Character 1 : Bindiya: A Drummer’s Daughter

Character 1

Bindiya: A Drummer’s Daughter

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Namaste! My name is Bindiya. I am seven years old. I don’t go to any school. I live in a house under the Sion flyover in Mumbai. Our house has three walls made of rusted tin. The roof is made of some white sheet which my pappa says is costlier than the wall. I don’t know what it is called. My family has six members – my mumma, pappa, two sisters, a cousin and myself. I am the youngest, and the most pampered too. Maybe that’s why I got a toy car yesterday. Actually, yesterday my mumma was searching for a few mineral water bottles near the tracks of Sion station. While she was at it, a toy-car suddenly dropped from a train passing by. Mumma says it’s because God loves me so much that some kid playing with a toy-car in the train dropped it and my mumma picked it up. I can manage with the fourth tyre missing; it’s okay. Mumma says that tomorrow will be a nicer day and she never lies. The second reason why I feel pampered is that my pappa - a drummer who plays drums in marriages - takes me with him every time there is a function in the nearby hall.

Mumma wakes me up every day at 6.30 in the morning, brushes my teeth, bathes me and makes me drink three glasses of water so that my stomach feels full. I usually eat bread and water for breakfast half the week, and rest of the days I eat Parle-G biscuits and water. On days when my pappa gets a chance to play drums at a marriage ceremony, we get a delicious breakfast - masala dosa or idli from an Anna whose stall is near our home. While mumma is out searching for plastic bottles and other plastic things, I stay back and take care of the house. Even though I am the youngest, I like taking care of Chinti and Moni, my elder sisters, and my cousin Rahul. I also like to keep our little house neat and tidy, because it also makes mumma happy. After mumma leaves, I play ‘tyre-tyre’ with my friends. The uncle at a nearby cycle shop is a very kind person, for he gives us free tyres to play. Since I am the smallest of the lot, I get the smallest tyre – the tyre of a scooter. My cousin Rahul gets the tyre of a big fancy cycle. I lose most of the times in the game and then I cry. To make me feel good, my friends purposely drop their tyres on some pretext or the other while rolling them to the finish line to make me feel good. So when I win, I feel like I am on top of the world. I know for sure that my smile makes my friends happy too.

In the afternoon, I eat rice, salt and papad. It is rarely in a week that we get chapati, bhaaji, achaar and other such things to eat. I never grumble about food because I know that my parents strive very hard to buy whatever we eat or wear or have. Then I sleep for around two hours and wake up when Moti- my cute cute dog- comes and licks my face. Moti has become fat with all the food that everyone in the nearby big colony keeps throwing out and he is one of my best friends. Though he cannot speak, I like to talk to him. I also make Moti run by throwing small pebbles at a distance and then shouting “shoo Moti shoo…” Moti runs like the wind and gets those pebbles back. Sometimes, I fool Moti by not throwing any pebble at all and just shouting “shoo Moti shoo!” You should see his face; he gets so confused. Hahaha. I love to do that. I feel bad later but I am sure he also enjoys it.

When we have bread in breakfast, sometimes I hide a slice or two for Moti. Mumma knows that, but never scolds me. She had once told me, “Always treat all living beings with respect and love” and I obey what she says.

In the evening, we friends play lagori (wherein small, flat stones are placed one over the other and then hit with a ball) or hide-and-seek in the buses parked under the flyover. I like playing the latter more because that is when I get the excuse of entering the parked buses and getting a chance to sit in those comfortable seats. When do you think I would get a chance to relax in those soft-soft seats otherwise? My mumma comes back home after sunset and gets us vada-pav from a nearby stall. That is our usual dinner and I enjoy eating it very much. The spicy green chutney that comes with the vada-pav is just amazing. And also that dry red coloured shengdana ka chutney; its tangy taste tickles the tongue. Sometimes, when I feel that my sisters or brother is hungry, I give my vada to them and eat just the pav and chutney. Pappa usually comes home late and sometimes, a foul smell comes out of his mouth. I hate that. I don’t go near to my pappa then. I go to sleep after he comes back, only to follow the same routine every day.

Sometimes I wonder when I will go to school. Whenever a school bus stops near the signal, I see happy faces inside the bus. They wear good clothes, have fancy school bags and water bottles. My mother has caught me observing the school bus and kids inside at times. She then pats my back, gives me a smile and then closes her eyes. When she closes her eyes, I think she tells God to listen to my prayers.

At the signal, I even see dogs or cats peeping out of some big cars. Those animals must be so lucky, to be living better lives than me. Before I go to sleep, I pray to god to give my pappa more chances to play at weddings and my mumma more plastic bottles and other plastic things so that even I would get a chance to sit in those fancy cars someday.

Oh, last week, I turned seven and pappa took me for a movie. The movie didn’t have Shahrukh Khan or Salman Khan. But I was happy to see something that had songs, fight and Govinda. I saw the movie in a small video booth and there were only the fourteen of us. As usual, we sat down on a mattress and enjoyed the movie. This was the fifth movie that I watched and that day ended with a kulfi. I am sure that the kulfi must have been very costly because I could see the discomfort on my pappa’s face when he paid for it.

And guess what, my happiness didn’t end there. There was a marriage at the Savani hall near Chembur the very next day, which is like eight kilometres from our home. An uncle of mine, who plays the piano, referred my father as the drummer for the occasion. Savani hall is huge; so are the functions held there, especially marriages. From what I have heard till now, Aishwarya Rai and Karishma Kapoor got married there. I am not very sure, though.

The marriage was to start at 9.30 in the morning. I distinctly remember that day because it is the best day of my life till now. My pappa woke up at 5 o’clock. I woke up half an hour after that. I had a quick bath, got dressed in my yellow frock that was gifted to my mumma by some good-hearted aunty. I don’t know why she gifted that yellow dress. But anyway, I got dressed and was very happy. And yes, I also wore a yellow-coloured plastic wrist watch. I don’t know whether it was working or not, but I wore it nonetheless. Moreover, I didn’t know how to read a watch.

By 6.00 o’clock, I was ready and pretty excited to see all beautiful uncles, aunties, didis and bhaiyas at the marriage ceremony. My father and I started walking towards Savani hall. After walking for some fifteen minutes that early in the morning, I started complaining. My father said, “Beti, it’s just another fifteen minutes away”. A happy curve appeared on my face. I was not just walking, I was jumping with joy. I could see some fat aunty look at me and wonder why I was so excited. She didn’t know that I was going to Savani hall! After walking for an hour-and-a-half, we reached the Savani hall. The hall was like a palace: the entrance had long beads of flowers, there were two watchmen at the entrance. I somehow didn’t like those two watchmen because they twitched their faces and started talking to each other when they saw me and my pappa. My pappa gave them reference of my uncle and then they told us to wait for an hour. Luckily, there was a banyan tree nearby. My pappa carried me on his shoulders and we sat under the banyan tree.

I could see the people slowly pouring in. There were a few cars that I had never seen before. I had once asked my pappa about the best car in Mumbai and he had told me about Maruti. There was one car which had a small horse-like toy on its front. The other had a circle with three arrows in it. I don’t know which cars they were. But I am sure those cars must have been costly because the people who came out of those cars seemed to be dressed like kings and queens. I really liked one aunty who had a necklace with shining stones and pearls in it. She was looking so beautiful! I looked at the sky. I was trying to figure out whether God was seeing all this and whether he could feel my wish to be like one of those aunties who looked like queens.

By 9, the Savani hall was almost crowded. Then suddenly, a handsome bhaiya came up to my pappa and said, “Bhaisaab, the barat will be here in another five minutes; you can begin now…ho jao shuru”. The moment that bhaiya completed his sentence, my pappa stood up and started playing the drums. It was as if a sudden jolt of current had passed through his body. I was stunned at the energy that filled my pappa. I could read his eyes; I could feel those eyes saying: “This, this is the chance to make hay. This day is going to be the best day of our lives. Play hard. Play harder. Play the hardest ever you have played. Today the whole family is going to enjoy a nice dinner at night. Not even a single moment can you afford to slow down!”

I have lost count of the number of times I have been to a marriage with my papa where he has been the drummer. I have often wondered why people get so attracted to drums. I mean, I shouldn’t complain. But, seriously, drums are just noise to me. Anyway, I could easily feel that this marriage was going to be the most memorable for the family. The simple reason being money! The hall was big; the guests were rich; the bhaiya, who told my pappa to play, was rich. After five minutes, the barat indeed arrived and the dulha stepped out of a huge shiny car with a circle and three arrows shining bright in front of the car. Bhaiya started throwing fifty rupee notes all around. Pappa signalled me to start collecting those. Actually, I was so stunned by all this pompous procession that I had forgotten the reason why pappa had taken me to that marriage in the first place!

I started collecting the notes that were strewn around near the entrance. Bhaiya and one more uncle cheered my pappa to play harder. That uncle then picked me in his arms and threw me in the air. It was out of joy, I guess. I somehow didn’t like it. Maybe because I could sense that my pappa didn’t like the fact that I was being used as an object for playing. That strange foul smell was coming out from that uncle’s mouth, that I so disliked in pappa. But pappa had that smell after he fought with mumma; I wondered who the uncle had fought with.

I shirked and that uncle let me start collecting the notes again. His eyes started rolling and then he took out a bundle hundred rupee notes. I had never ever seen such a bundle. I looked at my father. I guess we both thanked God. A rich person might not agree with me, but my pappa and I knew that for the next few days, we wouldn’t have to walk miles to play drums to ensure food for everyone at home. In a short time, the floor was filled with hundred and fifty rupee notes and I tried my best to gather all of them. Amidst all my attempts to collect the money, I saw a watchman sneak out one hundred rupee note and three of fifty. “Never mind,” I thought. Even he must have prayed to his favourite God. That made me feel that God does listen to our sincere prayers.

After playing continuously for some forty minutes, pappa was asked to stop. I just kept looking at his face. Not beads, but streams of sweat covered his face. He looked at me and smiled. I gave him all the money I had collected, with a warm smile. He then picked me up and kissed me. The sweat that was on his face was now on my face too! I normally hated that. But that day, that sweat wasn’t sweat. That sweat was a symbol of hard work, affection and the satisfaction that God did exist! I kissed my pappa back. We were told to wait near the place where food was to be served.

While pappa was busy counting the earnings for the day, I was busy observing the beautiful dresses, necklaces, saris, chudidars, chaniya-cholis and many things that I didn’t even know existed. The stage was beautifully decorated. The flowers smelt really good. The whole aura was filled with the fragrance of those beautiful flowers. But somehow I felt that the flowers that I smelt were not as good as what pappa sometimes brought for mumma.

On the stage were the handsome groom and pretty bride. The girl was as beautiful as Aishwarya Rai and the groom was as handsome as Abhishekh Bachchan. I couldn’t stop staring at their clothes. In real life, I had never seen anyone as wonderfully dressed as that couple was. The whole hall seemed like a movie set. Pappa and I were then called to an area near the entrance and were given jalebi, paneer-pakoda, biryani, kulfi, aloo paratha and a few more dishes whose name I don’t know. I ate till I burped eight times. The last time I had burped was around five months ago; that too at a wedding. As a final note of goodbye, we met the bhaiya who had summoned pappa to start playing; he gave me a nice doll. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I wondered where he must have gotten the doll from. And I guess my eyes couldn’t hold the question too because he smiled at me and told me, “When I saw you this morning, I asked my driver to get you a Barbie. So here you go!” That bhaiyaa was an angel to me.

We boarded the new Kinglong A/C bus to go from Chembur to our house. The fellow passengers were staring at us. My pappa gave the conductor a fifty rupee and exchanged it for two tickets. You should have seen the smile on my face, and more importantly, the smile and the pride on my pappa’s face. I felt proud in being Bindiya, the drummer’s daughter!