The Insignificant ‘Other’.

Salma and Bobby- they were my companions on a lonely Friday evening in march. After my honours classes had got over, I decided to sit down for a while at the Hedua park, sandwiched between Bethune college and Scottish Church college. The street lights were beginning to flood the busy lanes of Kolkata. There is a man who sells tea inside the park. He gives an inquiring look everytime he passes by you. I do not and will never know his name- he is dumb!

I gave him my usual smile and bought myself a cup. There is a swimming pool inside the park. Yellow dissipated lights kept themselves afloat on the calm surface. People were taking their evening-walks. I had myriad of thoughts flashing across my disturbed mind- real troubles and apprehended troubles. I had slipped into my own world, sipping tea and gazing at the water, contemplating life. The reverie was broken by sharp sounds of clapping hands, asking for money. I looked at them. I heard two boys passing by me remark, “Eh, hijra re. ekhoni chatbe sala! Chol, onyodik-e chol.”(hey, eunuchs, man. They’ll bug us now. Come, let’s go the other way.”). And they turned and walked off in a different direction. Their behavior was pretty normal. Sad thing was one of them realized why the boys had changed ways and stole a smile that you could say as something between a melancholia and a mock. And what else could they have done, in this in-between-ness that fate has thrust upon them?

When they came in front of me, I did something that I could never imagine to have done a few years back. When I was a kid, I did feel afraid of them. But today, I asked them if they would like to sit and chat with me. They looked at me for sometime and then complied. They sat on either side of me. The chai-wala was making his second round. I bought them two cups of tea.

“What is your name?”

“Salma.”

“And yours?”

“Bobby.”

“where do you people stay?”

“Sealdah.”

Bobby asked me, “So, what do you do?”

“I am studying in a college.”

“I see. We don’t have to take up these troubles, you know.” Bobby gave this mocking smile.

Salma smirked and added, “No-one would take us into schools in the first place. And even if they do, others won’t let us survive there, would they?”

And both of them laughed aloud!

I kept quiet, staring at a banana peel someone had carelessly thrown on the pavement.

“I want to write something about you.”

“And what do you want to write? We become neither lovers nor terrorists!”, Salma winked at me.

Bobby added, “And yet they feel afraid of us, don’t they?”

I gave them an embarrassed nod. A chana-wala was passing by. I asked them if they would want to eat something. They said ‘yes’. So, I ordered for three mixed-chhola. Salma paid the bill to an astonished chana-wala!

They did not stay long. They said they could not. Before we parted ways, they shook my hand and said, “You’ll be a great person someday.”

People say that eunuchs have powers of prophecy! For one moment I was really happy, and then I hated myself for any kind of joy that had made its way into my heart. Am I so selfish, so indifferent to others’ pain?

Salma and Bobby are two of those insignificant ‘other’ who are not recognized by the society – they have been barred from education, job and life. And what is their fault? Who are we to disown them as part of the society? Who has ever said that only those people with biologically-logical sexual parts are eligible to participate in socio-political-economic affairs of the society? Who are we to jeer at them? It could have been anyone of us!

Politicians raise cries of love for the so-called religious and communal minorities. Where are the ‘other’? Do they vote? Is this our democracy? The “other” are looked upon as jokers in this circus of the world- as the mystical ‘other’ whose curses come true and are looked upon with awe, sometimes fear and often, disgust.

I wonder why Gandhiji never thought of the other harijans who are very much a part of the society! Maybe some of them would make it to the army, someone would come up with the genius of a scientist, someone a teacher, someone a doctor!  What a waste of human potential!

The Government can open schools for them, train them in art and crafts, sports. Why can’t they play cricket?  The government has made reservations in educational institutions and jobs for the physically challenged. And what with the eunuchs? They can walk, hear, see, talk, write- but nothing is done to improve their situation, and all because they lack sex-organs!

The world is funny, ain’t it? And we obviously don’t care, do we? We do not have time, ain’t it? Yeah, no time to think about them and do something about them, but enough time to make up jokes about them, right? C’mon then, my friends, let’s sit back and share a laugh, shall we?