It was another hot day and business as usual for Nagarajan, a rag picking boy. With a torn short and a gunny sack on his back, he wandered aimlessly, picking up every paper bit along the street. He reached a garbage tank and was soon working on it, when he heard his favorite film song on the radio, from a nearby house.
Listening to the song he picked up every required scrap. The next song too was his favorite, and he decided to rest a while. “It’s time for lunch” he told himself and started off to the tea shop, when the song was over.
At the tea shop, he met his friends, Selvan and Raja. They chatted from sometime, sipping tea with vadas; “Shall we go for a movie?”, Selvan asked.
“No, there is a drama in the community hall; a new troupe is coming from Madras”, Raja replied. All of them agreed to meet at the park in the evening.
Lunch over, Nagarajan continued with his work. He was soon digging a garbage drum, when he noticed a loose kite. He at once left his nearly packed gunny sack and ran after it. The kite got tangled on a tree and he immediately climbed and brought it down.
Having got the kite, he was in no mood to pick scrap. He examined the kite and, whistling a tune, carried the sack and kite home.
Reaching home earlier than usual, he played with his kite, when his mother shouted at him, “What are you doing here idiot, there isn’t any vegetable for supper. Better go and give the collected scarp to Kandan and bring money, otherwise I’ll break the kite”.
Nagarajan immediately carried his sack to Kandan’s waste paper shop. At the shop, all his collected paper scrap were weighed and he got a five rupee note in exchange.
“What shall I do now?”, he asked himself., “Two hours more for Raja and Selvan to come. Maybe I’ll fly kite till then”. He started walking and was soon crossing the temple when he noticed a boy of his age, step down from a car with his father.
The boy had a monkey doll with a pink face and a long tail. He looked at the boy and at the doll for sometime and soon followed them inside the temple. People were standing in queue for the darshan. The boy and his father too joined the queue.
Nagarajan stood before the boy, still looking at his doll. The puja started and people were praying silently while Nagarajan still continued looking at the doll. The priest started distributing prashad. People offered coins and took prashad.
Nagarajan suddenly realized that the priest had reached him. His searched his pocket for coins but found none. Without thinking, he took the five rupee note and offered.
Puja over, people started leaving. Nagarajan followed the boy, still staring at the doll. The father and son got into the car, and soon drove off.
Nagarajan stood still thinking of the doll, “What a wonderful doll”. He then proceeded to the park, still thinking of the monkey doll. Selvan had already come and they together waited for Raja. In about fifteen minutes, Raja too joined them, and they soon started off to the community hall.
“Yeh, listen, I have a very important news”, Raja said; “You know, the paper scrap which we collect is actually sixty five paise per kg. Kandan is paying us only fifty paise”.
“Really” Selvan asked, “But how come you know this”.
“I met a man near the corporation hospital today, he told me that sixty five paise is the price in all nearby villages”, Raja replied.
“We must ask him”, Selvan said and a serious discussion started between the two, while Nagarajan still thought of the doll. Selvan shook Nagarajan and asked, “Eh! Why are you silent, shall we ask him or not”.
“I’ll ask him tomorrow” Nagarajan replied with an expressionless face.
“But what if doesn’t agree?”, Raja asked.
Nagarajan thought for a moment and with a sad face replied, “Maybe I’ll ask his father”.
