Saturday, February 1, 2014

Day 10 : Riches to Rugs

It was usual working day evening,I was driving back to home from work. I took the turn to the road where that lamp post was I have to drive from there as fast as I can without looking at the lamp-post.

The moment I was just speeding up my car I saw a PCR and ambulance standing with few people gathered around the lamp post .Even though I wanted to race my car accelerator and run away from there but I couldn't able to.

I pull over my car adjacent to the lamp post. I still don't have the courage to go near to lamp post.In midst of all chaos suddenly a torn-dirty blanket caught my sight ,I knew that blanket since my childhood and then there was a trail of cloths around that , all those rugs - I am very well versed to whom these belong to, for a jiffy my heart pumped out - his eyes were open wide same as it used to be from last 20 years , but out of life - EYES, yes I knew this eyes,  I knew him very well, these are the same eyes that used to haunt me for years, used to stalk me for years... but he is not that chaarsi from whom I used to run away...whom I used to scared....whom I used to abuse internally.There was a body lying life less - 6 feet long, no footwear in feet, skin all dark and dirty, a very feeble old man looks like as he was a beggar or rug-picker,only a torn  kurta, whose color was beyond recognition because of dirt of years, was on his body,  he was so thin as he have not eaten from years.

whenever I used to pass the lamp post, only visible part of his body I could see was his eyes. He used to calmly sit on his spot- under the dim light of the lamp post busy in his own world, but whenever I passed the  lamp-post he leave aside everything and stare me till I am not out of his sight.

He used to carry pile of cloths with him as it was his all legacy he have and today it is scattered all around him.

Shri Ramesh Lal Mishra VP of Mishra Firms - a police man was reading aloud from the visiting card he found in his pocket.

I am well versed with this name and the person too. I look at him last time give him silent prayer and drive back to home with normal speed but heavy heart.

All these years he was just trying to do hide his identity from this world to save his children reputation who have abandoned him many years back and left him on footpath he used to be one of the top business man of our locality. I remember him from the pictures in our locality notice board under missing section which his kids posted before leaving for abroad don't know how many years ago and all these years we didn't knew that whom we all used to call chaarsi living under the lamp-post is the same Mishra uncle!!




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