Skip to main content

Husband and Wife


CRASH!

The mug slipped from his hand and scattered all over the floor, spilling tea all around. Neel let out a defeated sigh. There goes a good cup of tea! He got down to his knees, picked up the pieces and carefully dumped them inside the dustbin. He took out the mop and cleaned the floor. His wife walked into the dining room and saw him sweating on the floor.

“Broke your cup?” She got down and helped Neel clean up the mess.

“Yeah. No more tea for the next 2 weeks, until the market re-opens and I get myself a new mug!”

“Please! You need at least 10 cups of tea in a day, how can you go for 2 weeks without your lifeline?”

“The country is on a 21-day lock-down due to the Coronavirus epidemic, remember? All shops are closed, except for basic amenities, so no chance of buying a new cup. And I broke my spare months ago.”

“So? Use mine. You need it more than me anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

She smiled at him and he realized how lucky he was.

A few thousand miles away, Niraj was heading back to his village with his two children, one on his shoulders and the other in his lap. They were walking continuously for the last 5 hours and the road showed no signs of ending. He wanted to rest but knew that he could not afford to waste any more time. 

The family had been on the road for 2 days now and the kids were hungry. If they continued at this pace, Niraj knew that they would reach home in a day’s time. Then the kids would have a roof above their heads and a bed to sleep on. They would have plateful to eat too. He was afraid of catching the virus but watching his children go to sleep with empty stomachs scared him more.

Niraj pulled himself together and continued to walk, defying the piercing pain in his hands and shoulders.

“Let me carry them for a while.”

His wife placed a hand on his back.

“No, you will get tired.”

“We will walk slowly, you can gather your strength in the meanwhile.”

“We cannot be delayed.”

“We will not be delayed. Let me carry them for a couple of hours. After that, you can take them back and we will make up for the lost time.”

“Are you sure?”

She smiled at him and he realized how lucky he was.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Let me know how you felt about this post

Popular posts from this blog

2441139

“Hello, 2441139, Can you hear me, Bela Bose?” Anjan Dutta sang this song a decade back. And yet, to some people like me, it still rings a bell deep inside. Although the original song is quite pacy, Mr. Dutta performed an acoustic version sometime back, with his son, Neel, which really melts the heart. This song has a special memory of my childhood. As a child, we always look at things at a different perspective. We seldom realise the intensity of the moment. “2441139” was a fun song for me and my cousins in Coochbehar. We play the song until the last part, where Anjan Dutt repeated sings “Hello, 2441139; Hello, 2441139....” We would dial 2-4-4-1-1 (back those days, telephone number used to be of 5 digits). An old lady would pick up the phone and we would bring the receiver close to the speaker of the stereo and Anjan Dutt would do the rest. “Hello 2441139, Hello 2441139...” Then it was growing up and stages of infatuations, understanding love and finally, falling in love. Unless ...
8 comments
Read more

How am I doing, actually?

For past 10 months, a lot of people have been asking me how I have been. And I’ve always maintained that I’m fine. But I guess it’s time I brush aside those fake one-liners and honestly ask myself, “ How am I doing, actually?” I thought I would give up blogging after Baba passed away. Yet here I am, remembering Him, and trying to make a comeback of sorts. I remember how He always encouraged me to write, saying that it was important to have different aspects of one’s life, and not just work till you drop. How do you cope with life after losing that pillar of your world? How do you get a grip on yourself and try to fix your messed up life? How do you take that step ahead, knowing that now there’s no one to fall back to if you make a mistake? Simple, You don’t. There’s no written protocol, no Standard Operating Procedure. Like they say, life simply doesn’t come with an instruction manual. I remember I used to have a decent life, not a care in life, no worries. I had my pare...
6 comments
Read more

Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji

Sometimes in life, you listen to a number and wonder if you are ever gonna listen to another good song. This is a fear most music lovers have deep within themselves, that maybe, one fine day, all the good music will be gone and we shall be left with only the nasal craps! Thankfully, our fears can never win over our faith and faith delivers yet again. Dil to Bahccha hai Ji is a sweet romantic melody about falling in love and it is so wonderfully composed that one can actually feel the emotions that make love so special. Rahet Fateh Ali Khan sings this wonderful number in “ Ishqiya ”. This song takes me back to that wonderful year in school, mid 2001 to early 2002, when as a class 12 student, I experienced that special feeling. The walks through the basketball court, with my eyes on the class 11 veranda in the second floor.. “Aisi uljhi nazar unse hatti nehin...” Love is magical when it happens to you. The many sleepless nights, the effortless smile from inside just at the sight of E...
4 comments
Read more

A year older, A year wiser – a blogger’s realization that time, in fact, heals all

What is the most common free advice you get when you are down? -           “ Time is the best healer” This has to be the universal counsel for people going through a low point in their lives. One phrase, translated in probably all the languages in the world, ending with a wise smile and a nod from the adviser. And every receiver of this free bit of good will has different phrases going on inside of them, all which basically reflect on one idea – “Wait till it happens to you, JERK!” Thankfully, I have come to a point in my journey, where I can have a say in this matter. I have, like the rest of us, always given free advices at will. In fact, this is something every person is capable of. I have, of course, used the widespread phrase Time is the best healer many a times, but the beauty of our world is that Aristotle was right; The Earth is, in fact, round. What goes around, unfortunately, comes around and about a year ago, the positions had ...
4 comments
Read more

A Letter to Dog-Heaven

How do you communicate with the departed? What if there’s no last meeting, what if You are 2 days late? In a first of its kind in my blog, I’m writing a letter to Dog-Heaven, where my beloved angel is probably spreading her love and her laughter… Dear Scamper, It’s been two months now, but I think of You every day. You are always in my mind. I’m sorry I couldn’t write to You earlier. I am sad. I am still gutted but I understand why You left my side. You have been fighting illness for the past 2 years and more, to the point where finally You had to give in. I am still hollow today, hurt beyond imagination at this loss. But don’t worry too hard, dear, I’ll make it through. I remember the first time I saw You, I remember it so clearly that I feel younger right this moment. I go back roughly 12 and a half years , that enchanting morning when the quirky 14 year old version of me rushed into the living room and saw You sitting solemnly in a little box. You little face was puzzled...
4 comments
Read more

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *