WARM

 

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
He was tired. He wanted it to stop. All he wanted was a warm hug. A hug from his mother. 
He touched his woollen sweater. It was warm. But there was a flow. It felt sticky. With shaking hands he lifted his palm towards his face. 
The palm was red. 
Blood Red. 

Chintu realised that he had been shot. 

A sigh erupted from his lips.

”Amma”

                           ----------////----------

Chintu was his pet name. Over the years he and all around him had forgotten his real name. Originating to depict his short height, which was pint size, the name stayed. He was sure his mother would remember his real name. After all, she was the one who gave him warm hugs and kisses and had showered him with love and affection. She was the one that had affectionately started calling him Chintu.
But she was not here today. It felt like ages back. 

Back, in his hometown in the villages of Tibet. 
Born as an only child he was pampered and loved. His parents were shepherds and tended sheep and goats. 
As he grew and his legs were capable of running around he would accompany his father as he went about his daily chore of tending to the flock. He loved to frolic around with the mischievous kid lambs as they bleated and played in the grassy plains and mountains. Tibetan sheep wool ranked among the highest in quality for carpet production due to its elasticity and deep lustre. It provided warmth. 
He was intrigued by the ritual of fleecing of the sheep for their wool and also visited Tashi’s place where the wool was processed and threads got from it knitted into sweaters, shawls and carpets. His young brain of ten years grasped it all. And he enjoyed every bit of all that he observed.

Tashi was just Tashi.
Tibetans never had surnames.
He was not related but held an important role in his parent's life. His father depended on him to convert their products into cash. Tashi was a crook and took advantage and short-changed them but the poor illiterate had no other option. 
Tashi’s business was far-flung and he managed to even travel to the distant Mayanagri Bombay.
One fine morning as Chintu woke up his mother came up to him and gave him a tight warm hug. She just held onto him and refused to let go. She had tears in her eyes and she started wailing. ”I will not let go of Chintu.”
His father also tearful tried to console her. ”It is just for a few years. Tashi promised to keep him in Bombay and get him well settled there. He can then travel back frequently. We need to sacrifice to give him this start in life. We cannot expect him to lead our type of lives. We have to let him go.”
Chintu did not understand what all the drama was about. He just looked up to both of them dove eyed and tightly clung to his mother.
That same evening Chintu travelled with Tashi and twelve other boys around his age to Bombay. It was a very long journey and a gruesome one over days and weeks. Along with the goods like sweaters, shawls, hemp and carpets, there was one more item unknown to the kids that was concealed and being taken. 

Hashish!!

Tashi was also a drug smuggler and a child trafficker.
Once in Bombay Tashi handed over his goods including the contraband to his local partner Karma. He also offloaded the kids.
Karma had a small network of Tibetans who acted as mules for the cannabis. 
These were a select few who had worked for a few years and graduated their way up from the bottom rung.
The kids, like Chintu, who were new started in the bottom rung by selling the wool products on the streets.
Small innocent kids were preferred for this as Karma played with psychology. Young innocent faces melted passerby's hearts into making purchases. Sales rocketed for him.
However, it was a hard life for the kids and they lived and worked in appalling conditions. 
They were ill-treated by Karma.
But there was no other option. Tashi was not to be seen. He had probably gone back to Tibet.
Bombay was overwhelming, it was a big new city and they were small. They hardly saw the area apart from their habitat and their market street. This was their well. This was their world.
This was how the early year's had passed for Chintu. 
Four busy year's passed in Bombay. 
It felt like four decades. 

He missed his parents especially his mum's warm hug. 
He had given up hopes of going back to his village. To remind him of his past and to be connected to his mum, during winter, he would wear a loose brown wool sweater his mother had knitted for him. It kept him warm and reminded him of her love.  

                           ----------////----------

One morning, Tashi was suddenly back. Visiting the kid's accommodation he selected Chintu to accompany him on an important mission. Karma was going to introduce Tashi to a new dealer in town.
His name was Dilawar Khan and he was a feared criminal. A deal with Khan would be a good break as the price he offered was high and also there was the prospect of a long term partnership. The quality that they were offering from Tibet was top class. 
However, there was one hitch. Police were hunting for Khan. He however played hide and seek with the law and was adept in staying away from their clasp.
An exchange was going to be made with Dilawar Khan and a date, time and place was decided. 
Tashi and Karma had cleverly taken Chintu to transport the drugs.
Hundreds of small 5gms called pillow packets were stuffed in his pant, shirt, sweater pockets and a zipped waistband. They were confident that Chintu could escape any situation due to his stature. He was given clear instructions that if anything went wrong he should somehow evade the cops and slip out. They were clean and if caught the police would not have any proof of the hashish. 
In the past, Chintu had seen his seniors with these black and brown packets. He had heard how users of these packets initially felt warmth and bliss on partaking in it. He has also heard that once they started taking it, they got addicted and it destroyed their lives. He loathed the fact that today he was a part of this crime. This was Chintu’s first encounter personally dealing with the drug. 
The meeting was scheduled in Kala Ghoda a business area in South Bombay. The place buzzed during the day but was deserted at night. It had long unlit lanes where a lot of the city backhanded deals were made.  All three of them had walked for quite a few hours and had now reached the spot for the exchange. 
Chintu was positioned behind a pillar and instructed to stay hidden till Tashi called out for him. The full moon cast its shimmery glow in the cloudy grey sky as they waited expectantly for the dealer to show up.  The street was deserted apart from a few stray dogs lazing around. Their occasional yelps were the only sound that erupted in this otherwise eerie silent space.

A single lamp post flickered on and off due to a bulb that was reaching the end of it's life cycle. When on, it cast a dull luminance. Moths buzzed around the glass enclosure of the holder.
After about half an hour of jittery wait, a tall turbaned giant like man emerged from the shadow and glided towards the two Tibetans. Draped in loose traditional clothing he had an air about him
As he stayed hidden behind a pillar Chintu could see Tashi and Karma shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with the gangster.  He had come alone. When Tashi was satisfied that the purchaser had brought the money for the deal he whistled signalling Chintu to approach him. As the frightened boy was about to step out from behind the pillar, sirens blared from both sides of the road. Shrill sounds from the policemen whistles blended in with the barking and yelping of the suddenly frightened stray canines. The cops had got a scent of the absconding criminal. They had got a solid tip from one of their informers and had descended on the lane.
All three dealers and Chintu were surrounded and trapped in the back lane with no bylanes to exit. All shops lining this deserted lane were shuttered and padlocked. There was no place to run. They were cut off.
At this stage instead of giving themselves up, the burly gangster  made the mistake of taking out his revolver. He started to fire at the police. 
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. 
They responded with indiscrete firing from all sides. The men in uniform had come prepared. They wanted the gangster dead or alive.
 Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Hearing the shots a slow fear started spreading within Chintu. He did not want to be a part of this. He was tired. He wanted it to stop. He did not want to be a part of this cold unscrupulous violent world. He missed his mother's protective warm hug. 

That's when Tashi, Karma and the gangster were killed in the police firing. 
That's when a lethal bullet penetrated Chintu’s chest as well.
That's when he felt the warm sticky sensation. 
That's when, with a sigh ’Amma’, he breathed his last.