Identity (card)

 “Amma, please give my identity card… fast… or else I’ll miss my school bus.” I said. She came running with the card.

Forgetting the identity card was now almost a daily routine. Just like brushing or bathing or reading the news. I forgot it daily.

I disliked my identity card as much as I liked chocolate. It always made me remember of the bad day when that ugly photo was taken. The day was one among the worst. It started with missing of the school bus. The day was not smooth in the class also. I had a fistfight with my classmate. The teacher also caught me singing during the class time. That was a very bad day. To make it worse, the photo was taken.



Everything happened as usual that day. I forgot the identity card. Amma said the same routine bye. I traveled in the same school bus. I reached the same school, which I studied. The same teachers came to teach. The bells rang according to the timetable. We had lunch during lunch break. We talked, we walked, we fought, as usual. Everything was unusually usual, till the last period got over.

The bell rang. We got out of the class to go home. But this was not usual. I was walking alone. My friends had all made me alone. I didn’t know what I had done. Actually I did not do anything special that day. But they had made me alone. I was surprised.

In the bus also nobody came to talk. This was against the daily routine of having the daily review. Even my classmates did not bother to come to me. The surprise gave way to tension.

The bus stopped at my stop. I got down and started walking towards my home. Something was there within my left shoes, other than my leg, which irritated me. That was unusual. That evening everything was unusual. I did not bother to look into my shoe, as I didn’t want more surprises. I continued walking.

My neighbor gave me a weird look as if I was a stranger. I asked, “ Sudev, why are you staring? Haven’t you seen me before?” He did not respond.

I reached my home. I touched the calling bell. It gave its usual Ding-dong. My mother opened the door. I was about to enter when she prevented by asking, “ Hey lad, who are you? Are you Jishnu’s friend?” I thought, “ Is she making fun of me? Why is she talking like this? Or has my face changed?” I looked at the mirror in my bike. I did not have any change. I had the same face, which I had in the morning. The nervousness increased along with misery.

I stood there still waiting for my father to come. I wished to tell him about the day. He came. When he saw me, he said, “Go home child. Your parents will be waiting for you. Are you Jishnu’s friend? If yes tell me where he is.”

I was shocked. No one was identifying me. Even my parents- the people who gave me an identity. They had forgotten me. No… impossible. No parents can ever forget their child.

But they have forgotten me… no… it is just that I have lost my identity! I did not know what to do. I stood there thinking for some time. I got an idea at last. Show my identity card. For my parents to recognize me. To show my identity!

But it was missing. Yes… the card was lost along with my identity. Or is it that I lost my identity along with the card”? I was confused.

The thing that I detested most was of great use if it was there.

But it was missing. So I started walking from my home. I did not know where the next destination was. But I continued walking. The thing inside my left shoe was irritating. I threw away the shoe. It did not go far. It just traveled a few feet distance. A white paper like thing was the irritator. Yes… it was the lost identity card.



The bell rang. We got out of the class to go home. All my friends walked with me towards the school bus. We walked and talked and fought. In the bus, they all talked to me as if we were meeting after years. Nothing irritated my leg. Sudev did not wear that weird look. We talked a lot that day. Mom did not stop me while entering the home. Father asked all about the day. I felt as if they were all caring me a lot. The usual usualness spread all around.

I got back the identity card. The identity was also back. The photo in the card wore the best smile of the world…


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