Reflections - A Journey Through Life

The man was standing near the window of a car three cars away in front. He was trying to sell cheap toys to a child inside the car. The red light halt at this large traffic point will take a few minutes more to turn green. The object of attraction was a colorful disk—must be part of a cheap toy which the man was trying to sell. The colors lured the child inside the car. A dialogue was going on between the toy-seller standing under the harsh sun and the inmates of the car. All around him were cars of various shapes and sizes impatiently waiting for the light to turn green. He didn't belong there just as a slum doesn't have any right to be near a modern apartment building. I was happy to see the toy passed inside the car. Now is the payment time, the deal will be closed and the man will have the chance to move away from the unnatural company of cars all around him. My gaze had drifted away for a moment. The light had turned green. Cars in the first row started moving. ...

A birthday gift It was for you, my wife told me as I came down the hall to receive the call. Someone has come to meet you, the gateman rang up, she finished. I wondered aloud, at this time in the morning—who can it be! In a quick analysis I concluded, chances are very slim for anyone to visit me now. Anyhow I waited and the doorbell chimed in due time. I opened the door with just a speck of curiosity. The man, a bearer in ordinary clothes, stood straight, stiffly holding a costly flower bouquet, an expectant smile hanging on his face. I took the bouquet from him, looked at the two slips attached to it. One announced, 'Happy birthday'. The other was precise, 'Arunava Choudhury'. I am Chowdhury, but not Arunava and my birthday had long gone. Amused I turned round to meet the eye of my son reading his morning news. I asked him jokingly, should I keep it? This is a happy birthday gift. He laughed. What was the address you were given, I asked the man. He...