Pentayya’s Shirt
from Mukhamukhi (1978)
Coal-seller Pentayya had
just one shirt.
When he delivered coal to houses,
when he slept at night,
when he went to the market –
it was in this same shirt.
It looked like it had been dipped in
the sludge of the Musi river.
Upset because of this, Pentayya
saved every paisa, and purchased
after many a day, as he longed for,
a spanking new shirt. A movie
he’d wanted to watch long ago, Adavi Ramudu,
he’d go this evening, he thought –
forgetting
that the policeman’s house urgently
needed coal.
A crisp white shirt. It might crack
if touched, its creases might fade
if worn – he feared,
as he put it on and set out.
He so walked past the coal shop as if he
had nothing to do with it. Just as he
was beginning to feel victorious,
who should he come up against,
who else, but the policeman!
From that day onwards … why that day,
from that moment onwards, Pentayya’s
white shirt was never
white anymore.
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