Addiction

Down in the parking lot, I had just started washing my bike. When I heard a cry from behind.

"Sir. Sir. Yaha pipe laga k gaddi dhona allowed nahi hai. (You can't wash the bike here.)"

I turned back to find a thin looking guy in a blue uniform, walking towards me, repeating the lines. It was Virendra, one of the security personnel in our society.

I would have argued with him and eventually cursed the society for making all sorts of useless rules. But today, I was in a good mood, so I decided I would talk my way out of it.

"Bhaiya, pata nahi tha. Abhi ek side ho gaya, dusre side complete kar lene do. (I didn't know. I'm half way through with the cleaning. Let me finish it off now.)"

"Sir, jaldi karo. Koi society member dek liya to muje sunn na padega. (Finish it off fast. If any society member notices, I'll get shouted at.)"

After a few minutes, I persuaded him to let me continue with the cleaning. He waited around.

Then later he began to inquire about the bike. 'How old was the bike? How often I cleaned? Why don't you give it out to clean?' and so on. As the conversation continued, he expressed his desire to own a bike. And how his mere salary isn't enough, considering the fact that, he has to send money back home(Mumbai) every month, to support his family. And how he plans to switch to McDelivery services, just because the pay is more.

Then later I asked the one question that bothered me, every time I saw a security guard standing all alone at the gates, doing nothing. 'How do you manage to stay at the gate? Don't you get bored?'

To this he replied with only one word, 'Majboori'.

So I asked him, how educated he was? He said, he  had studied till 12th. And then I simply told him, why don't you find some work in Mumbai. You would be closer to home, so you would save more. And you could easily find something better off to do, as well.

His reply amazed me. He said, when in Mumbai he is with his friends, doing all sorts of drugs. It has never been possible to work in Mumbai around all this addiction. I know its not good for me, but its hard to control. That is the sole reason I'm working away from home.

I was about to say, 'If you know its bad, why don't you stop it'. But then I realized how bad addiction could be. Even I had decided, I would stop drinking alcohol but never fulfill the resolution.

This small little convo with Virendra, helped me realize how addiction effects.

I would just conclude by saying, 

'There's no harm in trying everything, but Latt buri chij hai'