Futile Efforts

The morning was as usual as any, early still. Some people had started coming out of their resting place in their walking shoes and some in their running shoes. The ones in their formal shoes were some poor souls who were leaving for work, one of the downsides of a more demanding job.



Mr Doshi stood on the balcony on the first floor of his house. He was not dressed for his everyday walk. He just stood there looking down at the little garden of his house bordered by barbed wires. He made sure none of the passersby could see him.



His wife walked to him with two cups of black coffee without sugar.



“Did you see anyone yet?” Mrs Joshi asked Mr Doshi, handing him a cup.



Mr Doshi moved his free hand to indicate to Mrs Joshi to stand back.



“He or she may see you and not come at all and my efforts will go in vain,” said Mr Doshi 



It was flowering season and the plants in Mr Doshi’s garden had started to reach beyond the borders of the barbed wires and this had started a new kind of problem. In front of the garden was a road which was moderately busy. The flowers had started growing outwards and unless it’s an emergency or any other form of work, very little is present out there to distract us from enjoying the beauty of a flower for a moment or two.



However, there are some unwanted attentions as well of people for whom admiring is not enough, they want to have it, hold it in their hands and take it away into their world to make it theirs.



“What’s wrong with some people? Why can’t they just enjoy looking at the flowers and avoid the temptation to pluck them?” Mr Doshi had said when he first discovered that the flowers were going missing.



“It could be someone taking a flower for his little daughter or an old grandparent,” Mr Doshi’s little daughter Devina had replied and he didn’t say anything further but he had made up his mind to catch this thief.



“You better keep an eye out for whoever it is,” Mr Doshi told his wife



“You don’t expect me to stand out there and watch for the thief the whole day, do you?” Mrs Doshi had said.



Mr Doshi looked at his wife with a disappointed expression, “Not at all dear, I just want you to narrow down on the time when the flowers begin disappearing.”



“Flowers fall down as well,” replied Mrs Doshi as Mr Doshi got up to leave for work.



Mr Doshi looked at his wife with an irritated expression, then he looked at Devina, “Can you do it?”



Devina found the task amusing and it did not take her long to find out that morning was the time when the flowers went missing.



So, here we are back to where Mr and Mrs Doshi stood watching over for the thief to arrive.



A man who was walking on the road suddenly stopped and started walking towards the Doshi family’s garden.



“I have got him now,” Mr Doshi said to Mrs Doshi in a hushed tone while handing her his cup of coffee and then he rushed to catch the thief and let him know the things he wanted to say, just like he imagined he would do.



Mr Doshi rushed down the stairs almost hitting the wall in front of the last stair and then he rushed out passing a confused Devina who had just woken up and came out of her room. 



Mr Doshi opened the gates of his house and out he stepped with his words arranged in his mind to be shouted out. The man was still there, he had been caught, but why was he standing with his back towards the garden. Mr Doshi stood confused looking at the man and the man had noticed Mr Doshi’s presence and stare. No one said a word and soon a cab arrived and the man got into the cab and the cab drove away.



Mr Doshi looked up at his balcony to see if his wife had seen what had happened, but she was not standing there. Mr Doshi was disappointed to have failed to do what he had come to do.


Mr Doshi stepped back into the house.



“Did you catch the person who steals flowers?” Devina asked



“No I did not, I well.. I was just stretching. Fitness you know,” Mr Doshi said as he started going up the stairs.



Mrs Doshi was on her way down, and they passed each other. Mr Doshi waited for her comment on what had happened but she didn’t say anything until she reached the last stair downwards.



“You might get him or her the next time,” she said



Mr Doshi turned to reply but Mrs Doshi hurried into the room to avoid the incoming words.



Mr Doshi went on to continue with his morning chores and got ready for office. He checked the dress he wore and the cleanliness of the shoes he was about to wear and then the contents of the office bag.



Suddenly, Devina entered the room.



“Dad, I think someone has come to pluck the flowers,” Mr Doshi rushed to the balcony, he opened the balcony door, and saw the trees moving.



‘This is definitely the thief,’ Mr Doshi thought, looking at the moving trees, but he didn’t have enough time to go out and let out everything he had to say. He thought of a quick way to deal with the situation, he rushed into the bathroom and picked up a bucket of water and then he rushed back to the balcony and swung the bucket to throw the water.



The water fell down and the movement of the trees stopped and Mr Doshi, satisfied with what he had done, didn’t go ahead to look at who it was. He kept the bucket back in the bathroom and headed down to have his breakfast and then head for work.



Down he found his daughter sitting at the table and eating cornflakes. Mr Doshi sat on a chair and smiled, “You know, I dealt with the thief who stole flowers”



Devina looked at her father, “Really? What did you do?”



Mr Doshi was about to speak when the compound door opened and stepped Mrs Doshi completely drenched from head to toe.



“What happened mom?” Devina asked



“Well, I went out to catch the person who was stealing flowers. I stepped out of the gate and saw her and then all of a sudden, my vision was interrupted by water and before I knew it, I was completely drenched and the lady was gone,” Mrs Doshi said looking at Mr Doshi and she went inside to have a change of clothes.



Devina looked at Mr Doshi, confused about what had happened.



“Well, that is called bad luck,” Mr Doshi said as he started eating his breakfast.

Written by Anuran Chatterji

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