DEPARTMENTAL CHOR

Sugar 12 kilos - Check

Bathing Soap 20 bars...no, 30 bars - Check

Masoor Dal 15 kilos - Check

Tur Dal 15 kilos - Check

Salt 15 kilos - Check

White Bread 20 packets - Check

Butter 20 packets - Check

Fabric-Washing Detergent 4 kilos - Check

Milk Pouches 20 litres - Check...

As Anshuman kept dropping grocery items into his jumbo-sized cart, he failed to notice two GleeMart attendants talking among themselves.

"This man...is he crazy?" Santosh frowned, "Look at all that stuff he's taking away. And wasn't he here last morning as well?"

Aparna nodded, "Not just yesterday...He comes here at least 4 times a week. And he carries all that stuff in a small tempo."

"What is he? A shopkeeper?"

"My friend lives in a chawl near his housing colony. He's actually a banker. But he owns a pharmacy there which his cousins run. This pharmacy also doubles up as a provision store in the locality."

"Is he even allowed to take these many quantities?" Santosh protested.

"He's smart. He's definitely not here alone" she said, pointing towards two young boys shadowing him. They looked like they were still in their teens - probably helpers from the pharmacy.

"Wow! Some businessman he is. Considering the rates we offer, he probably earns a pretty good profit."

"Absolutely! He even levies cooling charges on items like milk and fruit juice. Best part is he doesn't even have to store these items for long, since these are fast moving items."

"Boy...if I ever manage to save up some money, I know where I'm going to invest it!"

They both laughed and gave each other a high-five.

Sometime later Anshuman revisited his shopping list. He had managed to get all the things he needed, except for dishwashing liquid. He desperately needed it - it was for personal use. Alas, the dishwashing soap shelf was empty today. He would have to make yet another trip to the departmental store tomorrow.

Anshuman called the boys and divided the stock among themselves. He gave both the boys some cash and whispered instructions into their ears. He then guided them to stand in adjacent lines in order to save time, and himself proceeded towards a line nearby.

In front of him in the billing line was a man and his little daughter. Although they were all wearing masks, he recognized from instantly because of the cute little cap she was wearing on her head - the girl and her father lived in the same locality. She had lost her mother at birth; she was therefore the apple of her father's eye. Anshuman would sometimes stop to play with the girl on his way back home from office. 

He dropped his mask a bit while waving at her with the other hand. "Hi Bulbul!"

The girl and her father both turned to look at him. "Hi uncle!" she babbled like a typical five year old.

"What a cute little girl doing here at GleeMart?" Anshuman asked her playfully before turning towards her dad and smiling inside his mask.

"Dadda brought me for shoppy-shoppy!"

"Wow! You're helping dadda?"

"Yeah uncle!"

Anshuman laughed with her. He simply loved the innocence of kids.

He then inspected their cart. There was hardly anything in it - just some essentials in small quantities. Essentials like salt...sugar...rice...some biscuits...tea powder...milk pouches...dishwashing liquid...

'Wait a minute! Dishwashing liquid???' he thought to himself, 'Where the hell did they find it? The shelf was empty!'

Maybe they just got lucky. Or maybe the store had replenished stocks a while ago and he hadn't noticed. He cursed his luck.

Anyway, there was not much he could do now; so he decided to talk to the little girl.

"Hey Bulbul...what do you do at home all day? Do you still go to playschool?"

"Nah...schools have gone on early break for the year", her father responded while waiting for his turn at the billing counter.

"You must be working from home I presume. How do you keep her busy? Does she have enough toys at home to play with?"

The word fell on alert ears. "Dadda, I want some toys...please!!!"

"Sure beta...what do you want?" her father obliged without batting an eyelid.

"Why don't you accompany her to the toys section? Don't worry, I'll hold the line for you."

"Hey, thanks man! We'll be back in a jiffy."

"Absolutely no problem."

The father-daughter duo dropped out of the queue, leaving the cart under Anshuman's watchful eye. They were back just in time for the billing.

The little girl and her father looked at each other with eyes full of excitement, because they now had a bunch of new toys to play with.

And Ashuman giggled to himself with a sense of achievement, because he now had his dishwashing liquid.