A DAY BEGINS

I woke up suddenly. Yesterday I had gone to sleep quite late. There was no electricity and so could not put on the fan to drive the mosquitoes away. I was afraid that it was already late in the morning. Unless I go there before 6 O’ Clock I may not get any milk. Thank god, there is electricity now. The fans are running. I switched on the light and looked into the watch. Twenty minutes past five. Went out and got two packets of milk. Switched on the small electric heater. Gas cylinder has been empty since three days. It may take a few more days before I get a new cylinder. There is kerosene stove. My wife uses it. For a cup of coffee this small heater is sufficient.

Hissing noise of water from the street tap, the nearby slum dwellers take their bath under this public tap. They don’t have bath rooms and also toilets. They use the gutter. It smells awful.

Look at this. Not a drop of decoction has percolated down. The filter holes might have been blocked. At any rate whether it is filter coffee or ordinary ready mix coffee, it is only chicory. At home, nobody knows the taste of the coffee. They purchase only chicory coffee.

The ration sugar this time is not bad, good size granules. Sipping the coffee I sat in front of my writing table. I have to finish this booklet today itself.

Sounds from the next bed rooms. Children and their mother are waking up. Where is my brush? that is the elder one. It must be there somewhere. He never looks for anything. Now there will be a row about tooth paste, the tube is flat. There is nothing left in it. However, there is some tooth powder- kept for emergency.