Late Night Show..
"When does it end ?"
"What ?"
"When does it end ? "
"What ends when ?", I ask with a deep etched frown on my face.
He doesn't mind the frown and with eyes like a kid eager to know he asks me again, "When does it end ?"
The day has been like any other day for me, till now. Starting from the train ride to my office, 10 hours of work and another train ride back to home, I have been right on my daily track of living yet another day. Minutes before, I got down at my stop and walked with hundreds of people towards the exit. The evening has been pleasant with cool breeze invigorating the damped body. I didn't mind to lit up and smoke away the fatigue which had build up after a whole day's toil. Had I smoked a few puffs, I see an old man few feet away from me. Wearing a white kurta and dhoti , he hunched towards me using his stick. For an instance I didn't mind him thinking he was just a beggar. He would ask for few rupees and I would calmly brush him away or walk myself to some place far. That would have been easy.
"Kaka", I mellowed
"What do you want ?"
"Babu, I don't want anything. Just tell me when does it end ?"
Things would have been way different if the day would have been bad for me. I would have surely ignored him and walked to home. But somehow I didn't. What compelled me to stay and face him was his eyes. They stared at me with no hostility or sadness.
"You mean my cigar."
"No. I know when it ends with all the tobacco burnt up."
"Night ?"
"No, I know that ends with the dawn."
"Grief ?", I surmised looking at his sombre face.
He smiled. I thought I struck gold with that guess.
"No, I'm old enough to know that happiness and sadness are my pair of crutches in this lame life."
"Desire ?"
"No."
"No?", I asked. "You have no explanation for that", I smilingly mocked him.
"Well babu that has a direct relation with it."
I look at my watch to sigh how late I'm. that will have a direct consequence on my morning schedule. I would struggle getting up early if I keep playing this game. Aha, struggle. But what has struggle to do with desire? We do struggle for something we desire. But that ends when the desire ends. Now when does desire ends? According to him desire ends when 'it' in his question ends. Somewhere deep in my consciousness I realized asking myself a question of my own, when does this madness end ?
"What ?"
"When does it end ? "
"What ends when ?", I ask with a deep etched frown on my face.
He doesn't mind the frown and with eyes like a kid eager to know he asks me again, "When does it end ?"
The day has been like any other day for me, till now. Starting from the train ride to my office, 10 hours of work and another train ride back to home, I have been right on my daily track of living yet another day. Minutes before, I got down at my stop and walked with hundreds of people towards the exit. The evening has been pleasant with cool breeze invigorating the damped body. I didn't mind to lit up and smoke away the fatigue which had build up after a whole day's toil. Had I smoked a few puffs, I see an old man few feet away from me. Wearing a white kurta and dhoti , he hunched towards me using his stick. For an instance I didn't mind him thinking he was just a beggar. He would ask for few rupees and I would calmly brush him away or walk myself to some place far. That would have been easy.
"Kaka", I mellowed
"What do you want ?"
"Babu, I don't want anything. Just tell me when does it end ?"
Things would have been way different if the day would have been bad for me. I would have surely ignored him and walked to home. But somehow I didn't. What compelled me to stay and face him was his eyes. They stared at me with no hostility or sadness.
"You mean my cigar."
"No. I know when it ends with all the tobacco burnt up."
"Night ?"
"No, I know that ends with the dawn."
"Grief ?", I surmised looking at his sombre face.
He smiled. I thought I struck gold with that guess.
"No, I'm old enough to know that happiness and sadness are my pair of crutches in this lame life."
"Desire ?"
"No."
"No?", I asked. "You have no explanation for that", I smilingly mocked him.
"Well babu that has a direct relation with it."
I look at my watch to sigh how late I'm. that will have a direct consequence on my morning schedule. I would struggle getting up early if I keep playing this game. Aha, struggle. But what has struggle to do with desire? We do struggle for something we desire. But that ends when the desire ends. Now when does desire ends? According to him desire ends when 'it' in his question ends. Somewhere deep in my consciousness I realized asking myself a question of my own, when does this madness end ?
Contd....
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