I turned my back to her! She wanted to express but she could barely speak, she wanted to talk but she was dumb, she wanted to be just like others but she couldn't. All she could do is nothing but ask for money to manage half a meal each day.
An old feeble lady with just a torn sari and a broken plastic container as her will, one can find her sitting on the opposite foot of the Gariahat pantaloons, waiting for a single penny to save her soul for another mighty day. With the glittering lights passing by she waits in the midst of darkness to find some solace from a single penny which is often thrown at her by a stranger for whom it was just a "chawanni". A penny which values like golds for her! She is the one, one who watches this metro city run as a train of the Japanese Shinkansen, and on the contrary, the stranger hardly bothers to care about those who die on the streets.
It has been more of a routine for me to drop a penny or two on her broken plastic container and inquire about her well being to which she hardly replies with a nod, and for the rest of my journey I keep on wondering about the inequalities of our society. It continues for a quarter of an hour and eludes away with time as usual.
It has been more of a routine for me to drop a penny or two on her broken plastic container and inquire about her well being to which she hardly replies with a nod, and for the rest of my journey I keep on wondering about the inequalities of our society. It continues for a quarter of an hour and eludes away with time as usual.
It was another fine day today with chocolate day and valentines week adding flavours to my senses but all seemed to vanish with my footsteps approaching one of the most darkest corners of the glowing Gariahat, the place where the old lady sat. She wasn't there, and reasons started accumulating in my mind about her whereabouts. Human nature has a typical habit of pulling health concerns when someone goes missing and so the same came to me. I kept on walking for an yard or two thinking about her, just to find her sitting at a distance from where she actually does. The security guards of a marriage reception have disinfected the area which resulted into her relocation for the night. I felt sorry for her and somewhat it was more than a penny that came out from my wallet.
She looked weaker than before. I was about to leave when she had some words for me today. She could barely speak and clearly expressed the trouble of her vocal chords. A trembling voice asked for help today, a shaky voice asking for money, a voice from a complete entropic system explaining the problems of her voice because of her malfunctioning vocal chords which demanded an immediate operation. But in reply, the one who had words each and every day had become speechless. I had no answer to her trembling voice which was more like a ghost. The wallet still carried a couple of green and yellow notes but all I did was to turn my back to her and started walking in disarray. The feeling was typical and I was sad but carried not a single reason to why I didn't even leave a green note for her existence. A handful number of events and a drastic change in behavior when concerns changed to fleeing away within a matter of seconds with not a single reason to support my actions. I meant to help but I didn't for a reason unknown.
Now, here I am, sitting under a coloured roof with a laptop infront of me, to jot down this very uneventful event of my life with a guilt hitch feeling that I could have saved a soul for another mighty day. I did waste money on celebrating a chocolate day but couldn't dare to help the poor lady or even face her. We all mean to help but when actions are the need of the hour, we fail to deliver. And after saying all this, I do posses a simple thought to carry throughout this long night,"I turned my back to her".
She looked weaker than before. I was about to leave when she had some words for me today. She could barely speak and clearly expressed the trouble of her vocal chords. A trembling voice asked for help today, a shaky voice asking for money, a voice from a complete entropic system explaining the problems of her voice because of her malfunctioning vocal chords which demanded an immediate operation. But in reply, the one who had words each and every day had become speechless. I had no answer to her trembling voice which was more like a ghost. The wallet still carried a couple of green and yellow notes but all I did was to turn my back to her and started walking in disarray. The feeling was typical and I was sad but carried not a single reason to why I didn't even leave a green note for her existence. A handful number of events and a drastic change in behavior when concerns changed to fleeing away within a matter of seconds with not a single reason to support my actions. I meant to help but I didn't for a reason unknown.
Now, here I am, sitting under a coloured roof with a laptop infront of me, to jot down this very uneventful event of my life with a guilt hitch feeling that I could have saved a soul for another mighty day. I did waste money on celebrating a chocolate day but couldn't dare to help the poor lady or even face her. We all mean to help but when actions are the need of the hour, we fail to deliver. And after saying all this, I do posses a simple thought to carry throughout this long night,"I turned my back to her".
