Kolhapur Chronicles

2. chance

*KOLHAPUR, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA,*

Monday morning.

Usually in Hyderabad it would have been the busiest day as if the world is ending. There would be a road rage with endless honking, movement of people from one side of the street to other, humans spilling out of buses and endless cabs making their way to the places where people are employed. No one wants to be late on the first day of the week because the consequences may be as bad as losing the job.

But here it is so different. It's already past 10 and no one seems to be running. Forget running, people are not even moving around. There are men and women walking on the road, their attire and bag indicating they may be on their way to work, but the hustle is missing. They halt on their way greeting an acquaintance, talking and talking until they realise it's late, then walk along, some of them randomly take lifts from ongoing riders and some just don't seem that they go to work. Everyone seems to know each other here, they call each other names like kaka, kaku, attu, mama, etc.

Does it actually mean they are all related? Is that even possible?

"हे घ्या भाऊ चहा!" ("Here's the tea brother!"), a young boy tapped his shoulder and handed him a cup of tea. He held the glass cup by the brim and smiled at the boy. He was sitting on a bench in front of a tea stall which was by the main road, and there were other people sitting on the benches around, talking to each other, reading newspapers, greeting the passersby and laughing while cracking jokes.

Raghav felt like an outsider, like a dumb cabbage in a basket of beautiful, tasty strawberries. He never wanted to be a cabbage, he hates the vegetable like anything, he was always a strawberry, noticed by all, but today his existence is as meaningless as the six second ad that plays before a youtube video.

" नवीन आहात का? आधी कधी बघितलं नाही तुम्हाला इकडे" ("Are you new here? I haven't seen you before") a man in his late 60's sitting beside Raghav asked, and since he didn't understand a word, he replied saying, "Merko marathi nahi samajhta." The old man sighed and asked him again, this time in a language Raghav knew. "Naya hai kya tum idhar, pehle dekha nahi tumko kabhi."

"Ji mai kal ratko hi aya, Hyderabad se."

"Ooo, naukri karne aaya kya? Ki koi purani zameen bechne? Akele aaye ho kya ki family bhi hai?" The man was speaking as if he knew Raghav forever and that made him feel a little better. "No no kaka mai idhar kuch aur kaam se aaya hai, aur mai akela hai."

Kaka? Did Raghav Rao call a man he just met kaka? Wow Kolhapur is having an effect on him already.

"Achaa, rahega kidhar tum? Jagah nahi hai to bolo mere bajuwale Shyam ka guest house hai udhar jagah milega tumko. Comfortable rahega and sasta bhi hai."

"Nahi Kaka, mai Sawant's ke udhar rahega." Wait, what did he just say? How is he so sure that they will keep him there? If not then then what to tell Kaka. Raghav decided it would be best to stick with the original answer.

"Sawant's? Matlab Girija Tai ke udhar?" The happiness on his face was evident. "Pehle bolne ka na beta, Girija Tai ka mehman hum sabka mehman. Jayega kaise tum udhar? Ruko-" saying so he got up and called to another middle aged man on the other bench.

"मण्या ऐक, चहा झाला की यांना सावंतांकडे सोड." ("Manya listen, drop him to Sawant's after he is done with tea") Turning to Raghav again he said with a smile, "Chaha pine ke baad yeh Manya tumko chod dega unke udhar. Aaramse jana and tension mat lo bharose wala aadmi hai."