The sipper water bottle

Rasika did not have the heart to say ‘No’ to Nishant. Her only child meant the world to her. She was already exasperated with her life. She had an ugly divorce two years ago. And yes, the divorce was necessary for her, or so she felt. Why couldn’t Kundan give her and Nishant some joy. All she wanted was some happiness. She never coaxed Kundan for everything every day. Well, Kundan could have easily bought her that pretty silk saree. And what did Kundan tell her? ‘Can we buy this next month? I have to pay the home loan installment this year.’ She had never asked Kundan anything earlier. Instead of that pretty silk saree, he bought her another Saree. Well, every choice can’t be his. And Nishant is his legal biological son. All Nishant wanted was a toy car. Kundan could have easily bought that. But then, what was Kundan’s reply?, ‘He already has a lot of cars. We need to stop these reckless shopping spree. After all, we will be moving to our new home soon. At this point, that is more important.’ Rasika had enough. She came back to her mom’s home with Nishant, never to go back to Kundan again. All about Kundan is saving for a rainy day. None of us will live forever. He can’t fulfill trivial needs of ours. Kundan tried to get them back home, but Rasika was as stubborn as a mule. She did not give birth to Nishant to struggle. She will fulfill all his dreams.

Today after coming from school, Nishant said he wanted a sipper water bottle. Rasika kissed Nishant’s forehead and said, ‘Sure sweety. Let’s check on online shopping portal.’ Nishant showed her which bottle he wanted. She was ready to order it, when she saw the price. It was two thousand rupees. That’s actually nothing when it came to Nishant’s happiness. Nishant wanted the bottle immediately. Online orders take time to be delivered. So Rasika decided to buy it from the store. She went to get her purse from the closet, that’s when she remembered that she had forgotten her purse in the car and then her parents had taken the car with them today to attend a wedding. They won’t be back before day after tomorrow. Till then, how will she manage. She can’t say no to Nishant. She thought of calling Kundan. But she knew what would be his response. Moreover, he never cared about Nishant. If he can’t buy a trivial toy car worth thousand bucks, how will he buy Nishant a water bottle worth two thousand bucks? May be she can get it on debt from the store nearby and when she gets her purse, she can pay the amount. ‘Yes, that would be a good idea, she thought.’ In the evening she started walking from her home to the store, which was close by. On the way there was a slum area where laborers used to stay. While she was walking, she saw a toddler in rags and tatters running around, with soot and dust all over his body. He was telling his mom that he was thirsty. His mom came. She was wearing a stained faded saree. Her hair was frizzy and dry, tied in an untidy bun. Her skin was tanned and she was covered with dust from top to toe. She was holding a glass of water. The glass was rusted outside. Rasika did not want to think about the water inside the glass. The boy cried more when he saw the glass. This showed that he did not want water in that glass. She tried to convince him but the boy did not listen. He cried more. The mom had no choice. She went inside and got him water in a bottle this time. Rasika was aghast. She ran to the boy and his mom and said, ‘Why are you giving him water in this?’ The mom calmly replied, ‘I washed it ma’am. This boy is so stubborn that he needs only a sipper water bottle to drink water. How am I to get that?’ She then pointed Rasika to a tiny hut with a thatched roof in the vicinity. ‘See that Ma’am, we are building a new home. If we spend money in these silly stuff, where will we stay?’ Saying that, the lady went inside. Rasika could not budge from there. She stayed there staring at the happiness of the boy quenching his thirst from his ‘sipper bottle’ which was a used “Harpic” toilet cleaner bottle. His mom being a rag picker, must have got it from a trash can. That was all she could afford. For the little boy, it was his sipper water bottle. After soothing his thirst, the little boy started playing happily again. Rasika did not go to the store to buy the sipper water bottle for Nishant. She walked back home in a daze with the picture of the thatched house, the dirty water glass and the toilet cleaner sipper bottle.