Paris (Part 1)

(I will be sharing this story in 5 parts, at the most. Each week, one part will be released taking the story forward. Hope you enjoy reading this one.)

“Krishna! Krishna!”, she calls him.
“Yes, Madam”, he hurriedly comes to her, adjusting his uniform over his frail body.
“Take it. This is for you”, she says and hands him a gift which she had secretly bought for him.
“What is it, Maya? What are you giving him?”, she is caught by her mother, unalarmed.
“Nothing, Mom”, she says casually and manages to divert her mother’s attention.
“Krishna, is the car ready? We are already late”, asks Maya’s mother.
“Yes Madam ji, the car is ready”, he replies in a submissive tone, trying to hide the gift from Maya.

Mrs Sheila, Maya’s mother and the wife of well-known businessman. Krishna, a frail, young man of about 24 years of age with a permanent foolish look on his face, works as their temporary driver. He is the most reliable of the all the drivers Mrs Sheila had in a span of 7 years. And this temporary job would soon become permanent for Krishna. That’s what Sahab ji had told him a year ago. So he is very careful not to commit any blunder that would hinder his plan. As the three of them leave in the car, Krishna panics all through the way. He is constantly cautious about the gift he received. It is only after he drops off Mrs Sheila that he relaxes. Immediately he turns around and thanks Maya for the gift. She smiles seeing the sparkle in his eyes. He gets restless as he just had a glimpse of the gift. He wants to see it properly. So he drives faster than his normal speed to leave Maya at her school and returns to his servant’s quarter.

Once he returns, he knows he has uninterrupted hours. Finally, he opens the gift. It is a key chain of the Eiffel Tower which Maya brought for him from Paris. So it is special for him. Paris is his dream city. The city he wishes to visit once in his lifetime. And Paris is the reason he sincerely wants his job to get permanent. He had shared his plans with Maya, almost every day on the way to school. “May be that is the reason she has got this gift”, he thinks. Anyway, he is happy.

The first time he had seen the magnificent Eiffel Tower was in a movie in his village. It was a fascinating experience for him and Paris became his ambition. He moved to the town in search of a job to earn enough money for his travel. Krishna is an orphan. He did not have any education at all. Still with that disadvantage he worked through various jobs, starting from an orderly to a security guard to waiter until he landed in his current job. All that he earns, he saves most of it for his 'Paris-plan'. He lives in the bare minimum he can so that he saves maximum for Paris. From his fellow workers at these jobs he learned to count and add up his money correctly. It was important for him. He had also started learning the Hindi alphabets once, but that did not interest him much. So he left the lessons halfway. Only thing he managed to learn was signing his own name.

While working as a waiter in a medium budget hotel, he came across a contest in the television. The winning prize was a trip to Paris. He had eagerly participated in the contest but did not win. He felt disheartened for few days. He did not go to the hotel and kept sulking at home. He thought he lost a great opportunity forever. But what followed was a greater loss. He was informed that he had been replaced by some other person as the waiter. Nevertheless, his desire to visit Paris did not die. He assembled himself in search of another job. He was employed again and this time it was the best he could get. He became driver to a businessman. The money was good for his plans. Meanwhile he kept a check on his savings. He had already saved some fifty thousand in four years of multiple jobs. He always collected anything and everything related to Paris. Newspaper or magazine cuttings, stamps, stickers and now the key chain becomes a part of his Paris collectibles.

In the evening while he was again checking his collectibles, Mrs Sheila announces, “Krishna, there is a telegram for you.” He quickly keeps his collectibles box in his trunk and responds to Mrs. Sheila's call. He requests Maya to read the telegram for him.

As per the telegram, the village headman has asked him to come back immediately to discuss on an urgent matter. His village is a two days journey in bus and definitely a tiring one. However, if Krishna took the train he would reach early but then his savings would bear a cut. So, he always adjusted and mostly avoided visiting his village.

To get an update when the next part is released, do subscribe to this blog. :)

TWEET this!

Paris - Part 2

Image Credits - Google Images
Story © Copyright Salvwi Prasad