He wanders around the aisle of
market space - not seeking any attention towards passersby. Sometimes he sits
quietly in his own 'Open Den' - with no rooftop or sidewalls, it is an open
ended pathway which begets open invitation to all. Many shopkeepers set the tone
for his morning walk as they bring for him cheeky leftovers packed in small
plastic bags – I have seen him opening his “Morning Breakfast” with much ecstasy
as the night hunger takes him over!
Many a times I have seen him just sitting in deep contemplation and talking to his own self – tattling words of prudence – a mere eye contact is contagious and he is quick to start talking to you in his own sense of talk and gesture. You would not be able to understand much of his reverberations and his unique style of talking!
“Kahan ke ho?” (Where are you
from?) I asked him the other day – at first his reticence made me believe his
inability to understand my question or a sense of being but on a close
contemplation I was able to educate myself that he didn’t found it prudent to
reply to my question – May be of his ego or a sense of un-belongingness to my
aura. Repeating my question he calls me and nod his head and asks “Kya pooch
rahe ho?” (What are you asking?) – Again repeat my sayings for the third time
and now he dons the hat of a conversationalist and thus speaks:
“Main Jaunpur ka hoon. – Aap
kahan se ho?” (“I am from Jaunpur, from where you are?”)
Not expecting the revert I am
quick to respond –“Mein Delhi se hoon.” (I am from Delhi.)
My nameless friend thus throws
the second question in quick succession “Kya kartey ho idhar – Roz aatey ho,
Mein aapko Dekhta hoon.” (What you do? I see you come here every day.”)
I answer him back “Haanji, maine
yahan apne office aata hoon, computer ka kaam karta hoon” ( Yes I come here every
day to my office and I work on a computer” – I could have given him a bit
elaboration, but that would not have elicit interest in him as I thought so!
Suddenly, his demeanor changes and he moves to go to his makeshift seat on the pavement and picks up the broom and starts to clean his surroundings around – After 2-3 min of cleansing, he takes out a package from his coat pocket intriguing enough to let me know that it’s his “Lunch Time.” The hint is absorbed and I leave him alone now to have a taste of his sumptuous feat!
As I stand on the other side of pavement keenly observing him going through his turmoil of daily living, varied thoughts encompass me – there are a zillion questions I wanted to ask this nameless man – the first being “ What was his name?” – though he didn’t gave me an opportunity to converse with him much but I am a bit elated that I have at least formed a conversation bond with this soul – may be next time I am lucky enough to be befriending him more and having a cup of tea and formulating a bond of humanity which many alike have not done with him – till then I wait with an eager opportunity with passing time.
