Skip to main content

All In a Day's Work..

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 5; the fifth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.
05.12.2009
Dear Diary,

I am tired today. Very tired.
It was a long day, you see.
It was the ungodly hour of 05:00 am, when we were roughly woken from our sleep by the Master’s activity. As he got ready, I sat waiting patiently with bated breath. Is my lucky day finally here? First the Hair, then the face cream, the Cologne, then the tie, followed by the blazer, the watch and finally, it was the wallet.
He opened the wallet, took a look inside and muttered under his breath, “Hell! I have to stop going to the club when I am drunk! The money JUST disappears!”
Quietly, he reached inside the almirah and reached out for the stacks arranged neatly in the locker. When the Master’s hand touched my bundle, I felt a thrill of excitement run through my body.
Oh Diary, how can I explain to you the sorrows of being a Rs 10 note, in a multimillionaire’s bank? It’s a redundant life, we have no place, we lie unused in the shelf, and yet, we are a part of that count which makes him what he is! So you can imagine my excitement when he chose me to keep in his wallet. I brushed myself clean and waited as he carefully arranged my position in the wallet. The Master is one of those people who are very particular about the order of the notes in his wallet. Thank God for that, it makes us feel special..:) The seniors (1000s and 100s) were placed in the last slot, neatly. Then came the 50s. Finally it was our turn. Since I was the newest (read youngest), I was kept at the back, while the filthy, used and torn ones were arranged in front of me. I felt so proud, I could hear my mother’s parting words when I had left her in the bank, “Son, you are the pride of our family. Though you are just Rs 10, you have your grandfather, Rs1000’s aura around you. Do us proud, son!” I brushed away a tear and made myself comfortable in my place.
The Master kissed his wife a goodbye and left the house in a hurry. He got into the back seat of the car and ordered his driver to drive him to the office. As he made himself comfortable, we got sufficiently crushed. I tried my best to keep my newness intact, but it was difficult! Suddenly, I heard a soft cry. It was the note in front of me. I turned to look at her.
Dear Diary, do you believe in love at first sight? I do! She was the prettiest thing I had ever set my eyes on. The face on the body was glowing; the ribbon sliding on her was sensuous, the pain on her face was touching. My heart skipped a beat!
She had a staple in her and it was getting squished under the Master’s weight. Oh dear Lord, she needed help. I immediately pushed myself upwards and landed my weight on the edge of the staple, sufficiently reducing her pain. Just as she blushed and smiled slightly, I felt a warm feeling in my body. I wanted to touch her, hug her and tell her that she was safe with me. But then, as fate would have it, the car jerked and came to a stop. I heard some voices outside.
It seems the Master’s car had nearly run into a homeless child sleeping on the street. I heard voices that said, “Sir, you could have killed the child. Thank God she is safe. At least give her some money!” The Master’s hand reached for us. I thought I was safe. How could a life cost Rs 10? But Diary, did you know that’s exactly the price of life, when seen from a multimillionaire’s eyes? In his hurry to get out of the situation, he put his hand in and pulled me out of my comfortable hug with my sweetheart! She cried, refused to let go of me, I held on to that staple for dear life. But as I was pulled away, the staple started tearing my Love’s body. I had to let go. For her.
I was roughly thrown into a pair of dirty palms, lined with grease. I could see the scenes of my life fly past me, my mother’s proud face, the walk of pride out of the ATM, the celebration when I was signed by the Governor of RBI, this morning’s elation. All that to end up here?
I stifled my tears and waved a quite goodbye to The Master, cursing him under my breath. I was still trying to come to terms with my fate, when all of a sudden, my new master, lifted me up, peered at me, and suddenly touched me to her cheeks and gave me a kiss! What?
Chah..What’s happening here? I was confused. She smiled and carefully pocketed me in a small pouch hanging by the belt in her frock. Then she frolicked and jumped and happily ran off to announce to her friends that she had just earned TEN WHOLE RUPEES. My little mistress and I became the object of envy to a bunch of rag pickers, as they all poked me, lifted me, peered at me and even tried to run away with me. I could feel parts of my broken pride come back to me. Maybe it wasn’t that bad after all! But I started feeling old already, what with all the activity since morning.
At around noon, my mistress started feeling hungry. She went to a little Thela, and mustered all her courage to order a cup of tea and biscuits. After she had the meal to her heart’s content, very unwillingly, she handed me over to the man behind the desk. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye, before I was thrown into a locker with at least a dozen other notes, and to my horror, COINS!
Diary, I have to tell you this. Coins are considered bad in our society. You see, they are the ones who never get old! That’s just mysterious and satanic in our terms.
I decided to maintain my distance from them. All through the afternoon, there was brisk business at this master’s shop. People came, ate, paid, and got change. And all through, we (the money in the locker) were playing a game. When the master’s hand would dish into the locker, we would start running around to avoid going out. The slowest one would have to leave. It was a lot of fun, but slowly, I started getting tired. There was a scar on my back, a tear in my corner. I could almost feel my mother’s reproaching eyes on me, but this game was addictive. It was finally my turn, but when I was handed over, the customer politely gave me back and said, “Yeh note toh nahi chalega, Bhaiya. Itna kharab ho gaya hai! ”
I was shocked! Was I in that bad a shape? Oh, I shouldn’t have played so much. My master tried convincing him, but to no avail.
Oh Diary, I was so disappointed. I was thrown back into the locker where I sat quietly with a bunch of coins, which were too heavy to run around. This was the saddest day of my life.
As the day came to an end, I heard some whispers, as my master squinted into the locker and picked up the most soiled ones from amongst us. He carefully put a rubber band to hold us and pocketed us. He started walking off to some place. But I was too tired to keep track. I fell asleep. When I woke up, I found myself here. At the feet of Lord Ram in the temple. I was donated in return for blessings!
Maybe this is where my life ends.
Sweet Diary! My Lovely Diary!
I am tired today, but I am happy. I lived, I loved, I played, I longed, I cried, I saved a life. My life began today and came to a happy end today, and it was All In a Day’s Work!

Yours truly,
A Meagre Rs 10 Note
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Comments

  1. Have you read 'The tainted Tenner', this post reminded me of that play or story.
    This one was well narrated and was a very good read.

    ReplyDelete
  2. huh....aila... thats quite an imagination....:D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks!
    Havn't heard of Tainted Tenner, but I did check it up, after reading your comment..Guess it occured to someone else too..:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's some imagination on steroids Preeti. Subtle dark humor ; Refreshingly good.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice take on the topic! :) It reminded me of some essays I would read as a child for English: The Autobiography of a coin or a chair or ____. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Personification at its best! Beautifully imagination, Preeti. After reading so many posts on this topic, I wasn't expecting such a refreshing post. Guess I was in for a beautiful sunday surprise.
    Thoroughly enjoyed reading.
    All the best! Cheerios! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I meant beautiful imagination. Damn the typo. :P

    ReplyDelete
  8. @ Madhu: My honour to have you compliment me! :)

    @ Psych Babbler: That's exactly where I got my idea from..Childhood essays! Thanks for stopping by..:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great post and wonderful imagination!

    ReplyDelete
  10. @ Karthik: A wholehearted Thank You! :)
    All the best to you too n to all those who participated!

    ReplyDelete
  11. That was awesome Preeti. You must have wonderful imaginative skills. I totally fell for the ten rupees note. My dad is a banker and he is probably one of the very few who keep saying that notes should be handled very carefully. In fact he wouldnt even fold the note twice...:))) Awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Quite an imagnation... I must say. Wonder what Pawan has to say... re: this post...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi there.

    Was held in thrall by a "measly ten rupee note". Very simply and elegantly written.

    Good luck and cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey what an idea preeti!! Like harsha said, even i felt like Tainted tenner, though there were some difference :)
    Loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. @ dilontherocks: Thanks! :) You know, on the contrary, I am one of those who isn't too careful with notes. My Dad keeps chiding me for getting home all bad notes..Thats where I got the idea to write this! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. @ Shalini: Thank you..:)

    @ Shruti: Thanks! Like I said earlier, I actually looked up Tainted Tenner after reading Harsh's comment and I must say, very humbly that The Tale of Tainted Tenner is beautifully written. My post pales in comparision, but I accept, I have been patting my back ever since I read it.. Afterall, it is an honour to come up with something even slightly close to masterpieces by O Henry..:)

    ReplyDelete
  17. This was totally new take on the topic ... a tenner's work day.... and life ending at Ram's feet for being soiled & spoilt ....

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow!! An altogether different take on the BAT-5 topic!! Very interesting and captivating!!
    Damn good! :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. @ Dhiman & Shilpa:
    Thanks! Glad you liked it..:)
    Keep visiting the blog!

    ReplyDelete
  20. It was nice. Now, I know what a torn note feel when we donate them to the temples. I wonder what God would be feeling when he sees a torn note.

    ReplyDelete
  21. quite interesting and innovative...
    its different from other posts...
    happening too....i liked ur imagination
    gud idea ....

    ReplyDelete
  22. @ Nethra: Thanks! Welcome to my blog..:) That's the power of imagination, isn't it?Makes a measly tenner the lead protagonist of a touching tale! ;)

    @ Mahesh: Thanks, man! :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Such a cute story..loved it and very well written!!! keep it flowing till the end.... :))

    ReplyDelete
  24. creativity at its best .. life of a ten rupee note .. who would have thought ... simply gr8

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wow.. such a exceptional topic.. I must say u are a very skillful thinker as well as writer!! Great post..

    ReplyDelete
  26. really took some good time to understand the thing.. but nice n refreshing :-)

    ReplyDelete
  27. @ Pushpee, Naveen, The West Wind and Sai Manohar:
    Thanks for stopping by and giving such lovely comments! I am touched..:)

    ReplyDelete
  28. A.W.E.S.O.M.E. is the word... great read... :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks Sharad!
    Havnt seen you on blogging circuit for a long time now! Welcome back..:)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Imagination at the best! keep it up..

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi, fellow blog-a-tonic. We at Blog-a-Ton are planning to welcome 2010 with a grand event. For this, we need your support. As you might be knowing that the format has been changed slightly. Visit the BLOG and help us in choosing the best image for Blog-a-Ton 6. Looking forward to your participation to make this event a success. (Please ignore this message, if you have already made your suggestion or voted for one)

    Blog-a-Tonically Yours

    Narendra Pai

    Volunteer Marshal, Blog-a-Ton 6

    ReplyDelete
  32. Was checking back to see if you had another 'imagination on steroids' post :-)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Them 90s Things - 1 - iTV Music Channel

Starting a random series of all things from a 90s childhood, just so I have a record of these memories for posterity. Do you remember a channel called iTV?  The 1999 Cricket World Cup was when our extremely middle-class, government quarters colony rose to the challenge of cable tv. Till then, we were happily adjusting our antennas and watching wholesome family entertainment on the two channels of DD1 and DD2. Then came the cable wale bhaiya, with his fancy earring, a few TV guides stacked under his arms along with long ropes of cable, promising unlimited entertainment for the entire colony. And just like that, we all got lured. Cable TV bought with it a lot of changes, many of which I assume will get covered in this series. But, today's post is about 1 particular memory which every 90s kid can relate to. A huge letter I revolving on the TV in anticipation of a new song being chosen. Yep. The iTV generation. Not MTv. It was all about iTV. I still don't know what that channel was

Drumrolls and All That

In crass Hindi, this moment would have been aptly defined as "Laut ke buddhu, ghar ko aaye".  Exact translation would mount to "Fools return home" and that's what this post is. So, after taking a break from work, doing a second Masters, getting a job in Singapore and moving countries, I am back on the blog.  Who would have thunk? An year back, I had no idea this is what I would be doing in an year. But then again, do we know what we will be doing an year from now?  Lesson learnt. No planning, no guessing.  Just keep exploring, keep doing new things, keep learning, keep meeting new people. Things will happen. Trust. Like a fool (who returned home!) So, while I discover this part of my life, Singapore, I thought I need the blog more than the blog needs me. Because moving countries is not in the least as glamorous as it sounds.  There's the whole deal with selling all belongings which you have hoarded lovingly over the years. A

Letters to the Upparwalla!

(Wow! BlogAdda made my day! :) ) Prologue: I have been SO so SO so lazy, busy and blank, that I stopped writing posts altogether. But then, on reflection, I thought I owed this one to the unseen forces above. Hence, this post! LETTER #1 To The Gods Above, 1, "All Roads Lead to Heaven" Road, Heaven - 000000 15.06.2010 From Un Faithful Earthling Somewhere on Earth - Does the pin code matter? Sir/Ma'am, SUB: Complaint Regarding Services Rendered             This is to bring to your kind attention, the highly unsatisfactory services being rendered to me, not at all in keeping with the Contract signed during my release to the Earth. Further, I wish to register a complaint regarding the following key issues: Interaction With Irritating People : According to Clause 4 of my Contract which you have also signed, it was mutually agreed by both parties, that during my peaceful stay on Earth, my interaction with irritating people would be kept to as minimum as possi