"Hey, mister…. this is a public bus. Can't you see that board?” Subash shouted at the smoking guy, pointing the small notice hanging behind the driver’s seat. The guy who was smoking and enjoying the pleasant smell of that imported brand of cigarette, with Rajnikanth style, replied “yeah, I can read it…it’s written NO-Smoking!”
“Genius!’’ Subash yelled at him. “Then why are you breaking the rules” he wanted to be a hero in that private bus.
“I am not the only one who is breaking the rule” the guy replied. “Look at that driver”
Subash could not see the driver; but saw fog rising from the front.
“What the Hell..! Driver is smoking.” He got insulted. The guy hanging on the bar threw heroic gesture at him.
“Hell! Hell! Hell!!!!’ Subash is a clean guy, a teetotaler with a good physique. He can handle one or two of these kind of road Romeos or Rajnikanth’s. But he knew he simply can’t change the world. Insulted, he got down from the bus even before reaching his destination.
What they will get from smoking? - Nothing, other than some deceases and early death. Their skin gets wrinkled before they become old. “Nonsense!” wasn’t there a warning on each cigarette pack that it is injurious to health.
“Fools” he walks through the foot path to his office.
“Allah ke naam bheek de de baaba.” Monotonous voice from an old man distracted him. The beggar was sitting on a footpath spreading an old cloth in front of him; some coins were spread on that cloth. Subash searched in his pockets for some coins. The beggar was aged; dark, his both hands were amputated from the elbow. “Poor guy, how he managed to smoke that beedi without hands.” Subash amazed. “Hey, wait a minute. “Was he smoking? My goodness.”
“Hey beggar uncle; Are you smoking a beedi?’ he asked in a fierce tone. As I told before Subash was a clean guy from a clean family. His fore fathers were non smokers. He is from a Brahmin family who starts the day by lighting sweet fragrance of agarbatthi; obviously he despised smoking.
‘What could I do beta? You know I am poor. For us this beedi is like cigarette.” The beggar answered lowering his pitch and in anticipation of getting something big in return. “Go to hell” Subash got a good reason to move from there as he didn’t find any coins to give the poor guy.
Smokers are not new to him. But he wanted to know what is there in smoking. His boss was a chain smoker as well as the tea boy in the office. There are hardly any differences, they are all equal. When he speaks they laugh at him, giving strange looks to him as if he is an alien. This is a smoker’s world. Look at the cigarette commercials, a smoker is surrounded by cute girls. ‘What girls are doing in a cigarette commercial’ was beyond his understanding. He was searching for a girlfriend very hard. That was my Subash.
Epilogue:
Last year when I was on my 2 months vacation I found a guy with similar looks of Subash. He couldn’t be Subash I thought. Sitting on a park bench with a beautiful girl this guy was smoking!
“Hey Sam," he waved at me.
No doubt. He is Subash! ‘Hi, Subash, are you smoking?” I didn’t have any other question to ask; this is 8th wonder of the world to me.
“Yes” he blew some heart shaped smoke rings towards me. “I am curious to see, what is there in smoking. I tasted one, didn’t find anything good; tried another and another - now I am addicted!”