Pawanputra - A Short Story

It was an hour past noon. A man was walking lazily past the deserted street in one of the Mumbai suburbs. Due to the scorching sun and the sapping humidity, even the shops were closed and the street dogs found themselves hiding in any sort of shelter they would find. He was a construction worker and was lost deep in his thoughts, as he was walking aimlessly. The crackling sound of a tiny tot broke the humdrum and enlivened the atmosphere.


He instantly looked up and got terribly scared. This young kid was dangling from the second floor open balcony of a flat and was waving its hands, innocently. He looked around and started shouting for help. He suddenly got scared that if the attention of the kid got diverted, it may get scared and the result can be fatal. He positioned himself below and was watching, aimlessly, as he had no clue what to do. A sizeable crowd gathered around him to watch the spectacle. The neighbors of the flat were alerted and they tried knocking the door to no avail. Due to the power cut, the bell button was not working, but it seemed that there was no one inside the house.


Each one had his own idea. Some called the Fire Brigade. Others called the Police. Some even brought a sack cloth to ensure that in case the child falls, it will land safely down. This man got drowned amidst the crowd. He noticed the pipeline adjacent to the balcony and quickly sprinted towards it and started climbing. The people started watching him in awe. The child who was dangling and enjoying himself, by now got pretty scared as its leg had got stuck between the railings of the open balcony. It started crying.


In no time, he touched the balcony of the second floor and jumped inside it. Before the child could take a nasty turn, he seized the moment and brought it in. The child got even more scared looking at him and began to cry louder. The balcony door was open. Hearing the shrill cries of the child, Pawan rushed from the bedroom and charged towards the balcony. He got the shock of his life when he saw a stranger lifting his child in his own house.


He started yelling, “Mere bachche ko chod do.” (Leave my kid alone).
The worker, who had just felt relieved after saving the child looked bemused at Pawan.


Looking at the crowd that had gathered below, Pawan was also at his wits end.
The worker calmly told him that this child was dangling over the open balcony and was about to fall.


Soon, Pawan heard the doorbell ring. The Power was by now restored in the area. He opened the door, only to find personnel from the fire brigade. The Police too followed suit.


Pawan was red-faced. He sheepishly admitted that he was sleeping in the bedroom of the house along with the child. He had no idea about how the child made itself to the balcony.


The Policeman looked at him deeply and broke into laughter looking at the comic side of the situation. The child too laughed and clapped its hands. This broke the weightiness around, and everyone cheered heartily. Pawan profusely thanked the man who saved his child. The real scare for Pawan was in store for him, when his wife would return home from work in the evening and everyone around had a story to tell her.