Fortune teller Ketki

Fortune telling is an exciting profession and Ketki has been in it for long. It has been 10 years now since she started telling people their fortune by gazing at her divine crystal ball.

She started at the age of 18 after much struggle because no one believed that a person so young could predict future. But Ketki was good even when she was just 12! She has trained in the art of crystal gazing under her master, a famous fortune teller in her village. He had seen her interest and identified her quality long before when she was a small child, one of the youngest students in his small yoga and meditation school. Her concentration was amazing and her grasping power, simply superb.

It’s been 4 years now since Ketki left her village. She enjoyed fortune telling but the village was too small for her. Now she wanders from place to place, setting up her small fortune telling camp at fairs.

It is one such colorful day today and Ketki’s fortune telling camp is at the extreme end of the fair ground. Today is the fourth day of the week long fair and business is in full swing. The first day was not very busy for Ketki. There were very few customers who visited her and were somewhat skeptical about what she said.

The young boy Rakesh who visited her on the first day came more out of curiosity. It is always so. A lot many of the people visit out of curiosity because crystal gazing is not really a very popular way of fortune telling and is new to most of them. They are curious to know what Ketki sees in the crystal – images of the future, some symbol that depicts future or some voice that foretells what is to come?

Rakesh walked in a little excited, his eyes moving all over the dimly lit place. He sat on the seat that Ketki’s assistant, Jeena told him to and waited. It was not till Ketki called him to ask questions that he started feeling a bit nervous. He asked frivolous questions about his past, checking Ketki’s abilities and when she gave him the right answers he became more and more uncomfortable; and finally left after paying the charges.

Jeena was a bit annoyed at the way the boy doubted Ketki’s abilities but Ketki is used to it. She knows a descent part of her earnings come from these people who doubt her skills and eventually many of them believe and come back for a solution to their problems.

The next day of the fair was bright and colorful. The fair had started in full swing and there were so many people around. Ketki’s camp was still not the most visited though there were a lot of discussions among people who saw it. And as evening came, more and more people started coming in. A huge number of them were students, girls and boys curious to know about their life partner, exam results, careers and some others like ‘will the strict Maths teacher be absent tomorrow’, ‘will I pass in my exams’, ‘will I have long hair’, ‘will mother give me more money to spend in the fair tomorrow’, etc; the usual stuff that all college students worry about.

And the next day, there were serious discussions. All people of the area had heard about Ketki and how she was so true about the past life of people. It is day four today and unlike other days, the afternoon is a lot busy. Women, after finishing their household chores, come to Ketki the fortune teller to know about the future of their children, husband, family...

And late in the evening, again when there is not much crowd, the men come in. Those that live in the village and have fields want to know if the crops will be good this year. And again questions about children, family...

This is what excites Ketki. Serious fortune telling. She listens to questions and gazes at her crystal searching for answers. It is a passion for her, to help people out. Often she sees brightness and encourages people to work for the better. Often she sees darkness and guides people to find a way out of difficult times.

Two more days left for the fair to be over and Ketki foresees more and more people coming to her. Her assistant Jeena can also predict this; it does not need occult art. In fact, it has always been so. People start with light enquiring questions that finally end in desperate emotional queries - it is the transition that takes time. Some people open up on the first visit and others take more frequent visits to pacify their questioning minds.

Once the fair is over, the shops will move but for Ketki, it will be another day or two. She always does so - giving people another chance to believe in her and themselves. That’s what fortune telling is all about...for Ketki.

Radha’s Chotu

Winters in Delhi are terribly cold! Radha’s short experience of 12 years has made her aware of the difficult winters.

It was here, in a congested street in Delhi, where Radha was born. Ever since she has been accompanying her mother to work, her mother who begs on the streets to earn a living.

Today is a special day for Radha. It is her little brother’s birthday. Radha has three younger siblings but she is particularly close to Chotu, the youngest, probably because she has taken care of him like a mother. Radha was seven years old when Chotu was born. Her mother used to leave him in her care while going out to beg on the streets with her other children.

When Chotu grew old, Radha used to take him with her to the streets. While Radha begged for alms, Chotu used to cling to his sister all day. He still accompanies her to the streets, tightly holding her hand.

Radha got up quickly. It is a cold day but Radha has to hurry. She has to find a nice gift for his little brother before he is awake. She walked to the street, searching on the road side and the bins for something that he would like. She has no money to spend but still, she wants to find him something good.

There is a florist on the other side of the road but will Chotu like flowers? Maybe not…he is too small for it. As Radha wandered on the streets, she noticed a bike speed by. There was a girl sitting on the back seat and hardly had they gone a few meters that the girls scarf flew in the air. Radha shouted back trying to tell her she had dropped something but they were gone.

Radha walked carefully to the middle of the road to pick up the scarf. It was a beautiful pink, and Radha thought Chotu would love it! She wanted to run away with it before its owner realized that it was gone and came back searching. But, her conscience did not allow. So, she sat by the side of the street with the scarf in her hand, waiting for them to return. And at the same time, she wished that they do not return. The scarf was a perfect gift for her little brother and she did not want to loose it. She would tie it around his head like a turban, and she could imagine how sweet he would look!

Luckily for Radha, quite some time had passed and no one returned. She was happy she would not have to part with the scarf and off she went to wake her little brother.

She leaned over Chotu calling his name and the little boy opened his eyes wide to look at her. ‘Chotu aaj tera janm din hai! Today is your birthday!’ she told him and he was excited! He doesn’t know when his birthday falls but he knows it is a special day when he gets something good to eat. And Radha gives him something special – last year she gave him a toy car! One wheel was broken but mother had attached a bottle cap to it and fixed it well.

Chotu got up quickly and smiled cheekily expecting something and there it was! A beautiful pink cloth that Radha asked mother to tie around Chotu’s head; and he danced and shouted in joy waking his other two siblings.

And soon, it was time again for all of them to go to work. Chotu clinged to Radha as he always does, his pink turban tilting to one side, and beamed. He was happy with all the attention! Mother promised to cook something special and his other brother and sister brought him a kite!

Chotu looked at Radha with the kite in his hand and Radha smiled back to him. He knew Radha would teach him, as always. And together they would fly the kite... high up in the sky!