ORDER ORDER

It was 10:30 am on a Saturday morning. Thankfully, this was the second Saturday of the month, which meant it was officially a holiday for bank employees. But since Anshuman also owned a pharmacy - it was being operated by his cousin Dinesh - he sometimes spent a few hours of his weekends helping his cousin. It wasn't just about being a helpful relative - a good businessman always kept a close watch on his investments. Yes, Dinesh did have a share in the profits, but this was Anshuman's business at the end of the day.

Business had been pretty okay since the lockdown. After all, healthcare, essentials and education will never go out of business, and Anshuman's pharmacy dealt with two of these - the pharmacy doubled up as a provision store for a few FMCG items like milk, bread, food grains, etc. as well to cater to the middle class neighborhood. Truth be told, business was pretty good, even at these times - after all, it was pretty easy to make a profit in times of crisis.

"Aye Chotu...do we have enough bread?" he asked one of the helpers. He didn't know the teen's real name. In fact, he didn't know he other helper's name either - he simply called him Lambu.

"Yes Sahab, we have 20 packets."

"Milk?"

"10 litres."

"Sugar?"

The phone rang. It was a landline device with the punch-able number pads. Before Dinesh could warn him not to take the call, Anshuman picked it up on the very first ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Dinesh?"

"Nahi...Anshuman here."

"Oh Anshuman...how are you? Philomena from Dominic Villa."

"Oh hello Aunty" Anshuman responded, brushing off Dinesh's attempts to catch his attention, "How can I help you today?"

"Sonna...I need two packets of bread and 2 litres of milk."

"Yes Aunty, we have enough stock. You can come over and pick them up."

"Sonna...can you please get them delivered to my house?"

Dinesh slapped his forehead, but Anshuman didn't flinch.

"Aunty, we have only two helpers here...if you want items to be delivered, there will be a delivery charge."

"How much?"

"Forty Rupees."

There was silence for a few seconds, "Okay Sonna."

"And Aunty, the items can be delivered only till your building gate...we will give it to your security guard."

There was silence again, "Okay."

"And Aunty, you understand we're trying to be as safe as possible, so can you transfer the amount electronically...by Google Pay maybe?"

"Of course, of course! How much do I need to pay? I'll do it right away."

"Ninety for the milk, sixty for the bread, and forty delivery charges. One hundred and ninety."

Philomena took less than a minute, "Done."

"Thank you Aunty. You can expect your items to reach you in the next 10 minutes...or maybe earlier."

Anshuman dropped the receiver. He looked towards the helper, "Chotu, pack two litres of milk and two bread packets."

After the teen did as he was bid, Anshuman picked up the parcel and stepped outside the pharmacy. There he saw a young urchin, not more than 10 years of age, loitering in the area.

"Hey young man", he called out to the boy, "wanna earn ten rupees?"

Idiosyncrasies of a Covidiot

All episodes so far 

Episode 01 - Aaho-Choo Story

Episode 02 - Bus-Ted 

Episode 03 - Bohemian Clapsody 

Episode 04 - Departmental Chor 

Episode 05 - Exceptionally Coarse 

Episode 06 - Fruits & Nuts 

Episode 07 - Gross Spread

Episode 08 - Helping Hands

Episode 09 - I Want to Break Free

Episode 10 - Jamboree

Episode 11 - Keep Safe Distance

Episode 12 - Let There Be Light

Episode 13 - Musical Masti

Episode 14 - Night Riders

Episode 15 - Order Order

Episode 16 - Papa the Great