CRAVINGS

  Marriage songs in one corner and marriage ceremony taking place over another. People scattered in many directions. Even on a single food stall we might not catch them all. There was so much to eat. Lots of dishes available in this Indian Wedding, like as if we were to visit each of stall and try every of dish,might not be just a single mouthful of, still it would take plenty hours to complete the performance,  to register every item on taste buds, provided we are not humans and we are unlimited eaters. And if normal being is taken, I was off in 3 Anjir Vedhmi and A bowl of Cream salad. SO much to Eat, SO many Items to eat, SO many flavors - Italian, Chinese, Continental, Indian traditional...to eat, SO much extra to offer....like it had been a vow - nobody should think the other way that the party was not well fed.

                   We,all  friends, meet every Sunday. During winters we normally meet at Tea-stall and during summers we meet at juice corner. But today was marriage - eating heavy occasion and after over bulging all our friends decided to share tea. It was half past ten and we were like all our working compartments shutting down and concentrating extra shift to be worked in stomach,,.. sleep was on her way to us...but because we could not meet until next Sunday we force to share this.We insisted on a cup of tea and little chatter, some laughter, some comments on the marriage soon after, some heart breakers marriage stories and many from some to go fairy and we moved on. As I went to pay bill I listened somebody calling - signalling from behind the wall - with just his Hide and Seek  face coming out from the crossing of the wall. I ignore him but I felt the uneasiness, impatience in the signal...I look back and got that He was asking me to grab the Chacha (tea maker)'s attention. I conveyed the message and our Tea-maker looked at him, in the said direction, spell some grumbling long cursing, and filled up tea glass half and told his man to give it to him.

                   There at that point, old man came out from the wall clearing. He was terrible looking man with lot of tall grey hair running high. He was so thing that at a point I thought, his stomach and back were one. He was in dirty shabby clothes, maybe shaking, maybe his eyes bot been able to see properly, maybe his legs were so weak or maybe because there were no slippers on his naked legs, stone could be piercing them, maybe he was unable to lift his shaky hands or the weight of his head was too much for rest of the body to carry on.... He eagerly took the tea and while his body was working on reflex action - whether to drink and keep standing or to sit and keep drinking - His shaky hands obey mouth's order. He was confused to sit or to stand - but not confused to keep drinking .

                    Not bearing the sight - I asked for little information to our Tea master. He told that the old man was 'manual cycle luggage laborer', working on daily wages for so and so shops. But now due to old age and Cataract problem he was retire and there behind the tea stall, he lay there whole day, pretending to sleep and every evening came to have a cup of tea.

                   This was enough for me to make me run away from a very sad story structure of life. Of-course this old man was not expected to have savings of his own, neither the shop keepers would be so gratuitous to pay him something like pension fund and thought that moved me..shiver me right from my head to my toe was that - This Man Was now Living mere on a Cup ...Single Cup of TEA.,..a cursedly tea provided free of cost by  out Chacha.

                   This is very old and very regular feeling to me as I - in a day atleast come to one man/woman having same Eating Schedule. I have seen people collecting garbage for whole day and in the end, their earnings would have stamina to buy just a Packet of Biscuit and a cup of Tea. The irony today is that, on this same very day I had seen enough of food, so enough food that man went exhausted out of capacity,eating and then I had seen food exhausted capacity to fill a Man.

                  This is no advice blog, neither I am asking any charity to the readers, nor I am writing to grab votes to make my voice reach, as politicians do., But it has always challenge the basic Social Responsibility question.  Should  Capacity to eat wins over to capacity to buy or vise versa ??  Anyways, you may disregard it several times....

Today as usual Papa came late. The Bags, which were once used to fill with Happy surprises, are empty today. With Him came silence, intolerance and all other friends - whose presence no living person will bear. Mother silently brought tea. He sat down on couch. We had already surrendered our cartoon channel to the silent T.v., which now tuned into some boring NEWS channel. I could guess - Bad Sensex,Boss's Torture and Blank head. But my little sisters might try to wonder at the similarities between their school's tough Principal's surprise visit and Father's routine Home Coming.

We sat nearly for an hour with only TV NEWS reporter talking too much, mother cooking very hastily. Then I went to help mother and my two younger sisters very soon got busy with their playings in their room- noisily, whole heartily - oh Gosh, I wish I could have joined them. Then rang the 'fire' Phone.  Very less dialogues, more fiery expressions and a Bang,...We now stick to strict protocol. Must light candle - Prayer - then dinner - then playing carom for half hour and compulsorily sleep - even cant able to sleep - 'count Sheep and Sleep'.

Prayer part was tough for little sisters. But food we three enjoyed mostly with low voice mugging, chatting, compressed laughter.. Then we set to play. I sat on couch for book reading with papa playing with other two girls. The first game papa won very Hitlerly. That didn't went hard over sisters, but a sense of tension rose in the atmosphere. Mother, who was ending up with the chores in kitchen came and join sides to loosing girls. Poor little ones, they even cant understand the phenomenon of loosing. It's difficult to take defeat on the face over to the childhood. But today Hitler had came with Gaddsafi and all the devilish dictators as if he is to conquer whole world today and today by itself. Now my youngest dear gave up and started crying with Mummy trying to calm her down and argue with papa -  How can he be so immature, it was just the game with small ones...even he cant understand the way of outlook of these smalls..and so on so forth...and we wind up went up to bed.

In the dunes of carcinogenic smoke - with dim light in the corner of the dark world - Father sat there and gave a thought - when a person lost to all other sides of life - How can he loose the only side, he is powerful to and when almost he had weak opponents...But when the same situation is placed within the BOND OF LOVE - HOW FAR CAN YOU JUSTIFY ?..