The Magic Shoe Box

The Magic Shoe box
I am back in the US after a month long (short) stay in Pune. Just like every other visit to Pune, this trip was also an emotional roller-coaster. And those beautiful moments shared with loved ones are now mere memories that are fading away quickly under the onslaught of my daily grind. There is one memory though that is clinging on to me very dearly and I still wake up at night thinking about that one moment that stormed into my leisurely comfortable India trip.
It was another lovely Shravan (post monsoon) day in Pune. I had just stepped out of Marzorin after eating a chicken roll, a chicken burger and shared a cheese sandwich with Shilpa. The heavy showers had just passed and the sun was peeking out of the clouds as if to seek my attention. Shilpa and my mother wanted to do some more shopping and I was lost in my own world trying to soak in much of the ambiance around me. I was reminiscing about how years ago, I had spent some wonderful Christmas and new years nights at the same spot. All this while, as I was foolishly chasing the time long gone, there was a voice calling out to me. It was a voice of a little kid who wanted my attention, and he finally got my attention because he spoke in English. He said “Sir it will be only 2 rupees”. I looked back at him because this was the first time I had herd a beggar in India speak in English. Our eyes met only briefly and as I was turning away he said “Please let me polish your shoes it will only be 2 Rs”. He kept following me with a little plastic bag in hand as he kept pleading to polish my shoes. There was no way that I was going to let this kid polish my $100 REI shoes, so I grabbed a 10 Rs note from my pocket, handed it to him and walked away. To my utter disbelief the kid kept following me and as I turned around he gazed in my eyes and holding the note out said “Sir I am not a beggar, please let me polish your shoes”. At that moment my ignorance came crashing down and surrendered to the pride of a 10 year old self respecting street boy.
I motioned Shilpa and my mother to carry on their shopping and I stood embarrassed and speechless as the kid started to polish my shoes. In the next 10 minutes I got a glimpse of his world. His name was Ajit (invincible) a fitting name because he clearly did not let his situation defeat him. Ajit went to a mission night school where he learnt 3rd grade English and Science. Ajits life was a constant struggle, he came by bus from Hadapsar (which is around 10 km from the place we were at). He carried a white bag which had a shoe brush and some white solution. He had to walk the street for 4 to 5 hrs to earn just 15 Rs a day. To put that in context it had taken me only around 30 seconds to gobble up the cheese sandwich which cost 25 Rs. With the 15 Rs that he earned Ajit had to support his 5 year old brother, a 2 year old sister and his mom who stayed at home to look after his siblings. Ajit was very curious about my life he wanted to know everything about me, where I lived and where I worked. Just as our conversation was drifting, Ajit looked up and said “Bhai (brother) I feel very sad when people think I am a beggar. Since I carry this plastic bag and follow people around they assume that I am begging but I don’t like to beg, I am just here to earn money”. His words came like a hurricane and striped me off of my cozy existence. I felt naked to my core as I was desperately searching for words to cover up my ignorance in handing him that 10 Rs note. Before I could respond he said “Bhai if I had a shoe box I could sit in my own spot and would not have to follow people around and then perhaps, people would not think that I am a beggar”.
I had no idea what a shoe box was, and asked him how much it cost. He replied that it was “very very expensive” and after further probing he said that it would cost around 350 rupees. We both stayed silent for sometime he was almost done polishing my shoes when he said “Bhai would you consider buying me the shoebox?” I hesitated and then asked him where we would get the shoebox? He asked me to follow him and we started walking along main street. As we walked the fog in my head started to evaporate and I started thinking rationally again. I noticed another boy carrying a bag just like Ajit and I remembered the stories my friends had told me about how they had been duped in India and China before. Slowly I was getting convinced that the little boy was trying to con me and I was determined not to fall for this dirty trick. We finally reached the end of main street and Ajit pointed to an older boy who was sitting in the street polishing shoes. Now feeling completely aloof I walked up to the kid and asked the price for the shoe box. He replied that a big one would cost 320 Rs. I shrugged my shoulders and told him that I could pay only 150 Rs because that was all the money I had on me. I was smiling wickedly in my mind, I knew that these con artists will fall for my bait of 150 Rs and right at that instant I would walk away without paying a single penny. Well I was wrong again, the older kid replied the best he could do was sell the box for 270 Rs. He went on about how he had purchased it for Rs 250 and how he would make sure that he would replace or fix it if anything went wrong (Which I thought was epitome of the capitalistic influence on mostly poor India). Now I was in real predicament because I only had two 100 Rs notes with me, so I bargained again and offered to pay 200 Rs for the shoe box. The kid shook his head and replied that 270 was his final offer. I was ready to use this excuse to get out of this situation but one look at Ajit made me change my mind. The disappointment in Ajits eyes was real. They say that eyes are windows to ones heart and my heart was telling me that the pain in Ajits eyes could not be fake. As I do in most difficult situations, I let my heart take control over my rational mind. And before I knew Ajit and I were walking back trying to find Shilpa and my mother.
The walk back was long and hard. My rational thoughts kept on reminding me that I was acting on impulse. They kept on telling me that I had not committed to anything and I could still walk away. They reminded me that my money would be better spent through a donation to a reputed charitable organization. But at the same time my heart was weeping for the suffering that filled Ajits life. Ajit was talking continuously on the way back but I was in such a hypnotic trance that, I can barely remember my conversations with him and I barely remember the details of how I got more money from Shilpa. However, I remember vividly the spring in Ajit steps as we re-approached the shoe polish boy and the sparkle in Ajits eyes after I bought him the shoe box. It was not the same sparkle of excitement I see in kids eyes when they get a new toy, but it was a sparkle of hope that lights up the dim surroundings.
Ajit could not hold his excitement back. He showed me where he would put his brush and shoe polish. He pointed to the spot where he would sit daily. He was ecstatic about his official elevation in status to a shoe polish boy. Then suddenly he paused and looked up at me with tears in eyes and said “Bhai I will never forget this day, Bhai I will pray for you everyday”. His moist eyes and quivering lips still haunt me, and constantly remind my ignorant mind not to judge people that quickly. Then he said “Bhai I do not know how to pay you back for this”. I could not find an adequate response and mumbled something back to him about how he should remember to help folks when he grows up. It was almost time to stay good bye when Ajit made a last request. He said “Bhai let me please do Bhavani (auspicious term used for the first client/business) by polishing your shoes on the new shoe box. So right in the middle of the foot path (side walk) he was polishing my shoes again for a second time in less than an hour. The only difference was that this time his eyes were gleaming with pride of being a real shoe polish boy.
The shoe box was magical for both of us that day. It was magical for Ajit because it gave him hope of a better life. I pray to any and every god out there that his hope will become a reality someday. I know however, that it’s my heart wishing things again, and my rational mind tells me that my impact on Ajits life was over as soon as we said good bye. Something tells me that, more than likely Ajits life will for ever continue to meander below the poverty line. The shoe box however, was indeed magical for me and that moment has left such deep imprints in my heart that it is bound to change my mind forever, whether I like it or not.




















Ajit with his shoe box.






















Ajit polishing my shoes on his shoe box .

(I have struggled quite a bit on whether I should upload theses image or not. The only reason for uploading these images is that if anyone who reads this blog, happens to be on main street, they can identify Ajit and get their shoes polished.)