Guddi

The old beggar smiled sinisterly, as he sat by the roadside in the crowded market keeping a vigil over Guddi from a distance; enjoying her convincing performance.

‘A real charmer, that one!’ he chuckled, as he thought of all the time gone by since she was placed in his care, some eleven years ago.

Shabbir didn’t know where she had come from, for no one dared question Ustaad, but his wife Hamida had welcomed the beautiful, smiling baby in her embrace and named her ‘Guddi’ - doll. Her pretty frock and tiny booties had been burned immediately and replaced with the patched, multi-coloured rags the rest of the beggars wore.

Shabbir had other plans for her too; she had started showing signs of growing into a pretty young thing… Ustaad was constantly pressurizing him, but it was not time yet. “Soon…” he muttered to himself, as he watched her with an evil glint in his eyes...

Blissfully unaware of Shabbir’s thoughts, Guddi worked her usual day, trying to catch attention of passers-by with her well-rehearsed lines…

“Baji,” she called out to a woman, “may you live a long, happy life…may Allah reward you for helping the poor…”

The woman pursed her lips, “Humph…go away! Why don’t you do some work instead of begging?” she scolded, and turned away.

Guddi stuck out her tongue at the woman’s receding figure. Just then, a girl dressed neatly and prettily stepped out of her car, dropped a coin in Guddi’s outstretched palm and walked away; wrinkling her nose scornfully at her filthy appearance…

Guddi felt small and insignificant. Compared to the girl’s exalted status, she cut a sorry figure with a ‘broken’ arm in a sling, clumps of dirty hair sticking to her scalp, tattered rags barely covering a body layered with dirt and grime, and emitting an offensive odour that made people want to look the other way.

Guddi wished she could swap places with the girl. She smiled dreamily, visualizing herself as a little princess handing out coins to all the beggars,

“Take this, Ammah…have some more!” Or shooing them away contemptuously: “Be gone, you filthy creatures…I know all your lies!”

As she made a sweeping gesture, she caught Shabbir Baba’s eye and immediately pulled herself together. Shabbir shook his head disapprovingly. Guddi felt angry and helpless…

‘I will always be filthy and begging for no fault of mine; the rich girl will always be clean and smiling, and handing out coins to the likes of me.’

She sighed inaudibly and looked around.

“Babu jee, give sadqa for your pretty wife…may Allah give you seven sons!” Guddi called out as she spotted a young couple getting out of the car. The man smiled and winked at his wife, handing Guddi a ten-rupee note…

“Here you go, little girl.”

Guddi watched as they disappeared inside the shop laughing together, the door closing behind them.

She felt alone amid the bustling hordes of humanity going about their business around her, and questioned herself despairingly…

‘Am I forever destined to wish better luck to others when nothing good ever comes my way? ’

She closed her eyes, trying to shake off disturbing realities she didn’t want to face…she had no past, no present and no silver-lining bordering the dark cloud hanging over her future.

A sudden loud scream, combined with the sound of screeching car-tyres, filled the air. Guddi nearly jumped out of her skin. She swirled around to find the same rich girl, in all her expensive grandeur, sprawled on the dirty road. Her grotesquely twisted body unmoving - bleeding and lifeless - reduced to a mere heap of crumpled nothingness.

A small beggar boy appeared out of nowhere, lunged at the purse loosely held in her motionless hand and swiftly disappeared into the crowd with his booty. The youngster behind the wheel sped away as a small crowd gathered to watch, while others just went about their business as if nothing unusual had happened.

Guddi felt an uncontrollable urge to burst out in laughter…

‘Why, she’s as worthless as I am!’

A smartly dressed young man, who was kneeling by the girl’s side, looked up at Guddi through narrowed eyes - enraged, but puzzled.

Laughing hysterically, Guddi threw the coins high in the air. A baffled Shabbir stood up in one swift movement and started walking towards her…breaking into a run, as he saw her rush blindly through the bazaar like a runaway kite in high wind, shouting at the top of her voice:

“I’m better than her! I’m alive! I’m alive!”