damashankar . He possessed a lot of money. For me, it was crores of rupees but only to bring me back to my senses, he whispered something. I honestly did not hear w hat he said. He started filling some bundles in a bag and I simply followed him. He asked if I had any friends who could accompany us to carry the necessary items from a grocery shop nearby. I ran and brought my sisters and all of my friends along to visit the grocery store. We bought 40 sacks of wheat atta, 15 sacks of Rice and 4 sacks of Dal. That is all the store had. We all bought 30 packets of 1 kg Salt, 1 sack of sugar and some other things. We gave him all the money we had. I was dumbstruck by this. He had some gloves on his hands before he took the money. There was a big machin...

6 days and we have run out of options by now. We lost our money. I stole a wallet and we managed to eat from the leftovers and now I have nothing but a flickering cellphone in my hand. Is this the way of destiny? What would I do with a phone? I don't even know how to use it. Neither am I literate nor have I ever touched a phone. But we used to watch some blue films in bunty's phone so I might understand the basics. Thousand thoughts were running in my mind and it paced my heartbeat. What should I do? Shall I handover it to police or is it a blessing and a way of help by God? I kept the phone in my pocket and moved back to my hut. I slept over with various random probabilities that kept running through my head. Next morning, I woke up to find the phone missing. I searched it everywhere but with no trace. I was convinced that it was my dream. I never actually went to the dump yard last night. Surya, my younger brother was crying, and I couldn't see our mother. My sisters we...

While the lockdown seems normal to everyone, nobody even thinks of us. We are a family of 7 people living besides the garbage dumpyard. Afterall nobody buys a place near a dumpyard and that is the only place left for us to live with peace in big cities. Otherwise all we could witness are huge high rise buildings and skyscrappers all over.  You might be wondering how would you listen to the story of such a person in an affluent language like English. Well this is my first try at writing something on the 52nd day of Lockdown. Don't judge me. They say, writing gets better eventually. So if you come across my story, give me the benefit of doubt. I am not a writer but I am trying to learn and enhance my skills and I'd request you to keep reading further.  I am Bablu - 17 years old, living in this diamond city, surviving on the leftover meals that you throw. I can say with certainity that some of you have turned nice during this period because we are getting food everyday, eithe...