The Impostor...

The streets are merciless and they teach you the most brutal lessons. Chotu had no family, no relatives and he grew up in the arms of the streets of Mumbai. Chotu was a pickpocket, a thief, a grifter and anything else required to survive on the streets, all alone. He'd been in schools as a child and had picked up languages and enough education to pass off as a gentleman, something he knew he wasn't. But life was a big pretence for Chotu and he didn't mind being a little different from the street urchins he grew up with.

He had friends who'd come up with ideas for scams and cons and he'd plan them out and run them, taking advantage of his innate charm, often conning people of thousands of rupees. After every scam, he'd leave the town for a new one. It was healthy that way, because he hated the troubles his cons created for people and he had to run away from them. His last job hadn't gone that well and Chotu now found himself hiding out in a quaint little town on the Maharashtra-Goa border. He had some money on him and could wait out his exile from Mumbai comfortably in this little town. That was the plan - lay low.

One morning, while sipping on a cup of tea at the nearby tea stall, Chotu noticed a missing persons ad on a local newspaper. It was odd because the kid had gone missing nearly 14 years ago, evident by the dates mentioned on the ad. And the family were still looking for him. Chotu couldn't help feeling jealous of that kid. So he looked closer at the picture and read the ad again. "Our beloved son, Akarsh, went missing on 14th Jan, 2008. He was 8 years old. Anyone with any knowledge of his whereabouts can contact us on 9967821226. Ritesh Kolambkar." The picture of the missing kid Akarsh had no special features. It was an average face. How nice of the parents to be still looking for the child, when they could have had more kids and just forgotten about the boy, Chotu thought to himself.

In the next twenty four hours, an idea started forming in Chotu's mind. As he stared at the little boy's picture, he couldn't help feeling like the boy looked just like he did at that age. What if he could go and claim that he was Akarsh? If he could pull it off, this would be the biggest con of his little life. He had a shot at having a new identity, pulling off a perfect identity theft. He'd read about this and the idea intrigued him. He started his research on the Kolambkar family. Just asking around and looking at public records in the local municipal office can give you way more details about people than it should. Akarsh's blood group was O+ve. It was a common blood group, Chotu had the same. His fingerprints were not on record, which was good for Chotu's scheme.

And just like that, in a week's time, Chotu was ready to infiltrate the Kolambkar household. He just turned up at their gate. A good con is marked by it's simplicity. Mr. Ritesh Kolambkar, Akarsh's father, opened the door. Chotu introduced himself as Munna, a name as common as Chotu. He held a copy of the newspaper which had the ad on it. He just pointed at the ad and said, "I think I am Akarsh." An eerie silence descended upon the Kolambkar house. 

Mr. Kolambkar asked Chotu to sit down in the living room. He sipped on a glass of water and offered some to this rugged young boy, who was claiming to be Akarsh. He had a lot of questions. Where had he been? Why hadn't he shown up earlier? Chotu had a beautiful maze of lies already in place. He didn't remember anything from before the kidnapping. He'd woken up in a slum in Mumbai, dazed and confused, back in 2009. He'd been taken in by an NGO which was a front for child trafficking. He'd run away and lived on the streets. Any specific details he gave could be corroborated because he had picked them up from real incidents he'd heard of. Mr. Kolambkar was skeptic but Chotu was prepared for that.

The game changed when Mrs. Pooja Kolambkar entered the room. She'd been in the next room, listening to the boy's claim. She felt like she just needed to look into his eyes to know if it was her son or not. And when she did, she knew. Call it a desperate mother's whim, call it Chotu's innocent looking eyes working their magic, call it whatever. Mrs. Kolambkar saw Akarsh and just hugged Chotu. It was awkward for him. Chotu had never know affection and the touch of strangers made him uncomfortable, thanks to the numerous pervy incidents that marked his childhood on the streets.

But he was in his element and he knew it. He hugged her back, a little awkwardly. He told them that something had changed when he'd come to town. The place had seemed familiar. And then he'd stumbled upon the newspaper and had just walked in at the address mentioned. Even Mr. Kolambkar's cynicism couldn't stop his wife's motherly instinct. She had waited eleven years to be reunited with her boy and now, she was. In her excitement, she called up all her relatives. Akarsh was back and she wanted everyone to witness the miracle. 

Within days, the Kolambkar house was swarming with relatives. They had witnessed Mrs. Kolambkar's grief through the years and they now saw her joy. The boy indeed looked like Akarsh, but insisted everybody called him Munna, as that was the name he'd picked up in his hard life in the streets. It was indeed a fantastical tale and people were fascinated by it. All, but Arun. Arun was Mrs. Kolambkar's cousin. He was a forensics expert and had freelanced with the police at Mumbai several times. He couldn't digest the claim that this boy was Akarsh. But his cousin's ecstasy kept him quiet for a few days.

When the relatives started leaving, Arun sat Mr. Kolambkar down and expressed his doubts. Mr. Kolambkar was in a dilemma due to his wife's attachment with the boy claiming to be Akarsh. So he just asked Arun as to how he should proceed. Arun suggested a DNA test. When the two told Pooja about it, she lost her cool. She just didn't want any of it.

In the last few days, Chotu had been an absolute darling. The love and attention that he was getting from this family had been overwhelming. He had never experienced anything like this. And for an orphan, it all felt so good. To be honest, having a real name, Akarsh Kolambkar, felt refreshing. It made Chotu feel important. Like for once, he mattered. But his happiness was temporary. After all, dreams are short-lived.

In spite of resistance from his wife, Mr. Kolambkar needed to make sure the boy was actually who he claimed to be. So the next morning, he called Chotu to discuss a paternity test. Chotu knew this was the beginning of the end. But he also knew that if he didn't agree, he'd look like a fraud. So he agreed. He looked around after giving the blood sample for the DNA test. All of a sudden, the house looked familiar. Like he knew the place. He laughed at himself. This was the first con of Chotu's life that had him beat.

He had seven days before the results of the test came back. He decided to make the best of of those seven days. He decided to turn the con around. He spent time listening to Mrs. Kolambkar's stories. He helped Mr. Kolambkar with his work. He experienced having a family, being a part of something beyond himself. It was educational.

On the day of the test results, when Arun arrived with it, Chotu had left. And he'd left a letter for Mrs. Kolambkar. The letter read: "I am grateful for these few days when I had a family. But I am an impostor, an orphan who thought he could claim another's life as his own. I am sorry. I wish I am born into a family like this in the next life."

Mrs. Kolambkar broke down into tears. She didn't care if it was actually Akarsh or not. For a brief moment there, she had a son. And now, that moment had passed. Mr. Kolambkar felt angry and betrayed. Arun felt guilty for having brought up the question of paternity. Maybe it would have been better if they'd let the impostor stay and be a son to them. It didn't matter anymore, since the boy had left.

The Kolambkars were heartbroken. Chotu's letter lay next to the test result which was still sealed in the envelope it came in. In that emotional moment, Arun glanced at the test result and gasped in astonishment. 

It was a match. Chotu was really Akarsh Kolambkar.