The Cocoon : The Silent Boy

Natta had climbed the building, a two-storied architecture; the building of hopes and dreams. In a place where all inhabitants were lessees. Where there was an ongoing struggle to make the ends of their days meet. Where people borrowed as less as Rs. 1000 in case of emergencies. The building, which was under construction belonged to Natta's yejman (Boss/Owner) and represented a fascinating tale of success in an otherwise moribund environment. Currently under construction, the building provided Natta with an environment of solitude. Tall, strappy and young by age, Natta had seen many a bad days. Though 20, his face had weathered look, his fringes and parts of his mane had the silver, attesting to various tough days he had seen. The birthmark, tattooed across his right cheek made his appearance even more haggard. His eyes, coal black, were often wooly, dull and forlorn, but seemed to light up every now and then during his frequent musings. Though he did not converse much (especially with me because we did not have a language to share), but he made it a point to ask whether I had had my tindi(breakfast). He seemed to lull around the lane, finding odd jobs in his free time, chasing rats, and fiddling around with nuts and bolts. At other times he would carry loads of 60 kg on his shoulder, where he would be active and animated. The job done, his eyes would slowly return back to their vacant expression, and his hands fidgeted unconsciously with whatever was in front of him. Sometimes, there was a certain curiosity with which he seemed to look at earthly things, and an even more peculiar habit of forgetting them the moment he saw something new. This curiosity reminded me of a baby who looks at anything with great wonder and awe. This enigma was how I had noticed him first; the appearance of a person looking old, but with the strength of a bison, the curiosity of a baby and the agility of a cat.

It was with this agility that I saw him climb the walls of the building under construction. After fiddling around I observed that he had found a place to perch, and amidst the brilliant azure sky and the odd shaped clouds (which seemed to battle each other to create that perfect guise so as to capture the sun's attention, to be the chosen one that the sun would follow throughout the day), his charcoal dark black eyes finally found the perfect spot in this hew to gaze upon and continue on with his chimeras....