It has become a routine for me to go to Mumbai every
alternate weekend to meet my sweet niece. :) Last Month on one Saturday I was travelling
to Mumbai. I was sitting next to an old uncle in a bus. He must be in his 70's.
I was little upset with myself that I couldn't manage to
catch the morning 7.15 train :( and from my old experiences I was knowing that
the bus would definitely take more than 4 hrs. For me it's too boring to spend
3-4 hrs sitting idle in a sit because I don't have smart phone to play games
for hrs :P and I couldn't listen songs for more than a hr as it becomes too
noisy in the running bus that it always gives me a headache. Even I couldn't
sleep for continuous 3-4 hrs. I couldn't even look outside because I didn't get
window sit....... :'(
I called my sister to tell her that I will reach Mumbai
before 12 PM(just to remind her not to
forget to cook lunch for me also :P ) . I told her whole story of how I
missed my train and all. After 15 minutes of long chat, I cut the phone.
After almost half an hr we started from Pune station, Uncle sitting beside me
pulled out a polythene bag and started eating 'Farsan'. He offered me saying he
didn't have breakfast in the morning and have to take his medicines. I felt bad
that he has to have Farsan as a breakfast.
But Uncle didn't give me much time to regret for this and continued his
talk.
He was saying....
"I stay at Kasaba Peth with my wife. It's very
difficult to manage everything because she couldn't walk properly because of knee pain. Because of her illness only we have shifted
to Mumbai so that our Daughter can take care of us. But we don't like to stay
at her home all the time so we keep on travelling between our home in Pune and our
Daughter's place in Mumbai."
Me:" Ok." [Just smiled :)] After a long pause
of 10 minutes... "Is she the only child of yours?"
Uncle: "No no dear, we have a Son. He is a software
engineer and settled in Washington, USA. We have a loving grandson and last
year only me and my wife visited USA to meet them. We stayed there for long 6
months but I feel the weather didn't suit us. It's too cold there after 3 PM
and we couldn't get out of home after that [I just smiled :)] and also we feel bored there as there is no
one to talk with like in Pune. We had to come back as my wife's health started
getting worse there."
[Pause of 15mins....]
Uncle: "My Son won't come back to India as he wants
to settle in States and started kind of hating Indian lifestyle. He told us
about his decision when last time he visited India, the time I met with an
accident. After that accident only I started facing memory loss problem....no
no...it's not Amnesia..I do remember everything. It's just that couldn't
recollect them instantly. " [My expressions changed suddenly..."How
the old couple is surviving having no one to look after them whether they need
constant watch."]
He continued....
"Our Daughter is a Journalist and this is the reason
she wanted to settle in Mumbai. She was in Dubai for 2 yrs. She is a smart and
intelligent girl...She has many good contacts..In fact I would like to give you
her card. You can call her anytime you need.[It was impossible for me to hide
the smile on my face....In fact I liked the fact that he was feeling so proud
of his daughter.] "
He was talking continuously....He shared so many personal
things about his family like how they sold almost all their property to buy a
home at Dadar for his daughter. How much he love their current house in Pune
and how much sad he is feeling now that he has to sell the property. How Pune
has been changed a lot in last 10 yrs...How public transport in Mumbai is far
better than in Pune. How politicians are using People like us for their own
advantage...............and the list continues.
I was hardly speaking anything...was playing a role of a
good listener :)
By the time we reached Dadar it was almost 1 PM. Saying a
final goodbye we got down from the bus and started walking towards our respective
destinations.
Meanwhile I received a call from my sister asking at
what time I will reach as she is waiting for me to have lunch
together :)
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