Jun 14, 2011

Bunty aur Bablu


Bunty starts his day with Ramdev Baba style belly dancing yoga. He has been doing it for the last few weeks. As a result, his vital stats have now receded to 40-50-60. Because of the respectable 40, he uses a small mirror while brushing his teeth, so he only gets to see what's above his stomach. The mirror is placed at the balcony on the first floor of his house. He stays at the first floor so he could catch hold of some juicy stems from the Neem tree growing in front of his house for brushing his teeth. He rents the ground floor to a Syndicate bank branch.

Syndicate bank's logo is the longest a dog has ever lived on earth. Neighbors relate the dog to Bablu, the old watchman of this thoroughly faithful bank. Bablu has been working for 64 years as a watchman of this branch of Syndicate bank. Bablu was the one who planted the Neem when he joined the bank. He has watered it for 64 years. He loves to rest under the big tree. From the past few days although, he prefers to stay away from the tree. He wants to avoid the medicinal spits and the mermaidising belly dance show going on on the first floor.


Bunty thinks he owns the bank because he sublets the ground floor to it. He loves the ATM of the bank the most. It gives him money whenever he wants and there's free air conditioning which comes in handy too. Bablu gets tired as Bunty visits the ATM every time he feels hot, which is a lot of times. He always expects Bablu to come and open the gate for him. Bablu believes that while most of the people go in to the bank to deposit money, Bunty only visits the ATM, to withdraw. What he can't think of, is where Bunty deposits his money.

Bablu has seen a lot of ATMs in the city which don't work effectively. He believes that a watchman needs to be proactive and hard working for smooth functioning of an ATM. Earlier today, he thought all his efforts of maintaining the ATM result in only one man's joy, who he hates. Enough is enough, he realized. He took a cardboard and hung it on the ATM machine. He wrote over it what he saw in most of the city ATMs - "Machine kharaab hai". Bunty came down in a while and stormed out of the ATM red-faced because of this dis-service from the bank he owns.

Bablu was not sad about being unethical to his dearest bank. Sitting under the Neem, he reflected on what he did.

He is now packing his bags and heading towards Delhi, where he is going to join Anna Hazare. For he wants to know where Bunty deposits his money, for he wants to question the small mirror, for he wants to take the revenge of the spits, and more so, for the sake of the sweaty 64 years he contributed in growing the tree, silently, since 1947.

For he is the face of the common man who now gets to see the reality at the first floor.

-x-

8 Comments:

Mohit said...

Syndicate Bank ekdum sahi bank tha characterisation ke liye :D

And "longest a dog will ever live" =D

Kshitij KK Khurana said...

Very nice and intelligent and meaningful. Thanks.

Vinay Sharma said...

thanks Kshitij, keep visiting

@ mohit - yeah :D

Adwait Deshpande said...

nice metaphors.
I hope for bablu's sake that all 1st floor residents are not buntys...

Skywalker said...

nice satire on present situation..

Vinay Sharma said...

thnx guys

Red said...

you should be a writer

Vinay Sharma said...

let's discuss that robin :)