Another day in the heatwave

It was in the middle of a deserted street, in the Hindi heartlands of India, Nandu wiped the sweat off his sunburnt face. The forehead lines deepened, as he pulled the cart full of bricks, across a gentle slope of the road. He had to pause and take a swig from his flask of, now boiling water, to keep himself from fainting. The drops of sweat falling on the street, were immediately evaporated from the scorching sun. He swore he could hear the steam rising off the ground. 

Nandu, as the only bread winner of the house, had a tough job. He ferried the construction material from storage to the work site, in the apartment complex site. The multistory skyscraper will soon be the highlight of the city, which would attract the rich and the famous. The swanky and palatial houses within the complex, were already beginning to be a site to behold.

After wiping the sweat off, Nandu splashed his face a few times. As he soon began the humungous task of ascending uphill. 

The construction site had become a second home for many a cottier like him. They rested in a makeshift hut at the site itself, in between work. Nandu went back to his wife and three children, living in a small ten feet by ten feet house, at the end of the day. He was paid in daily wages, and his family depended on that single source of income. He had married outside his caste; thus, he had been outcasted by his village six years ago. He came to the slum area of the nearest city with his young wife. He changed three jobs before landing this one, as a laborer. 

Before he began working at the construction site, he swept floors in a toyshop in the local market, but the shop owner, never paid him his dues and harassed him often. After getting kicked out of a couple of more such jobs, Chandmal, another labourer living in the same slum had offered to help him. He arranged a meeting between him and the construction manager, who appointed him after confirming that he had a valid identification document with him. From that day on, income had been steady, but with the heatwave recently, had been making it unbearable.

As he painfully reached the main construction area, he helped another labourer unload the bricks, and sat down under a tree shade, with Chandmal. The next load will be needed a little later, so he could have a few minutes to relax and breathe.

Chandmal, took out a joint from his pocket and held it between his tobacco stained teeth as he lit it. They took a deep drag one by one and waited for the smoke to hit their blood stream. The heat of the air and the unrelenting sun got immersed with the sensation of floating and suddenly became bearable. 

‘Couldn’t get the eldest one into preschool this year.’ Nandu said, looking straight ahead.

‘He’s still young.’ Chandmal replied.

‘He turned five last year.’ He mumbled. 

‘The shade feels like heaven.’ Nandu continued.

Chandmal nodded.

‘Tell me, do you regret leaving the village for your wife and your family?’

‘Never. I may have the hardest life, but I have the most wonderful wife and children. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.’ Nandu replied slightly provoked.

‘Do you regret this job?’ asked Chandmal.

Nandu thought for a moment, ‘It is a job and I get tired. But it feeds my children and keep the roof on our head. But I want my children to do well and better than me.’

‘Understandably.’

The mason called out for nandu and told him to get on with the next batch of bricks. Nandu nodded and got up from his place. He peddled the cart back to the loading area and waited as the others piled up the batch in his cart.

‘Too much heat today’ someone called out to him. 

Nandu just nodded in acknowledgement and adjusted his head band. He thought about his conversation with Chandmal a few moments back.

Was he really happy about his decision? He has had a carefree albeit poor, childhood. In his teenage years, he had been like a free-flowing river, unstoppable. He worked just enough to not be in trouble with his family. Until the day he decided to marry his wife, he had never worried about anything at all. He hated that he couldn’t provide for his children, like he would want to. What if he were free again? He mulled.

‘Take it’ shouted one of the cart loaders. Nandu nodded silently. He began peddling the small peddles in front of the cart. Initial part was a flat ground followed by a slope. The flat part was covered rapidly, but he slowed down as soon as he reached the uphill slope. 

The sun came up straight overhead and he had to squint his eyes most of the way. The sweat dripped from his head, on his forehead and even into his eyes. He had to keep wiping his eyes to have any kind of visibility.

At that moment, his early free life flashed through his eyes. He could see himself happy and free with his friends. His parents loved him and he was a pampered brat of the village. His heart sank thinking how his life had changed completely. He could feel a lump in his throat rising up and then tears began to trickle from his eyes. The tears mixed with sweat drenched his face, as he pushed the cart harder. He could feel the cart getting heavier, as it now bore the weight of his failures in life as well as his helplessness. He stifled a scream, as he crossed the steepest path of his way. 

Nandu wiped his face clean just before reaching the unloading area. He let the others unload again and remained quiet for the rest of the day.

It was just after dawn, that nandu collected his wage for the day and headed home. He had done a reasonably good number of rounds today. His wage depended on that. He walked quietly towards his house.

‘Baba is home’ cried his youngest daughter, merrily and jumped into his arms. 

Nandu looked at her face. She looked so innocent and beautiful, just like her mother. He smiled looking at her and raised her up on his shoulder. The two elder sons were the gentle kids who came and touched his feet in reverence. Their mother had been teaching them, how to respect elders and behave well. He couldn’t get a better wife than her, in this lifetime. He smiled looking at his family.

Every negative thought he had had the rest of the day, vanished into thin air. He knew this is the family, that is worth sweating for.

‘Wash your hands and feet, I have prepared your favorite sweet along with the food.’ His wife said cheerily. 

Nandu went and washed his face and feet. He looked into a small mirror hung on a wall on a lose screw. He knew his family was the real thing, and the negative thought he had today, were just another day in the heatwave. The heatwave shall pass soon, and there will be other seasons. He smiled at the thought and went to eat with his children.