It is late afternoon. He steps to the side of the busy street holding a glass of chai, sitting down on the low boundary wall of a cinema theatre. “The chai is for ₹10, I’m left with ₹20…” This is all the money he has, he says.
Ashok introduces himself as a “dihari mazdoor”, a daily-wage labourer. “I have not found any work since morning.” Yesterday had turned out comparatively well, he observes. “I earned about ₹250.” Almost the entire amount, however, was exhausted in his lunch and dinner, as well as in several cups of chai, he says. That is the reason he likes to work as “labour” at wedding banquets. “You don’t have to spend your money on khana.” Each time he lands an assignment for a “party”, Ashok points out, “I get khana for free.”
Explaining the nature of his work, Ashok says that he specialises in a variety of assignments, including hauling sacks of cement and similar construction material on his shoulders. “I can do every kind of hard work,” he says with quiet confidence. He is particularly skilled in “party ka kaam.” It entails being a behind-the-scenes worker at wedding receptions that are usually held in so-called banquet halls. “I help lay the food tables, I arrange the chairs, I put covers on each chair, and there can be hundreds of chairs — you have to do the job quickly… Once the (food) counters open, I have to wash used plates non-stop.” Such an assignment typically lasts until the early hours of the morning “after which neend (sleep) still doesn’t come easily.”
Ashok has been a Delhiwale for 20 years, and hasn’t returned even once to his native Kanpur. “I left my home…” He gives his reasons, and a short pause follows. “Like everybody else, I too have parents and brothers… I did not marry, time passed.”
Although the sky is extremely smoggy these days, a bit of pale gold sunshine suddenly cuts through the grey haze. Ashok looks up towards the light, and thoughtfully stares at it without blinking his eyes.
“Thekedar (contractor) asked me to show up for a (wedding) party in the evening… so there will be money.” He continues to sit, finishing the chai.
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