🚶♂️ Sensitive World!
Who do you think I am? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?
He shouted at me.
These days you can’t speak your mind, because everyone is super sensitive. I was recently walking on the pathway next to the Fort Kochi beach. An elderly man was sitting and painting on a bench. This is the walkway further down the fishing nets. I moved in a little closer to watch, but not close enough to disturb him, or so I thought. As I stood behind him came the angry voice.
“Can’t you see I am resting, move your lousy feet away from me”.
I apologised and said,
“I have great respect for survivors like you, it must be difficult living off the street”
That started a conversation. Not a very comfortable one though, I must add.
“Who do you think I am? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?”
“No, I don’t, since I just met you”
“My father lives in a massive house in Panampilly Nagar”
“Why don’t you go live there then?”
” He has disowned me and won’t let me live there”
” What about your mother?”
” She left me long ago. In fact, she was not from an affluent or reputed family like him. My dad used to go for evening walks in Panampilly Nagar. My mom used to go there too. They noticed each other and later on became close. In fact, mom used to stay in a small house near the railway line. She used to go for walks with her friends. Most of them knew my dad because he was dashing and smart. None of them had the courage to talk to him.”
” So how did they meet?”
” Rain, yes that’s how…. You know how unpredictable rains here are…Do you know the small bridge along the walkway? Where there are dense trees and the shade?”
” Yes, I do. In fact, I love the place since it’s very cool and cosy. The branches have formed a green cave there”
” Yes, that’s the spot….dad walked that way once, and it suddenly rained…. he ran to take shelter. Mom and friends were already there. That’s the first time they met.”
” That’s almost like a movie”
” The rest of it is like a typical movie too”
” Mom’s family moved to Fort Kochi, and she had to go. Little did she know that she was pregnant. Those days there was no way to contact him either. She could not go out much, and finally, I was born. Mom passed away 3 years later because of heart-related complications. I ran away from home, and lived off the streets, met new friends”
” What about your dad? Did you try meeting him?”
” Yes, I did. I went with two of my friends to Panampilly. Asked around about him, since I had no idea where the house was. A few old folks gave me directions. He lives in a massive house. Dad came to the gate to see me. I told him who I was, and he had a teardrop in his eye. He said he had never seen mom again but searched for her but couldn’t find her.”
” He must have been happy to see you”
” Yes, and No…he said I can’t live with him anymore as much as he would love to…since he had a family now and things would come crashing down…So I came back to Fort Kochi. It’s been five years since”
” Thats very sad”
”No, not entirely. In a way, I am free now. Have good friends, I am happy and it’s as if I own the entire world now. I roam free, meet a lot of friendly people and have great conversations with people like you. There are a few small restaurants that give free food to the like of us. So it’s different from your world. Everything in my world is real, genuine… no false faces…. as raw as it comes. In your world, I see a lot of pretence and fake”
”Hmm, coming to think about it, what you said makes sense”
” So what breed was your dad”
” Oh, dad was a Labrador and mom was a street dog that the family adopted”
” It was great talking to you, will catch up sometime soon…”
I walked along with some new lessons in life and onto the beach. Watched the sun go down the red carpet into the sea…. for a better and refreshing dawn.