Hope

After a tiring day at work, Madhav returned home in the evening. He saw his five year old son was playing with his toy car which looked like it was in need of repair due to countless unintentional accident. His wife was preparing the dinner.

Nachiket came running towards his father and gave a gentle hug. He said “Father, tomorrow is my birthday; I want a new toy car as the old one is broken.” Madhav looked at him with a reassuring smile and replied, “Yes I will get a new toy car for my son.”

Madhav’s wife looked at him with surprise because she was aware of the fact that he would not be able to fulfill his promise to his son.

Madhav received daily wages for his work which helped his family to sustain a hand to mouth existence. There was no opportunity for luxury, but survival seems the greatest gift.

Yet, he never gave up on himself and believed some miracle would relieve him from the misery of poverty.

While returning from work as usual, he was passing the market street which was lined up with all the shops. He paused in front of the lottery shop and thought of buying a lottery ticket. He
was also aware that spending some money from the part of his wages would mean less food to eat for his family. He thought, even with all the odds of losing yet there was some probability of winning. If his ticket could bring forth the magic numbers for win, through sheer stroke of luck then he could afford to buy a new toy car for his son. His son’s happiness meant everything to him. So he decided to buy one lottery ticket in a hope of a miracle.

Next day was Nachiket’s birthday. Madhav wished his son and left for work in the morning with a reminder that his son was expecting a gift from him. Whether he would win and would he be able to buy a gift for his son, weighed heavily on his conscience the entire day.

The day was done and he was on his way back home. He completely forgot where he kept his lottery ticket and believed it has been misplaced. Soon he neared the lottery shop and trudged towards it. Then, he checked his pockets of his trousers again and felt a piece of paper stuck inside. It was the lottery ticket. He thanked the Almighty for returning it to him.

The lottery shop-owner Nilamber was Madhav’s childhood friend. He knew Madhav never indulged in anything luxurious so found it unusual that he had purchased a lottery ticket. Madhav asked Nilamber, “Nilu, can you please check my lottery ticket and confirm if it has won any prize?”

Nilamber replied, “Your ticket has won the last prize though not a decent amount.”

Madhav stood expressionless, not knowing what to think or say. He returned home.

The prize money could only recover the cost of the ticket. Madhav entered his house and found Nachiket waiting for him in a hope of receiving a gift but soon realized that his father came empty handed. Madhav looked at his son, unable to say anything. Nachiket broke into tears after realizing there was indeed no new toy car for him. Madhav could bear that sight, yet he was helpless.

Next day, while returning from work, he headed towards Nilamber’s shop and asked him,

“Can I have a lottery ticket, please?”