~ A Daily Morning Saga...~

 He comes daily with a zeal and is chirpy and talkative. He has a rickshaw which he loves to maintain and decorate, the best part being that on the front wheel his faith is enshrined – his devotion to Lord ‘Shiva’ – a small mannequin that he found near a Peepal tree which someone had put. He just felt a strong connection when he saw his God laying idle near the Peepal tree and made the statue tied to the front wheel of his daily mode of transport and living – his scrap trolley!

Deepak has a unique style of living – he gets up at 4 a.m. and is quickly readies himself to work for another long hot and humid day – he is a native of Bihar and has been in Delhi for a month or so – he feels this city has given him much – “ Out there in my native village, I didn’t work but was wasting my time after my studies- there are no employment opportunities for youth like me !” – he spoke the other day. 

“I love the people of this city when they call me by my name “Deepu”, sometimes they misspell it as ‘Deepa…which changes my entire genre, he speaks with a smile” …I am alone in this city and live with my cousin brother and his family – his parents live near my home in our native village in Bihar!”

As I had already observed his talkative stance, everyday. I make it a point that his zeal captivates me in the morning saga. Delhi of today is full of neighborhood who are conservative and reticent and living a secluded life, the changing dimension of this city is nerve wrecking sometimes, the old neighborhood have sold-off their properties due to burgeoning clout of builder flats and skyrise apartments, they preferred to reallocate themselves to satellite towns like Gurgoan and Noida…Delhi has indeed changed…

Coming back to my good morning friend Deepu, the other day he was wearing a wi-fi earphone all through his work and I happened to observe it and commented “Wah Deepak, aap toh hi-tech ban gaye 😊!” – he laughed and whispered in a subtle voice, “bhaiya, gane suntan rehta hoon aur kaam karta rehta hoon, Gane achchey lagtey hain!” [ Brother, I love to hear songs and I keep on listening to them and work side by side] – I could instantaneously connect with his thoughts, a music buff myself, I can endlessly hear to diverse melody tunes without keeping an eye on the clock! 

Also, the type of work he is into, he has to focus to keep moving, Imagine fetching daily scrap for more than 100 odd households, almost stepping 4 floors up and down with out a lift for some of them, combined with ongoing Delhi weather, it indeed turns out to be an arduous task to achieve…. He does all this without any downtrodden inkling as he tells me “ Bhaiya, I came here empty handed and without any job and have to remain unemployed for quite some time, this is the first ‘Job’ I got and I have to honour it… this is just the beginning for me!” – Indeed, I said, keep on working Deepu, you never know what life might offer you in coming times…there are enumerable such examples who started from scratch and just by sheer jest of their hard work achieved much….hearing this, he took away with him two things – first , a sense of honour that being a trashmen he still have people talk to him while many of us would desist doing so! And second, that there is little sense of belonging towards him from households he daily visits to keep all our vicinity and our household clean and tidy…. “Thanks Deepu, you are the man of the day!” …

~ Raju Bangaya Gentleman...~

Today, I saw Raju after a long time, he has been a helping hand during that devastating ‘Pandemic Month’ last April – May’21, where the streets were empty and one can only hear the noise of that Ambulance siren – an ominous sign of deciding someone’s fate.

He was rock solid support as he used to come with full preparation and always had his stack full of all those necessary fruits and vegetables apart from other things, which a usual vegetable and fruit seller normally didn’t had on his cart – Items such as water bottles, Bread, Butter and even milk!

Money was not a problem for him, as many of us didn’t had the time or for that matter the courage to go to an ATM or bank to fetch money – so was the psychological effect Covid had jutted in our minds and souls – Raju had a turnaround for such a problem, he used to get a slip for each household and snipped an image for the day’s buy and whatsapped us all – really he made use of technology to have a contactless business model for the benefit of all – first time in my life I was seeing technology being used to its optimum other that what Whatsapp university is now famous for!

Raju is a native of a village in Bihar and stays with his family – two kids and his father, mother – I asked him, did not he risked his life and also of his family members whilst he used to come and provide his services to the entire block – many of Delhi residents were covid +ve and unfortunately deaths were the norm of the day. As he reverted, “ Sir, I took it as an opportunity to help people, I am not literate, I could sense the suffering of people prisoned in their homes and were fearful of the situation, you must not be knowing, I helped such old people who would have otherwise died of hunger – there were literally no one to help or assist them as their children were stuck up in other countries and could not come – these oldies gave their mobile numbers to them and they used to call me from foreign lands to supply their parents their general dose of groceries and even medicines…”

After the pandemic was over, they superlatively acknowledged my services and one of them even called me their 2^nd Son – that was my Karma, my biggest achievement in my life, I did all this selflessly as I took upon myself to help these oldies who could not afford to risk their life and go out and fetch their daily take of groceries, medicines and other paraphernalia… I thought them to be their son and did it…

The experience which Raju told me was just phenomenal, here was a guy who risked his life and saved the lives of so many without showcasing a whiff of his doings during the most trying days of Covid, when many people dreaded to go out , he boldly  took the onus upon himself to portray a son, brother, father and other namesake responsibility to many known and unknown souls who would not have survived this surge of pandemic.

Now that he comes to our block, he is caressed like a son and a brother to many households, he is received with open arms as he has been their life’s savior – His smile says it all, as he is busy adjusting his vegetables on his cart, with all his humble living but great thinking attitude, I always love to call him “ Raju Bangaya Gentleman’ to which he smiles and says, “ Kya bhaiya aap bhi na…” … Though he is Camera Shy, but what he did for all of us would be dreaded for many...that’s humanity…!!!

~ The Walk...~

He has been essaying this role of a ‘Pithu’ – aka ‘Porter’ for more than 20 years now. He has a daughter who stays in his native village somewhere in Jammu, so does his wife ‘Chameli’.

He caught my attention quite uniquely as he smoothly whispered as he came near me ‘ Bhaiya Pithu Chahiye?” – [Sir, do you want a porter?]. The journey was arduous as it was almost 13 kms uphill. A journey to Mata VaishnoDevi is known for its vast experiences, not only of treading this walk but also by way of meeting versatile people telling his own stories and life situations. Many of the porters and Ponny and horse owners are inhabitants of far-off places and live at the foothill of revered ‘Trikuta’ Parbat on which resides The Divine Mother ' Mata Vaishno Devi'

Now that he has developed habit of walking up-down in one instance, depending upon the customer he gets, he takes two back-to-back rounds once a while, though he tells me that he gets tired to the core when he overstretches himself. 

“Shamsher Singh hai Mera Naam – [My name is Shamsher Singh], and I am a native of Jammu and have been in this profession since more than two decades.”, he tells me in his baritone voice. At first look, you will find him as a wanderer, just passing his time, loitering around at the foothill observing the stack of tourists who have just come together as a flock of birds together ready to start their journey.

I don’t know what made him approach me and that he came to me with a subtle smile and gesture of politeness asking if his services were required. I instantly obliged as I had too much of a baggage to be carried and I was a loner. The ‘Deal’ was stuck instantaneously as he didn’t argued much and obliged to go with the government rates for such services, he further gave me his id card as a token of security – this is norm of the place.

The journey thus began, he went off carrying my bags, which he had tied up in a particularly unique fashion only he could have done, then suddenly, step by step has started to walk way and soon he just disappeared into the sea of humanity, not to be seen but with a promise to meet sometime later in the evening at a designated spot!

Treading step by step, I reached atop all withered away as the journey of 13 kms takes a toll on the body, especially if you are not a habitual walker – The first thought coming to mind was to catch a glimpse of Shamsher Singh as I had my belongings to change and Alas!, he was there just smiling at me.

‘Agaye Janaab, sab khari meri!” [Sir, reached safe and sound?], I revered in affirmative but with a laggard tone as I was tired beyond a measure – I asked him ‘Shamsher-ji, how you traverse this journey up and down, sometimes twice and still look afresh!”

He answered in a calm tone, which defeated my intellectual arrogance, “Sir, this is my Karma and duty and I am doing this for my family! I have submitted myself to the Goddess and have an attitude of complete surrender!” – He just nailed it – I had no words but to oblige him with a folded hands – I had just judged the source of such a satisfied man. A final goodbye awaited both of us and this happened too soon, as he had just made another deal with a customer who was in quick hurry to get down to catch hold of the evening train – I just thought, the tough terrain Shamsherji had just treaded and reached his destination and now was ready to go back, without taking much break. I asked him this question, he smiled and started to walk away , not before saying a final goodbye with a waving hand and saying ‘Jai Mata Di’…

~ A Slipper Story...~

So, what could be a gratification quotient in one’s life, be whatever, you are cool as a cucumber and the daily ups and downs of living does not bother your – rather you have tamed your mind and your thoughts to not hinder your daily behavior and they actually don’t bother you anymore – alas! you can be described in a state of daily nirvana!

This can be no joke as I personally know a man – a roadside dweller selling Chappals (local footwear) and always having a smile on his face – He sits on the pavement with no placed fixed and owning a shop is a distant dream for him, certainly not in his lifetime as he himself says so, that too with no regrets but his bubbly smile, life seems to be at ease with this gentleman.

Just the other day, I happened to be near his temporary setup, I was waiting for the currency change I owed after I purchased vegetables from a vendor. Suddenly, I chanced upon him as he was smilingly negotiating a ‘deal’ with his prospective customer, as I could observed, he was trying to sell a pair of slippers for Rs 100, which was the best price he was offering , but the customer was not obliged to the price being offered, the deal was thus fixed for Rs 90, taking a loss of Rs 10, he was still happily packing the pair of his sell whilst he boasted about its quality and replacement if it does not fit the bill.

This happened right in front of my eyes as it was just a 2-minute saga, the customer went off and he started to arrange his products in a unanimous arrangement and thus waited for his next customer.

He looked satisfied and contended with his work, it was quite obvious, as the smile on his face was authentic and described his cerebral state of mind.

The whole scenario was a life learning, how can a street vendor sitting on a pavement and earning a daily miniscule amount be so much happy. His own slippers that he was wearing were almost battered, his tericot pant and a unwashed pale yellow shirt showed signs of dirt, but internally he was a happy soul, his face always gleaming with a loving smile. A small talk made me aware of his precedents…as he told me that he comes in a humble Atlas -black cycle which he paddles for about 10 kms daily before he comes to our vicinity to make a living – before that he goes to the wholesale mart to buy slippers on wholesale prices.

I could not resist saying ‘Hello Bhaiya’ and could not stop myself to buy an unwanted pair of sleepers, not that I was in dire need of one, but just for the sake of remembrance of that life learning moment. He taught me the mantra of life… Be whatever be your predicament, be happy and live each moment…

I didn’t ask his name as he had other customers lined up and I certainly didn’t want myself to impede his sales, may be next Saturday flea market, I shall be honoured to have a general chit-chat with him, till then I am selfishly waiting for that moment….

~ Chai - as my last supper...~

It has given me an adrenaline rush when I am down, the zest of life gets diminished through everyday rigmarole of life – having a cup of tea makes me start over again – It has been my best friend over three decades, the only ‘Bad’ habit one would say that I have, but I just cant leave it…as I would certainly like to have the last tea cuppa before I depart….

Be it late evening or early morning saga, not having a cup of tea as my noble companion does give me the push to perform – the lethargy gets encrypted till I gulp my first sip of tea after the wake-up.

I wake up daily and embrace my morning partner – a cup of tea which gives me life to move on and accept the challenges of the day.

Come afternoon, again I have a rendezvous with my best friend and foe, foe- as it has become a queer habit, I miss the tea cup when aloof and it certainly gets me back during the snooze hours of summers now a days – Of course, with a long lasting relationship that I have had with this unique beverage, I also have found close fondness to various cups which I like to have my ‘Drink’ .

Of late, I have been addicted to ‘Kuhlad Chai’, as it gives a certain degree of fragrance when you sip it slowly – the whole aroma is filled with its magnificence – no doubt, it takes time to fall in love with such a habit, more so as we are mostly accustomed to having tea / coffee in regular ceramic cups.

The taste of tea magnifies if you have a good company – the sip by sip conversations leads you to a sense of peace and tranquility – the exchange of thoughts gets inversely proportional to the diminishing tea in your cup- though a sense of poignant charm surrounds you and you would certainly like to have another back to back cup but the lethargy in you wont make you get up and go to the kitchen to action another cup on the burner!

My relationship with Tea is since time immemorial – thanks to my father who was a complete ‘Tea-totaller’ – and thus was fond of this magnificent drink of his lifetime – the habit galvanized unto me and during my study years, I used to have a pot filled to the brim and with each passing hour, would pour it in the cup and gulp it , matching the timeless hours just passed by…. Those certainly were the times of Delhi’s foggy winters - today as I again had the privilege of having this unique drink in an earthen cup – called ‘Kulhad’ – I went into a reminiscing trance… those days came as a flash and time certainly stood still… I wish, to the last day of my breath , I would like to have ‘Tea’ as my last supper… till then, its again time to have a nice sip…the smoky cup is enticingly calling me to kiss it and enjoy the tea-moment….

~Kaveri, a lone warrior...~

 Everyone was talking in vernacular English with exceptional drawls with a view to dominate the conversation – the parents were well off and of course they were educated, maybe they were lucky to have received quality education from prestigious schools in Delhi. A bit showoff was evident though not a deliberate gesture.

As I was a mute observer to all of this charisma, suddenly there comes a family which catches everyone’s eyeballs – the family is unique in its own way – as the society calls them the ‘EWS’ or the ‘Economically Weaker Section – the tagline is munching of its dignity but we as a society have castigated them. 

From the visible appearance the parents of the girl seems to be not highly educated and this was proven when the father asks the guard sitting near the aisle “ Kapde and Kitabein Kahan Milengi?” (from where will we get clothes and books?), the guard showed them the way sitting on his chair. The gesture of the guard was profoundly different as he seems to be entertaining them as just another like him – as he did not stand from his chair whilst he answered them, a distinct gesture which he didn’t do for other ‘highly educated and rich parents’ of kids coming to school to fetch books and clothes.

While the parents continued to talk in marvel English with occasional tongue roller verbatim, this girl’s father just stood in complete silence as he was bluntly ignored by others – I could see the cold feet the society showed to such people – distraught on the behavior of these educated parents as for them it didn’t matter who he was and that they knew him for sure to be from an EWS strata of society.

Suddenly the twist of tale happened, as the father was confused to ask for the free books and clothes which such parents are supposed to have under government’s concessional scheme, the girl rose to the occasion and went inside the school bookshop and started to talk in a tone which astonished many.

She started to converse in impeccable English in a clear-cut vocab to the surprise of everyone – her contrast clothing and the background seems to be just not matching the tone she spoke of. As some moments passed, her mother came into the room and voiced her concerns thus - “Kaveri beta, dress aur Kitabein mil gayi kya?” [ Kaveri, did you got the dress and books?]

She was quick to respond, ‘Nahi Ma, abhi nahi, bola hai bhaiya ko” [No , I have told the shopkeeper, he is taking it out]

Everyone started to have a conscious look towards both mother and daughter as if something extraordinaire had happened in that moment, surely it was something extra ordinary, something momentous – the icy silence was broken when one student’s mother greeted Kaveri’s mother “Namaste!, meri beti aapki beti ki dost hai…” [Hello, my daughter is your daughter’s classmate], suddenly this gesture made Kaveri’s mother comfortable as she forgot her opaque personality amongst the group of parents standing there…. The two ladies started to converse with equanimity withstanding the prodding eyes of ‘high-class’ parents who still seems to be from a different planet, but surely, they were in the receiving end as they were made conscious of what education can do to anyone be it from EWS family or otherwise…

A lovely lesson was given to many such parents and to my kids – that be whatever you are in the outside world, in the institution of schooling , your worth is your pure play knowledge and education – as it certainly is the power which will take you across many hiccups life shall offer you in due course – your image and dignity will not subside by your current habitat but the power of your mind shall base your competition with resourceful students who surely have an edge over you – don’t be subservient of their status, once inside the school you will have the power to subside them by your knowledge…I truly believe that little girl had been given this life lesson by her circumstances if not by  parents… truly Kaveri was the hero of that moment, no doubt!

~ Apostle of Simplicity…~

Simplicity has its own power and it truly gives the inner feeling of contentment, In the daily chase of life, when one gets tired under the burden of running around to make ends meet, it is the feeling of let go which makes life simple. Sitting in that moment of solitude I could sense the simple things life had to offer when we were young, there were no big dreams and life’s happiness lay in simple gifts.

Even a Rs 20 haircut was a big happiness moment, I did visit this moment of contentment when I saw that decades old decrepit hair dressing salon open after a long time – passing by, I peeped inside the curtains, as the saloon is a makeshift shanty now and does not have a proper door to save its belongings. Once Inside, I was lost to altogether to another world – a time which I had lived almost two decades back, same old chairs, the rusty look and aura of that place – I was transported back to an era where there was no internet and no mobile phones – Cable Tv was an advent for youth like us – we were surpassing the era of Doordarshan. 

One thing had surely changed – Krishna- that old friend of mine who has been doing hair-cutting since times immemorial. His salt and pepper look was a testimony of time to be carefully looked – for his life and him, time had just stopped in the 90’s. He wore the same style clothes, no dawn of jeans or Tees , but only simple terrycot fabric Shirt and pants, time actually had stood still. I had seen him after a long time and could interpret the Gap between two era’s. His calculated smile and the simplicity of his life and living was so presentable that I could feel the difference in that bygone era.

The best thing about this meeting was ‘Instant recognition’. He even remembered my name and addressed me on the first go – it was a testament of sharpness of his memory – nothing he had forgotten, those talks about cable TV and new movies to be released on Friday – we both started to cherish those eventful days which we had live in our youth – to the merriment of other customers who were in the midst of their shave – I could sense they were living the moment too as their conscious looks could tell.

Soon the talk steered to families and kids – he had gone to his native village for long and had come back just few months back to resume his ‘Business’ – Krishna didn’t want to come back from his place of birth but circumstances just didn’t allow him to settle down midst his close ones. As my turn came to go for the haircut, we chatted as thirsty beings as if we wanted to make up for those lost years – Krishna’s originality and humbleness was his forte, he still stands by the same value system of life, no wonder he has his own struggles to follow but the testament of time tells me he is surely a man of honour and simplified dignity.

As time elapsed, my haircut was done, pleasantries exchanged with enthusiasm we bid goodbye to each other not before promising to meet again in a month’s time, subject to my shabby look – which would certainly urge me to visit Krishna not only for a decent haircut but to meet him and learn the most important technique of today’s living – ‘Simplicity!’…

~ En Famille...~

The morning walks are no longer sultry and alone, I find many people with different contours of life. Kids who skip school and oldies that await their death, almost the entire gambit of life comes in front of me. People rushing to office and the unemployed sitting in a surprising calmness – the world is surely a place with all its tipsy topsy curve….

In a aloofness of all this I encountered three kids totally engrossed in their small world they were living in, happy they were ridding a rickshaw being driven by their elder sister ‘Rani’ – They turned out to be a shy but with a cute smile on their faces they somehow broke the silence.

“My name is Kavita and he is my younger brother ‘Sumit’, they laughed in tandem and were again adorned by shyness – I could decipher they are in their own world and would not communicate at ease with anyone who want to form a friendly bond with them. 

The magnitude of their happiness was touching the sky as they had got their father’s rickshaw to drive and play around – jumping around in it and pushing it to the fore was what made them unmindful of the surroundings around them. As I could not resist and wanted to talk to them, they started to drive fast and almost tried to avoid them – adamant that I was, I again asked “Kavita, don’t you guys go to school, now that schools are open in full swing!”.

She smiled at me first and answered in a low pitch tone, “Today, we have taken off as Papa and Mummy had to come to park for mowing overgrown shrubs and there was no one at home to take care of us, We usually go to school regularly.” She started to paddle fast in order to oblige the shout Sumit was making as he wanted to be ridden on  the Rickshaw fast and didn’t like to be stranded.

Sumit seems to be enjoying every moment and was a naughty child as it seems to be, the fact that was proven by his younger sister Kavita – “He is very naughty kid, hardly studies and doesn’t like to go to school, he wants to become a Gardner just like his father!” – I seem to have broken the shackles of silence with Kavita as he seems to talk to me with much less inhibitions now.

All three of them had a slice of innocence on their faces, certainly they were loving the ‘workplace’ of their father and mother – both were contractual gardeners in the Municipal park. The coolness of the shadows of trees were their playground and they were loving the ambience as they smiled and cheered. 

Suddenly their was a loud shout from their mother, as I gathered, the shout was a frantic call for ‘Breakfast’ which was going to be held under a bench placed under a tree – the coolness of air and the serenity would certainly add value and impose a challenge to such ambience across any restaurant in the city – As I walked passed, I realized the joyful nature of life this family was enjoying whilst just looking the other side of the fence, I could see a total chaos of speeding cars and Scooty’s aiming to surpass missing timelines….As they say, life has many pictures, the same held true today....

~ What a Ride...~

There are endless stories on the roads of human grit and endurance – Many of them are silent and live in their hearts and minds, they keep on living a simple and subdued life as if nobody. You need not find them anywhere but they are just besides you, may be as a helper, a rickshaw puller, a garbage collector, sweeper or car washer , just anybody who has compromised his /her life for the sake of his family.

I met such a soul in near past when I had to borrow a service of an eRickshaw – these vehicles are scattered all over Delhi streets and are typically a nuisance to my psyche not because they add to the vehicular density but the way they are driven in a haphazard manner.

As I stood across the street to find one, suddenly an old uncle who was just lazing around across the street on his erickshaw saw in me a prospective customer and came with a question

“Kidhar Jauge?”  - “Where you want to go?”

I told him the proposed destination to which I intended to go, his next question was quick as if he was in a hurry and had not even halved his daily earning target.

“Aajao Baith jao, aapke liye hi aaya hoon!” – “ Please sit, I came for you only!”

I was deeply flattered as that was the truth, the moment I stood up looking for an eRickshaw, uncle had an eye on me and just came within no time.

As the journey started, I saw in him many facades – he was polite and had manners quite unlike many other folks of his genre. The talkative nature that I have, I could not control myself to form a quick rapport with uncle – there was surely something in him that made me pull towards him. 

As our talks progressed, he shared his story about his family . He has two sons, the younger one has left him in lurch and has moved out with his family. Subhash uncle’s elder son passed away in 2017 due to a cardiac arrest – “ Who mere hatho mein hi gir gaya!’ – “He died in my arms’.

He later told me that he retired as Peon from a nationalized bank and was comfortably living with his two sons until his elder son’s death – “He has two daughters and a wife, who stay with us, my younger son and his wife didn’t want to share their burden and so they left us. Now I have started to work again and hire this eRickshaw on a monthly basis and struggle to make ends meet!”

I asked Subhash uncle’s age – he replied with a poignant smile which said many unspoken words. Beta, my age is around 75 years , I just want to thank God for he is still keeping me alive and healthy to cater to my elder son’s family – He has two young school going daughters, I want to see them educated – they go to school and I don’t want them to be illliterate !” 

Hearing his story I was loss of words, I silently revered the honest talk he did with me, but there were some underlying messages to learn – “Life can be unruly and put you in situations you never ever thought of!” and that clinging on to that higher power called ‘God’ , be whatever comes your way is the real test of faith and patience for oneself and finally the most valuable lesson Subhash uncle taught me was “ Never retire, till your last breath and till the time your body allows you to work, just be whatever you do, keep on walking!, you will love your existence!

As I reached my destination, it was more than giving him his due credit of service he had done , for it was not only he had brought me to where I wanted but had uplifted my soul – a deep sense of love and gratitute flowed through me as an adrenaline feeling, I shook hands with him , he gave me a touching surprise when he said “Beta, mera bada beta tumhare jaisa hi tha…tumhein dekh kar tabhi mein ghoom kar tumhare pass aaya to give you a ride…” – “Son , my elder one was just like you…When I saw you standing, I quickly came to give you a ride…” , I just could not handle the situation and kept on seeing him till he just drove off – time just stood still for me…and it still is….

~ That little Girl...~

We are unique brew entwined with a common thread but have different viewpoints of life and its happenings. Situations have made so – every instance has setup an edible mark on our thinking that has lead us to a different behavior.

Lakshmi came to me with a lot of hope, I could see in her eyes – the name bears an oxymoron to her situation – dire needs of funds to have her lunch, she started to talk about herself for a moment.

Though she was in a hurry, she gave me a definite outlook of life she has been living across the road I was travelling. Her small hovel which her parent’s had setup was surely a dilapidated sight – as she had crossed the road all by herself, she was being looked upon out of care by her mother, who was protective of her daughter. 

I started by asking her questions about regarding her name and whereabouts, where she belonged from and that does she study – at first, she was reluctant to chat but suddenly she started to speak though with not so much of a frank gesture – something surely was holding her back – may be situations in her life made her behave the way she was. I kept to myself and gave her some money – she gleamed for a second or so and quickly started to talk, as if she was in a hurry state of mind.

‘Bhaiya, my name is Lakshmi and I stay in that shanty (Pointing towards her temporary house across the road.)’

‘My father is no more and I stay with my mother, who toils hard throughout the day as she is a housemaid and goes to several homes to cook and wash dishes.’

‘I take care of the household and also study a little bit.’ Whenever time allows – she further stated she is in 7^th grade and likes math’s as a subject.

The last line was truly intriguing for me as that was only the ray of hope I could suggest to her – seeing her life’s turmoil, I could sincerely put her upfront to a path which she wants to travel and has kept deep inside her heart.

As I could perceive that Lakshmi was in a hurry, she went back as fast as she had arrived, it was time to cook for the family, may be, as I guessed when she quickly went into her hovel, not before handling her day’s ‘earnings’ – I was pretty sure she didn’t want to beg as I could see in her eyes the shame associated with this profession – for a girl who is nurturing big in life, this was actually a menial job devastating her ego – but her mother thought otherwise and forced her to act.

Million such Lakshmi’s exist around us, we don’t pay a heed to them as they are just invisible beings, just as regular as anyone can be in this vast sea of heads that we all see every now and then. As I moved on, I sincerely hoped that next time I meet her, she is a better-off situation that she is today and when I see in her eyes, she should fee all the pride she has lost whilst she lives today….

~ A Decade Meet...~

I met him after almost two decades today, as he kept looking at me whilst my morning stroll, we both surpassed each other with an eyeball-to-eyeball contact – both were feeling a little inhibited to say a formal “Hello”, though I was pretty sure he recognized me as well on the very first glance he put on me.

I still don’t know his name though he used to stay right across the street and his only son ‘Goldy’ was a toddler at that time – as neighbors , I used to  to exchange a formal ‘Namaste’ when I was young and he used to go to a office and after his retirement, he vacated his govt flat to relocate to  a private residency years passed and they turned into decades, then suddenly, one day I could see him, walking firmly with a stick – years had taken a toll on his health and I could sense that quite clearly.

Today, when we saw each other, we could instantaneously recognize each other but the gap of quite many years made us fall apart – the inhibition certainly had crept in. On the second round, uncle said a “Hello” and that was it, the quietness had to be broken and he inquired my name as he had remembered

“Are you Sanjeev Beta”, who used to stay across the street and play with my son “Goldy!”

I immediately affirmed, “Yes Uncle, I am Goldy’s friend, and I recognized you on the very first round but was feeling a little shy to start a conversation with you.!”, he laughed and enquired about my family and parents – his gesture was heart touching as he talked about those golden times that we shared – especially his reprimands when we used to go and call his son for a game of cricket – that time was for his tuition and he used to bunk that all important math’s tuition class and set tone with us, only to be caught red handed and thrashed!

He remembered all this naughtiness of our times as we were growing towards our adolescence. I inquired about his son “Goldy” as we used to call him, that was his nick name. He with numbness in his eyes reverted that he is in London and is working there as a chef, here I am along with my wife.

I told him to go and get settled for greener pastures, We can take care of ourselves till our health allows – though materially uncle was comfortable but seeing his son’s aspiration, he with a heavy heart had made up his mind and come to terms with his situation. 

I could well sense that he was not in his best of the health as he had severe medical condition pertaining to his legs but as a father, he wanted his son to achieve a milestone which many of our parents had thought of – his inner desire being suppressed – though his advancing age was a clear sign of fragility – surely as we walked he needed support to step down into the grassy field from the ailse of the pavement, but the man’s grit was exemplary –“ Son, this body will wither away as it is deemed to be , at 73 years of age, I have lived my life to the fullest, now I want my son to live his life as per his aspirations….”

A beautiful thought , but I wish his son could have done much better to be with his ailing father at the prime of his life, relationships are just as beautiful as they are close by, the fag end of their life will always be remembered as beautiful moments spend together, always to be cherished for rest of your life…