The Stinky Workplace

 

    " Komar, clean the gutter no.316 from tomorrow" " Ji sahab(Ok Sir!) " said Komar. " Raju, clean the gutter no. 315 from tomorrow, " said the cleaning incharge. Komar and Raju are mates, they are friends from their childhood, also called 'diaper buddies'. Komar's father was a potter, the Hindi name for a potter is 'Kumhar' this is where the name came Komar, whereas his surname is ' Sahu', ( which is not regarded much in his office ( gutter)). Komar's father and Raju's father were friends and so, are the children. Raju's father was an oil refiner, he use to refine coconut and peanut oil of poor quality. The Hindi word for an oil refiner is'Teli', thus, the surname of Raju came from there, Raju Teli.

   Raju and Komar use to walk daily top their respective gutter s everyday. They use to climb the ladders down and enter into the stinky and dirty drains that they have to clean. Their work was top pickup the garbage and litter from the waste water, which cannot be removed or purified through machines, or included mainly of plastic, home litter, garbage and sometimes even human excreta. This is no hesitating to them because, they come form a background where the families use to live on roads full of animal excreta and garbage and even drink the water of the drains at an extreme scarcity.

              Raju and Komar's daily wages were fixed a 10 rupee note for a day which they could use to either buy a dessert bowl full of rice or a single of rissolle or a plate of fritters. But, Raju and Komar both were responsible they ate once in a three day and saved money for their families living in villages named as nowhere in  the Google Maps . They had to work from morning 4 am to the evening 7:30 pm, this wore a paper - written timing the workers were sometimes even bribed for a rupee or 2 to work till the midnight.Though, Raju and Komar never worked extra and were sufficient with their wage.

Their routine was to come wearing a simple dirty looking shirt (it was the only one they had) and foldable pants and watch the clock of the Khadakpur Railway Station, Bihar, until it is 4 am and go  towards respective workplace and jump into the dirty unclean and untidy workplace, the gutter. The gutters  were so stinky, that a person would vomit and die for god sake. After, 7:30pm of  the evening they we to go to 'Sadar Bazar' and turn to 'Khameron Ki Gali ' and then get into an old stuccoed house which only had a shade and  a hut, and sleep there on stony and rocky floor. They didn't had a concept of eating food, in their concepts eating food was a habit of the rich. Once Raju said to Komar, when Komar asked him about eating delicious food that day, "Komar, eating food is a habit of rich  and the people who are below poverty line should not generate this habit and you also know my friend, we are the one who are below the unbelievable Poverty Line", Both chuckled and slept. They were keeping their saved money in the digged floor bank in that hut it was about a 100 rupees they saved  there. Once,  when they were walking down the street of Sadar Bazar, they heard some gossips some merchants gossips.
" PM Manmohan Singh had  Introduced a new guideline for export and import companies" said one. " Ohh Good" grunted other. "Eh guys, see 'em those Telis", said another. "No not the Telis, the Chamar's the lowest Caste of all , even my spit costs them a lot" said another merchant. "Yes, this world is now of 7 Billion population, if we include these chamars and such, and if we exclude it would be 3.5 or something" said the first one. "  If god also forgot to make a place for these creatures then who gave the right to live to them? " said the second one. "No, there's a place.............the gutters" everyone chuckled.

     Raju and Komar left silently the place and went to work. They ignored it , because this was not the first time they were treated like this, the day they were born, their parents became unhappy that why this life has been born to a place where the society has not provided a single drop of wax to enlighten.

 They didn't chose to be a gutter-cleaner, their surnames, their castes chose that would they'll be a merchant or a gutter-cleaner. 

   

That day, when they both were over from their work and walked back to home, they discussed the same topic:

 Raju: "Bad luck, Brother, the merchant was right, god never made place for people like us."

Komar: " No, Raju, there's a place not gutter not the dustbin, but even better than the heaven"

Raju: "This Society is a place for horses not for donkeys, though, we can never blame a donkey that why is he a donkey? Why cannot be a horse? "

Komar: " There is nothing like horses or donkeys. "

Raju : "There is and we are a part of this society "

 Komar: (sigh) 

Raju: "We aren't allowed to educate ourselves, for neither we have right to our home  nor safe and clean water and nor we have the right to take the percent of air inside the body which belongs to the people living in the those Bungalows.."

Komar: "Be cool Raju"

Raju: "No, I won't, I'm going"

Komar: "Going where?"

Raju: "To the station master's mansion Komar!" 

Komar: "Why?"

 Raju: "To ask for a job"

Komar: "Wait, be calm and then think"

 Raju." Its final komar and you're also coming go and get the money and clothes. "

 Komar: "Ok, but you'll also come with me to home and rethink about it!!" 

Raju: "First let's pack our bags" 

Raju: " C'mon Komar let's go to the station master's."

It was the night's 10 pm and Raju and Komar reached to the station mater's mansion. Raju and Komar reached to the station master's mansion and asked to the watchman " Babuji, we have to meet the Station Master Saheb" asked Raju "Jaa, Jaa, you poor gutter - cleaner, first look at yourself and then come" ,  shouted the watchman. "Who is there, Ramu?" some inner voice shouted seemed a man. "Noone, Babuji, just two slaves,"cried the watchman. 

  Raju and Komar saw a six-feet tall shadow slowly coming into the light, "What happened, Ramu ?" the man said. "Nothing, these slaves have to meet you" Ramu said. "They aren't slaves, learn to respect everyone," the station master scolded. "Yes, misters come to my lawn we'll sit and talk," the station master concluded. They three the station master and Raju and Komar sat in his lawn and talked. Raju and Komar told their problem to him and he said, " See, getting a job in Railway isn't so easy, especially without any skills and or education," " But, there's a way a secret way to admit you there is a certain quota for people like you the quota of SC/ST or OBC and even EWS's ," said the station master. "Yes, the quota for economically weaker and the scheduled castes and tribes," said the station master. " We didn't ever knew about that, that we stand out in the society, and we have a percentage for us, " Komar Said. " Yes, but there's another problem that you have to pass a test and a medical for a job in Grade' D' of Railway board, " "And it needs Hardwork , " the station master sentenced. " What kind of Hardwick sir? ", Raju asked. " Hard work, pursuing education , maintaining health and insurancing yourself from every problem, " the station master claused.

 

The station master asked them to live with Ramu and in servants quarters. The station master taught them about the exam , it was difficult butt, there was hope and have them good food to eat. Once, when Raju was eating rice with Dahl makhani sitting on the station masters dining table with Komar, he said to the station master, " Sahab, we're eating this meal due to you, or we would be working in those same gutters and would had ate twice in a week" , " Everyone's time is written from his birth, " stated the Stratton master.

20 Years Later

 " Today, a new attorney is addressing our post of co-chairmans of Railway Board, the first ever two chairpersons ruling the Railway Board, please welcome Komar Sahu and Rajesh Teli, " cried by the anchor. Everyone welcomed Raju and Komar as the chief attorneys of the Railway Board. 

That night, Raju and Komar conversated with each other by having a cop of tea: 

Raju: " Komar, don't you think we have came a good long way in our life. "

 Komar: " Raju have you heard an idiom? One cannot see the thousand shimmering moons above his roofs and the thousand splendid suns shining beyond his walls without getting out of the comfort zone. "

Raju: " Thanks to the station master sir they gave us a rebirth. Someone said true that ' Education is a rebirth of yours.'

 

One cannot see the thousand shimmering moons shining above his roofs and the thousand splendid suns beyond his walls without getting out of his comfort zone.

- Komar and Raju's comfort zone was their job of gutter-cleaning that they left for joining the railway board.

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