Bikes and cars overtake Old Man and Lady on LIC Road without a sorry. Old Man and Lady always give way to school shut kids on laughing cycles. Olds join them. None misses them when they skip a morning or evening grounded by weak knees and misplaced walking sticks. Most chai and bun kiosks hold in safe custody their wooden, walking sticks for the two Olds to gather as and when they recall and need walking sticks bent at the top. Browns, no blacks. Tick, tick the sticks walk with them the wavy tarred roads. Under the banyan beside Karuna Hospital, they rest mornings after chais at Bhagwan Chai Bhandar; Bhagwan has been crowd-funded by residents of IC Colony to update the kiosk to a Chai Bhandar with pavs, Parle G, Britannia Marie, veg and non veg warm puffs at Iyengars. Bhagwan may miss the sun and moon but not the Olds. They are always his first customers, bauni customers. Today morning Old Man is on a Wills Filter and thought. 'Are you out,' asked Lady. Old Man nodded many nos. Said: 'What happens to all the grandpa stories I hold,' he asked as Old Man had no grand kids to share tales with. They are far away in California, US citizens. He has not seen them for ages. Early mornings, Old Man sits up in bed, unloading stories for butterflies to take and fly away. No other takers. Today, a myna breakfasted on a few butterflies. Stories are lost in transit. That has put down Old Man. 'Maybe, one day or night there will not be grand pa-grand ma stories for kids; there may not be any kids,' said an emotional Old Man to the Lady. Her grandma fables have been shared with kids at the missionary school and forgotten. 'Its like that. There wont be grandpas and grandmas in the future; you may find a few in rest homes,' she mused not without regret. Old Man lighted a second Wills Filter and said: 'Did our gods and goddesses become grandpas and grandmas? Did they sing songs for their grandkids? No Holy Book mentions grandpa-grandma kahanis. Did Ram and Yuddhishtra roll out their dishoon-dishoon to their grand kids? Ram singing Ram. Grandpas, grandmas have not a para in any Holy book. They are packed away to forests.' Old Man and Lady have no forests to go as there are none. How long will they be on LIC Road? Lady threw a piece of pav in the air, smiled at a crow snatch.
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Of Olds
Bikes and cars overtake Old Man and Lady on LIC Road without a sorry. Old Man and Lady always give way to school shut kids on laughing cycles. Olds join them. None misses them when they skip a morning or evening grounded by weak knees and misplaced walking sticks. Most chai and bun kiosks hold in safe custody their wooden, walking sticks for the two Olds to gather as and when they recall and need walking sticks bent at the top. Browns, no blacks. Tick, tick the sticks walk with them the wavy tarred roads. Under the banyan beside Karuna Hospital, they rest mornings after chais at Bhagwan Chai Bhandar; Bhagwan has been crowd-funded by residents of IC Colony to update the kiosk to a Chai Bhandar with pavs, Parle G, Britannia Marie, veg and non veg warm puffs at Iyengars. Bhagwan may miss the sun and moon but not the Olds. They are always his first customers, bauni customers. Today morning Old Man is on a Wills Filter and thought. 'Are you out,' asked Lady. Old Man nodded many nos. Said: 'What happens to all the grandpa stories I hold,' he asked as Old Man had no grand kids to share tales with. They are far away in California, US citizens. He has not seen them for ages. Early mornings, Old Man sits up in bed, unloading stories for butterflies to take and fly away. No other takers. Today, a myna breakfasted on a few butterflies. Stories are lost in transit. That has put down Old Man. 'Maybe, one day or night there will not be grand pa-grand ma stories for kids; there may not be any kids,' said an emotional Old Man to the Lady. Her grandma fables have been shared with kids at the missionary school and forgotten. 'Its like that. There wont be grandpas and grandmas in the future; you may find a few in rest homes,' she mused not without regret. Old Man lighted a second Wills Filter and said: 'Did our gods and goddesses become grandpas and grandmas? Did they sing songs for their grandkids? No Holy Book mentions grandpa-grandma kahanis. Did Ram and Yuddhishtra roll out their dishoon-dishoon to their grand kids? Ram singing Ram. Grandpas, grandmas have not a para in any Holy book. They are packed away to forests.' Old Man and Lady have no forests to go as there are none. How long will they be on LIC Road? Lady threw a piece of pav in the air, smiled at a crow snatch.
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