Since
the time i heard about the fight going on to save the canteen i would always go
there to see if protest has stopped. I wanted to talk to them and know the
reason for saving it. It was just a canteen after all. One fine day i saw only
people standing there. These were those people who were protesting the takeover
of canteen. There were no authorities and no millionaires standing to argue or
bargain. I went to them to talk. When they saw me their expressions kind of got
low. I am sure they must have thought that i was there to bargain and argue. They
gave me some angry and unwelcomed looks. So i left and decided to talk to them
later. This continued for some days. One day i went to them and made it clear
that i was not from the opposite side and i only wanted to talk. They had no
idea if i were lying or saying truth. A well body-built guy came to me and
asked me to show my identity card. It was clear to a lot of extent that he was
a student. Do not ask how i know grandchildren. This is what people call
experience. At my age, which we know is 76 though i look young, we can tell
about other people only by looking at them. I showed him my licence and after
he was convinced everybody allowed me to enter the premises.
I
knew that everybody was tensed. Even if there was no one standing against them
for a few days they would everyday gather with posters with messages like “go
away this is our place” and “just get some other place, and legally please!”. I
had to start a conversation to know why everybody was protecting that place. I started
by saying “Hey!” after which i seriously had no idea what to say. I was
expecting something from their side. A fat guy from behind the crowd came to
with a glass of water and said “everybody is tired as no one has slept for last
10 days”. I was not happy to hear that. So i asked if they wanted me to come
later. When i asked, a person who was standing in the corner asked me to do
what i came to do quickly. Even though i had told them earlier that i only
wanted to know the reason for protecting the canteen i repeated it with a more
caring tone. The guy who first checked my identity card came forward and said “okay,
we will tell you why we want to save it”. And that was it. I waited for 5
minutes but no one said a word. But then suddenly the guy who checked my id
card began to talk.
My
name is Rahul and here is why i do not want this place to go down:
I did my schooling from hometown. From birth
to 12th std i was with my parents. I would see them every day. They would
see me every day. We would often get into fights for not allowing me to go to late
night parties. But you know what? We would also get happy to see that we are
safe, we get to share smiles, cries, food and every other moment possible. I remember
vividly when i fell sick. I was not able to sleep the entire night. The entire
night i only vomited and that kept my parents awake. I was awake because i was
sick but my parents were awake because they knew i needed them. Nobody can
compete with our parents. Everybody is selfish. I asked my mother that night if
she could cook something for me as i was hungry. She did. Recently i got ill
again. I usually go to canteen to eat at 10am for breakfast, 2pm for lunch, 6pm
for evening snack and 9pm for dinner. But one day i did not. One of the canteen
boys came to my room to ask if i were okay. I told him about my condition which
he then narrated to his co-workers. I got a call at 9:30pm from the canteen. It
was Shyaam bhaiya. He said, “this is my number. I will be in canteen for the
whole night. Call me if you need anything”. I called him at 3am and asked him
if he could cook a parantha for me. He did and delivered it to my room. Our PG
is right in front of the canteen. So it was not a big problem for him.
He
did not say anything else and stepped back. Another boy came. My name is Arnav
and this is why i do not want this place to go down:
There was a time when i thought i was in
love and i was in love, alright? Okay. fine. I lost her to someone else. But that
is not the point. I came here, met someone else and now i am happy. She loves
me and i feel good when i am with her. Recently we were supposed to do a
project together so i asked her if she could come to the canteen to do the
work. She said no as it was right in front of the boys’ pg and chances were
there would be many boys looking at her like animals. I asked her to spend only
15 minutes and if uncomfortable then we would leave that place immediately. She
came, sat and we guys did our whole project in the canteen. It took us nearly 3
hours. After 3 hours she said that it was good. She had no idea that she would
feel nice here.
This
was his story and frankly speaking, after two stories i still had no clue about
why they wanted to save the canteen. Then the guy who was standing in the
corner came and introduced himself. His name was Kuldeep, owner of the canteen.
He saw the confused expression on my face and said, “there are many reasons why
we do not want this pace to go down. The basic reason is that their acquisition
is illegal. Second, what these boys really wanted to say was that this place
means a lot to them”. Rahul came and
started to speak again. He said, “summary is that we have a lot of memories
here. Kuldeep bhaiya is ready to sign the paper. But we do not want him to and
we all know that he also does not want to. It is not only about money. This place
has been our home for many years. This place has seen people falling sick and
taking care of them, outsiders including girls feeling safe and homely here,
fights of friends on topics which later made them laugh, failure of people in
securing good marks, securing a job and this place has been the only place
where we would love to have food and laughs no matter what happens”.
He
stopped for some seconds. I said, “yes but aren’t they offering you a land somewhere
else?”
Kuldeep
said, “the land that they are offering is bloody 50 kms away from here”. It was
really far. Rahul came in again and before he could say another word i said, “you
do not have to say another word. Your words have shown all the sentiments you
have for the place. I know how it feels when you lose a place that you think is
all and only yours. A place where you can come, knowing that people and food
are always ready to make you feel better. It is not about money and definitely
not only about legality. It is more than that. It is about losing a part of
your life”.
No
one said another word. We knew that emotions were clear and everything has been
understood.
I
stayed there for 30 more minutes. In these 30 minutes there was only silence
when suddenly authorities came with a bull-dozer. It was 50 against 7 with a
bull-dozer. A guy took out a speaker and started shouting, “get out now. This canteen
will be demolished in 10 minutes”.
While
everyone stood up and went to the gate to begin their protest and sat their
realizing what i could do. The voice was familiar. I slowly went to the gate to
confirm. When i saw the person, he was no one else but your father.
We
looked at each other, shared some telepathy talks and then i asked him if we
could talk in person. 15 minutes later he took every person back and made the
final announcement that the canteen will always be there. All this happened
last week. Now you know what i was up to last week.
“Grandpa,
you said that you knew how it feels to lose a place. How? Did you also go
through such an incident?” asked one of his grandchildren.
“And
grandpa, what did you really tell father that he took his decision back?” asked
another.
He
just smiled and left saying, “sorry folks i gotta go. I have a date”. He winked
and left.
