Short Story: Joba’s Idea by Tanvi Srivastava

In this short story, Tanvi Srivastava captures a day in the life of Joba, a girl who lives on the streets with her family, and how it leads to an extraordinary feat for her friend.

It was Joba’s idea, obviously; crazy plans like this were always hers. We didn’t know it then, but this one was going to change everything. Uma and I were collecting flowers—twisted white champas—from the gardens near Pataliputra Stadium when Joba came and stood before us. Hands-on hips, scabbed elbows pointing in opposite directions. Despite her diminutive size, she was a force—riverine and inscrutable—the Ganga during her monsoon rages. Still and snake-brown to the naked eye, but powerful enough to shift sands beneath.

‘We need to do something,’ Joba said, her eyes hardening into coal. She had a square face and a protruding mouth like Binita Kaki. Too many teeth and too many thoughts, Ashok Kaka used to say. She continued, ‘We have to do something.’