Its raining outside, the very thought of bajjis and samosas, a warm blanket makes me smile! WoW! That’s life! Suddenly my thoughts drift away and reminds me of those who live in houses where it rains inside! Yes, I have seen a few of them. I remember this episode each time it rains.
Story telling……….pls bear with me !
A long time ago, maybe some nearly 20 years! I was a kid then. There was this family, our immediate neighbour and I knew them. This couple had 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. Their dad was a wonderful person, very humorous, he had some govt job and the aunt was a home maker, a very pious lady. They lived in their so called own house! Why I call it so called you will get to know as you read along. Just by themselves. Being the only earning member of the family, uncle tried hard to make ends meet, although he was so sweet and a gentleman he had a problem, hmmm, he could not get rid of his drinking habit. He did not harm anyone, he never beat anyone, never humiliated his wife or children. Each day, every single day of the year I noticed from the window in my room (where I studied), he went out around 7pm in the evening. I remember he returned only by 9.30 or 10pm. When he returned he walked in slow paces, very obvious he was drunk and probably went to sleep. I never heard any fights (as is normal). Their daughter was my friend, a good friend and I could sense that she was embarrassed by her father as I had questioned her why none in the family made any efforts to stop his drinking.
Back on track, it was monsoons, sometime mid July and rained every day. I walked to school with this friend, as every other day, I waited outside my friend’s house. It had poured the previous night and I had enjoyed my sleep warmly tucked in my blanket and was so excited when I woke-up that morning. I wanted to check with my friend if she enjoyed her sleep as much as I did during the downpour. She did not come out at the usual time and I knocked at the door. She answered the door and I stepped in, stepped into a pool of water! Did they spill water, a bucket ? no it seemed like ten buckets of water in their veranda!......my friend was not ready in her school uniform and I noticed she looked real tired, She had a mopping cloth in her hand and a bucket to which she squeezed the water into. My eyes rolled over and I noticed that the adjacent two rooms were damp and I realized that they were just mopped by her mom who continued to do so and did not notice my arrival! I was dumb struck and simply stood there like a rock not knowing how to react? My friend had never mentioned this to me! I realized that the ceiling, their entire house, except for one corner in their living room leaked! It rained inside even after the rains stopped outside……… I offered to help her, but she flashed her sweet smile and said it was OK and she was used to it!!!! I walked away slowly with a heavy heart…….hundreds of thoughts on my mind, why could they not fix the house? They did not afford the costs?....uncle could have saved money instead of drinking and made lives easier………………..few days later, when we met she mentioned to me that this was the routine when it rained ! She did not like the rains, no one in their family did!
What truly kept me wondering is that my friend never ever complained of her situation. She was a very optimistic person and when I asked her why she never cribbed about this she answered ‘ We have a roof on top of our head, what about others who do not have even that’? she also joked about it saying that after the house was mopped and cleaned, guests exclaimed ‘Wow, your house is so cool, its like having A/C all the time’ and everyone in the house smiled and within prayed “Rain, Rain go away!”
Well, to cut this short, my friend is doing good now, her dad is no more, I am still in touch with her, she is married, has a sweet son, a very loving and humorous husband, she takes care of her mom………they live in a rented but safe house, well she is constructing her own house and she mentioned to me and will ensure that it will never rain inside her house!!!!!!
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