PAPER BOAT

Two men stand on a causeway, arguing about the nature of change and the fragility of lives

- Manoj Rupda

“Why do you keep on falling into trouble?”

“Just like that.”

“What do you mean by ‘Just like that?’ Are troubles ever any good?”

“There’s a special kind of pleasure in enduring trouble, especially if one endures that trouble to alleviate the pain of others.”

“That means you keep looking for opportunities to land yourself in trouble.”

“There was a gang of unruly kids in my school who used to bully and beat up someone or the other just to maintain their clout.”

“And you used to jump into those fights for no good reason, right?”

“Yes. I don’t know what happened to me at those times. I felt an unseen power take hold of me. And that unseen power dragged me into those fights. But I did not get into those fights to fight back. I got into those fights to get beaten up. I often returned home with broken/missing buttons and a torn shirt and bruises all over my body. I graduated from school, but this habit of mine seems to have stayed on.”

“Well, this matter is no longer a ‘habit’ anymore. And these fights too have grown in magnitude. They are not those small street fights anymore. You do realise that you have got yourself into a bigger battle, don’t you? Do you even know its consequences?”

“Yes, I am aware of the fact that my troubles will grow. Earlier, my mother would get worried when I returned home with bruises and torn clothes after a street fight. But my mother doesn’t worry about me anymore. She has perhaps realised that I am beyond any and all correction now.”

“I do not understand why you need to get into such fights...”

“You won’t be able to understand.”

“Why? Why won’t I be able to understand?”

“Because you are too wise.”