The milky way

My pride got a dent as I began loading the crates. I was constantly directed by one of the delivery boys,who was the head of the other 15 workers at the dairy. Yogesh Bahate guided me with precise instructions. They went like thisWalk to the freezer,pull out ten packets of milk,sort them according to brands and load the packets carefully into the crates. Place the crates on the vehicle gently so that the stacked crates dont topple. Repeat the process. This was again a reminder of the Applied Mechanics problems in college.
As I finished stocking the last crate on my bike,Chorghe came up to me with a broad grin and patted my back. I grimaced. My pride was restored but my vertebral column was soon going to be displaced thanks to his heavy hand on my back.

Chorghe then illustrated my next task to me; We deliver milk to the 50 buildings in the Lake Town Society. That means 3,000 houses,in a matter of two hours. We begin right away at 5.15 am and complete by 7.30 am. You will be delivering milk to the houses in Building B, he said.

The instructions continued, Yogesh will give you the list of houses and what brand of milk has to go where. You will have to remember that the wrong brands shouldnt reach the customers. When you reach the park start unloading the crates and put the milk packets in the blue bags for delivery.

I marched off to my bike,which wheezed,coughed and spluttered its way up the steep gradients of the residential colony,while I dexterously managed my weight and that of the stacked crates. Reaching the central park,I began to work furiously . It was not in vain because by the time the first lot of guys were done with their delivery,I had readied the blue bags,which looked like they contained close to a zillion gallons of milk.

Astonished at my speed,both Chorghe and I were visibly pleased. He spared my lumbar vertebrae this time. I was now ready for my final leg,delivering the milk. Yogesh,who was really a kind-hearted boy in his early 20s,took me along to deliver the packets. Like my bike,I too huffed my way up the staircases of Building B in Lake Town Society as the eastern sky was tinged a silvery red.

I breezed through the first couple of floors easily. I politely knocked on the door and waited till a groggy-eyed human form came and collected the milk. One of them was a ruddy-faced man in his late 30s who was obviously unhappy at having been rudely woken up. He peeked through a crack in the door and said that I didnt look like a milk delivery boy. I was repeatedly questioned till Yogesh intervened on my behalf to stop the verbal warfare.

After delivering the last milk packet to a kind lady on the seventh floor,I sat down on my haunches,visibly exhausted and panting. In an almost hoarse,inaudible,whisper I mouthed Pheidippidess dying lineRejoice…We Conquer,much to Yogeshs amusement. After many moments,when I finally managed to drag my wheezy bike and myself to Chorghes dairy,he told me about the delivery system over a cup of cold milk,The milk arrives from my village,Rahatawade,by 2 am. A team of 16 boys ensure that the milk is delivered on time to the customers. Its a nice feeling to see a happy customer every morning, he said.
At around 8.30 am in the morning I bade farewell to Chorghe,Yogesh and the rest of the merry men at the dairy. Though my back ached after lugging the milk bags,I was happy I got to taste their side of the world.