Reflections - A Journey Through Life

  Mingling together Tukai deserved an evening out. I gave him options— “Music World? Oxford?” “No way”, his answer was emphatic— it has to be a special dinner. He loves to eat. We call him a gourmet and an evening out with him must nothing less than be a grand dinner. I knew this but teased him a bit. “Where to go?” Quick came the reply, “Park Street.” In our city most of the good old restaurants are bunched up along this half a kilometer long strip. “So be it”, I concurred. We started walking from where Park Street begins. I told him, “We will walk slowly and look around. Whichever place takes our fancy we will step in.” It was a cool Saturday evening. At this time of the year before summer sets in, sea breeze makes the evenings very pleasant. Happily we strolled. Me talking non-stop as I do with him and he responding occasionally at right places with right sounds. We were on the left sidewalk and I knew that a few of the most desirable destinations are situated on...

Cold old and thoughtful My son has turned 16. Pulling his legs I call him, hey, sweet sixteen or sometimes I start singing in my hoarse voice, ‘I am sixteen, going on seventeen….’ And always he smiles embarrassed, ‘Oh, you are incorrigible.’ He is a thinking type of person with a ready smile. But this evening he seemed a little away. His face was a shade longer than usual. There was a trifle delay in his answers to innocuous routine questions. I thought to myself, this man has turned a bit cold. Like most men of my age, I do not readily find occasions that would make me especially happy. Routine day follows another routine day. A list of jobs to be done now, then or never is constantly updated at the back of the mind. A tussle goes on continuously between the drabness, worries, bits of joys and rare exhilaration. Age slows you down. The flames of the candles which lighted up all around only a few years ago, extinguish one by one. My mind could feel the approaching darkne...