The Sleepless Night: One Day in the Life of a Poor Man

SUGAM GAUTAM

May 17, 2020

“Good days will come,” a hopeful Krishna consoled himself and again silence followed by tears, he asked: “but when will they come?”

“I’ll drop Suju at his boarding school on my motorbike. Reema will assist me in running our grocery store.” Krishna was daydreaming lying on the cemented chautari, on which a tree stands. The sun was slowly setting down the horizon. By that time, Krishna had not managed to procure eggs and pulses, which Reema had asked him to get it for their only child, Suju. The chirping from the birds returned to their nests distracted him. Krishna was disheartened. He was supposed to take food for his family after he returned from the furniture factory, where he worked.

It had just been a week since he received his salary. But it was already consumed; he had bought Reema a new sari and cycle for Suju. The amount to be paid to the grocery store has already mounted and the shopkeeper had warned Krishna to deal only in cash. Krishna with a grim face stepped towards the shop carrying a 50 rupee note in his pocket. Krishna did not have enough money to buy what he was supposed to. He asked the shopkeeper to give him a kilogram of pulse and 5 eggs as he showed the 50 rupees note that he had. The shopkeeper grumbled that the money was insufficient to give him the goods he asked for. Krishna, after handing him the money, requested the shopkeeper to add the remaining money to his ledger, but the shopkeeper refused. With a heavy heart, Krishna reached home with just a couple of eggs and half a kilogram of pulses.

There were only two eggs for the family of three. It was Krishna who did not eat. Maybe his conscious was packed with some other stuff. Maybe about poverty?

That night, Krishna’s mind quizzed questioning himself about life and his situation.  But the silence was followed by tears every time. Krishna used to console himself, ”Good days will come,” but suddenly he questioned, ”But when will they come”? Had his father saved the land and property, he might have spared this suffering. His father died of liver failure a year ago due to the excessive consumption of alcohol. What little savings he had were spent on the treatment of his alcoholic father. That was the money he had saved to pursue the dream to fly to Qatar and earn a decent living for his family.

The night was passing miserably for Krishna. Tomorrow, he had to buy healthy food, full of protein, for his little son Suju. His son was not as strong as the other kids. He had been suffering from growth hormone deficiency since he was three years old. On his birthday, Krishna had made a promise to buy his wife a necklace that had seemed to fade from his memory. However, he could only afford a sari with what money he had.

It is 11:43 in the evening. Krishna took out a Khukuri cigarette and headed to the balcony. The very first puff warmed his cold heart, but it did not last exceedingly long. The last smoke was mixed with clouds, and anguished feelings reoccurred making him uneasy. He used to hear clattering on the first floor, but it was not quite enough to distract his mind that was full of frustration. Suddenly, he got lost in his thoughts.

 “What about my dream of going to Qatar and opening a grocery store after I return?….What about my dream of buying a motorcycle and dropping my son Suju to his boarding school in the motorbike?”…..One after the other, these questions crossed in his mind and they seemed to never end. His alcoholic father had sold all their lands to pay the debt, even the slightest glimmer of hope dimmed with all his land sold. Given his schooling was only until the sixth grade, a decent job was hard to come by. He had been earning the meal for his family with his chore of splinting logs for furniture. Reema was not that much literate either to get a five-figure monthly. Reema had been working as a peon of the school near their house. She somehow managed a to make little money working all day to assist her husband, Krishna.

The roof could not seal the water as it started to drizzle as Krishna felt a droplet of water on his wrist. He quickly pulled away to avoid getting anymore wet. By now, it was 1:10 am as the whole world was supposed to be still and in a pleasant sleep. Checking for another cigarette in his pocket, he rested himself on the floor. The little drizzle was quickly turning into a rainstorm with each passing minute. It had been 5 years since he had repaired his house. Every summer, their family of three shared a single bed on the ground floor to avoid the disturbance caused by rain and hailstorm from above them.

The rain was getting heavier and followed by the hailstorm. Despite the turmoil in the background, Krishna felt lost in silence. He drew out the last cigarette from his pocket to erase his annoyance. But, how could a cigarette resist the ache and pain he felt throughout his body? As the water drops were falling in front of him, it enlarged his trauma and increasing his urge to repair the roof. ”How can I manage to fix up this rusty house?” He raised this question, but another question arose in the nick of time that overshadowed the previous one. “How can I think about repairing when there’s no food to eat tomorrow?” he mourned.

The cigarette had already stopped generating the smoke but the questions in his mind never stopped arising. “Suju will grow up one day needing a good education to compete with the people around the globe. He may even demand a motorcycle too”…..One after another, these thoughts bothered him.

The clock had struck 4:00 am. Krishna wiped the tears with his old muddy shirt and stood on his feet. He could see the other houses lights getting turned on all around him. He trudged, aiming for his bed. Now, he must sleep well and strive in the early morning to toil to feed his son, Suju and wife, Reema. 7:00 am. The birds’ chirping outside sounded which served as an alarm to him. As usual, he woke up after the sharp tone struck his ears. The sun has risen along with renewed hope. Krishna strides towards the furniture shop, as usual, bidding goodbye to his loved ones.

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