A Common Man's Story of Hope!
Meet Bapi! The one-man show. He repairs pressure cookers, mixers, services gas ovens and can even open locks. He is quite well-known in my area. For picking any kind of lock. And for the obscene rates, he charges. Question him and pat comes his reply, "I do house visits. I am doing my work in front of you. All transparent work. I am always available for you. Shouldn't you pay me a premium?" And that is enough to keep our mouths shut. Bapi was not born poor. Rather he was one of those unfortunate ones who was born rich but lost everything to a tragedy. His father had huge plots of cultivated land and a bookstore on College Street, the traditional educational hub in Kolkata. The bookstore was their main source of earnings. He was a well-read man who spent time with his books. All was well, till the riots struck the nation. His father went missing in the chaos. They tried their best to locate him. But ended up clueless. Young Bapi, all of eleven years, gave up the search