Of jhadoos .....

No sleep.
Storm in skies.
At the window,
clouds bang,
light up wind and scramble
of raindrops...
a star dropped bedside;
in long agos, dateless,
gods were alone;
stars blinked for company;
earth and humans
built homes
for gods and stars;
gods and stars blog,
no priests to edit;
they have no tales;
picked tale-telling
from humans;
hey, jhadoos and brooms dust up,
stir tales,
soft and hard ...
that's where you score over us,
keyed in gods and stars;
earth wins always...
par for life and living;
the bedside star, shivered,
pressed for filter coffee,
to go with the cold;
sipped,
left with the dawn....

... rains been on for too long in Mumbai; Mumbaikars are in protest. At home in the morning, Madhavi is depressed,wet. Having Rama breakfast of hot rotis and sabji plus tea, she talks of clothes not drying, of clients complaining, this and that; being Friday reminds herself starting with a new soft jhadoo she bought for Rs.70 on Thursday; she lights the diya before the gods, applies kumkum to the hard handle of the jhadoo, says a prayer and puts the broom into work. 'Maaji, jhadu bhagwan hai, Lakshmi hai. Diwali ke din hum log puja karte hain,' she tells Rama who has handed over charge to Madhavi. For an hour they chit-chat; Rama cannot do without her smiles and chats and selfies. Rama is amused as by her custom jhadoo is unsacred; to be hidden behind doors; like many things she goes by Madhavi as Goddess Lakshmi is always welcome. Yes, there is some logic in assigning a premium status to the jhadoo. Madhavi dislikes the plastic broom as there is no earth and corn and god into its making and she prefers a traditional Goddess Lakshmi. Am not aware if the jhadoo enjoys upper caste tab in other parts of India. The door bell rings ... tall Sooraj, a dash of Shashi Kapoor on him, from Udit Stores, walks in with 5 kg of chakki wheat, unskins the raincoat... unloads wheat into a many years old aluminium container ... waits for the bill to be paid plus tips....he is 16 or 17, not sure of birth date having passed Class 9, from Jodhpur.... 'gaon jaane ka hai', he says with a wispy smile... he does not know what he earns as the malik or is it seth deposits the salary with his father ....  in 2016 a young boy works from 7 in the morning to 10 in the evening, the norm these days in Borivili with no offs and is not aware of his earnings ..... going by Sooraj ... well, the door bell calls and at the door is dearest Tarun from Milan Medical Stores ... his smile has a washed, ironed, fresh look; perhaps on Yogi Nagar Road, Mayur Medical Stores and Milan Medical Stores, jointly owned by Palitana men, have the finest attenders with Tarun tops .... on a quarter of an excuse he goes away to his village near Palitana .... in an unreserved compartment of an overnight diesel train... when me and they have nothing to do, chat; a month ago, they overcharged Rs.200; me did not realised; Tarun came home with Rs.200 in his pocket and smiles on a creaky bicycle; today Tarun is thinking of Deepavali, Palitana, sisters and brothers... the next passenger train and cycle home ... crops ....this year the rains have been good....