It’s been a while since I last wrote a piece. The reason is, I was busy looking for something that you didn’t know already; something new, fresh yet crisp. Here I am, with the strangest thing you’ll read on the internet today, the Interview of a Thief.
I met him at the barber’s salon. A frail, ordinary, young guy clad in normal looking loose clothes and a smoking habit that surpassed the definition of addiction. I was a quiet observer to all his words, listening to him with my head fixed, just like the barber wanted as he combed through my hair.
“Father said everyone has a talent and one should improve that and make a living out of it and that’s just what I did”, he said, beating his chest as brag.
“So you started stealing stuff? Pick pocketing? Just like that?”, the barber asked, making the characteristic sound of the scissors blade wrestling against each other.
“Arey to that was my talent na! and mind you, not just an ordinary thief… I was untouched until I had stolen stuffs worth around 15 lakhs, and why shouldn’t I boast of it? I was good at it! They, my prey, could never figure out how I did what I did to them, and I never harmed anyone for anything else except for money. Why should I feel bad about it? “, he explained, trying to prove reason.
“Do you feel good about it?” I couldn’t keep myself from talking to him, although I spoke softly and with my head tilted to my side, fixed.
“It’s not about good or bad. I feel good because what I did was something that I knew best, and that’s what should be done. But for the offence, I’ve already submitted fines and also served the prison for the destined time. I absolutely have no reason to feel bad,” his confidence was making me question myself.
“Were you choosy when it came to finding your prey?” I had to ask him this.
“I robbed the ones who could afford it. Of course I come from a poor family and I know the hardships of life and had I been given superior academics, I wouldn’t have resorted to this. It was only when everything had ended and I had to choose a stream to get settled in, that I chose this life. No family and a single life, this was practically the best thing I could do at that time”, he said, taking interest in replying to my questions. It seemed he liked to get interviewed like this.
“Then you’re a good man, isn’t it?” I tried to push him to his limits; I wanted to know what he thought of himself.
“Who is a good man? Can you tell me? Was Vibhishan a good man?”, he asked me, looking into my eyes straight through the mirror. I was looking at him through the mirror as well.
“Well he certainly was!”
“Then why don’t people name their children Vibhishan as readily as they name them Ram or Laxmana?”, his eyebrows had risen, a smirk on his left cheek and he knew he had made a point.
“But that’s not…”
“That’s because, bad, however good it may do, shall be considered bad only, because people love forming opinions. I could do everything, from bathing into the Ganges to telling you everything or serving in prison for that matter, yet I’d be treated as a criminal forever. Therefore if the bad has to cling to you, then better stay that way!” he said, interrupting me midway. It seemed he was unhappy with the people, the system, and maybe everything. Yet he wasn’t ready to consider himself wrong.
My haircut was done. I walked past him but turned around to shake hands with him.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I just did what was really easy, did it with perfection, and when it didn’t work out, I even served the punishment. What I did constitutes a major chunk of my life and I can’t let that pass away just like that, out of my book. It’ll always be respected just the way it is. It has taught me so much!” and I saw him smile for the first time. Gently, he released my hand and I left. I left with a new vision.
Was he really right about himself? Can a thief actually defend himself with such confidence that it makes me question my own self? And then I turned back to look at him. I saw him, smoking puffs out of the cigarette, coughing, restlessly looking here and there. His state was pathetic. He was trying to console himself, something that his family could have done for him had he ever kept one. Whatever he said, was true in its sense, but it wasn’t exactly how he had wished it to be. Questions kept cropping up in my mind like why humans are so helpless in front of circumstances and why is it so important to have someone by your side always and many more. Nevertheless, a fancy interview for a boring haircut was a good Sunday bargain! Thank you, Lord!
Note: Image used in this post is only for representational purpose.
