A New Year Story

This evening, I had gone to Lake Market to get some medicines. I had plans to get back to Hindustan Mart, the conglomerate of handicraft and embroidery raw material suppliers at Gariahat, and then come back home. Availing an autorickshaw for the same, I got to seat beside the driver. There was an old gentleman sitting in the back seat, along with a young couple. In continuation of his conversation with the young man, he was saying that he was 81 years old,and he wanted to go to Jodhpur Park. He asked if the vehicle will cross Jodhpur Park, to which the young man informed him that he will have to get down at Gariahat to go to Jodhpur Park.Then he asked the young man whether he was a Bengali. The young man also asked him where he was from, and he said he was from Kanyakumari, and had left that place in 1940!! He was a freedom fighter,he mentioned. His voice was not very excited, rather quite composed, while he mentioned his past. I was interested for a couple of seconds to turn back and have a good look at him, but refrained from doing so, as I was sitting in a more or less precarious position.Meanwhile , the auto had reached Hindustan Mart, and I got down. It is basically just a few steps away from the Gariahat crossing. To my utter surprise, I found all the shops in the particular area closed in mourning of someone's demise. Well, I had to go back home without getting the necessary things...I remembered I had plans of finding a momo counter, which was supposed to be in a lane in the opposite side of the road, and somewhat aimlessly, I started crossing the road, trying hard to think if I could remember any other shop nearby that could be selling the stuffs I needed.....and then I saw him....the octagenarian who travelled with me a while back, crossing the road very slowly but steadily. He was tall, dark, bald, stretching his leg a little while walking, yet he was walking straight.He crossed the busy road successfully, and then stopped by to ask someone the way to his destination. I don't know what came to my mind, but I found myself walking towards him, instead of the other direction towards the momo counter. When I came near, I could hear the other guy instructing him to go to the autorickshaw stand , where from he could get an auto for Jodhpur park. He said thanks, but I could sense he was not sure which way to go.I walked up to him and asked "You wish to go to Jodhpur Park, right?" He said yes. So I told him a little more elaborately that he could either catch a bus from the opposite side of the road, or go to the auto stand. He smiled at me and said "Thank you dear". I was thinking my duty was over, but I realised how much difficult it would be for him to avail a transport on a busy evening from one of the busiest crossings of the city.The auto stand is around 5-7 minutes walk from the crossing, and always has a long queue. He would have to wait for ages to get hold of an autorickshaw, until his turn comes. And he could never get on one of those private buses that snarl pass the road.I asked him" Do you know where the auto stand is?" He said "No"; I said" Shall I go with you?...Come, let me take you to the auto stand"...He gave a wide grin and said "Thank You..." ;there was a visible sense of relief on his face. He started following me and smilingly said "you are my granddaughter's age"... I smiled back and told him I was in the same auto with him earlier, and therefore I knew where he wished to go.I realised I was walking faster than him, and he wasn't being able to keep pace with me.While crossing the road, I took hold of his hand firmly, and he said "May God bless you dear". I told him at this age , he shouldn't come out in the roads alone, his family members could be worried about him. He said he had come quite long back to buy something, and then there was a power cut, which is why he got late; he has informed home that he would reach home by eight.He spoke a lot, slowly, fumbling at times, while he walked down the busy road holding my hand....he said he was a freedom fighter and used to kill one European a day!!! He doesn't remember how many people he have killed. He also mentioned, Bengalis and Maharashtrians are ferocious and good people....I suddenly remembered all the freedom fighters from the history books...he said he didn't care much for himself, because there was the Mother for him everywhere..I understood he was mentioning the Motherland, and belonged to that long forgotten breed of warriors, who left all the luxuries of life to free there Mother from foreign rule.Then he said..."here I look up and see the Mother in front of me..." and he looked towards me!!...he continued.."Sujala Sufala Malayajashitala Sashya Shyamala Mataram, Vande Mataram ..." for a moment I was spell bound!! Amidst all the din and bustle of the city, with people and vehicles thronging, I suddenly felt so different...so complete...full...fertile....abundant...just like a Mother!!We reached the auto stand. There was as usual, a queue as long as it could be. I asked him to wait while I went to look for a quicker solution. Luckily,as I had wished for, there was an auto which was looking for short distance passengers. I came back to find him, and he was to be found no where!!! For a few seconds I was so confused...I even started thinking whether I was dreaming things till now, when I suddenly heard someone calling out softly "Baba..." I looked around and found him, to my great amazement, standing in the queue... he somehow managed to get a place in the middle of the queue while I went for my search!!I took him to the waiting vehicle, and got him seated. I requested the driver to let me go down at Jodhpur Park.Then I bid him goodbye and came away.A rich sense of goodness engulfed me. I am not vehemently engaged in any sort of social work , rather like many other people, completely engrossed with my own life and my needs. My impromptu decision , however, made me earnestly feel good. I forgot about the momos and other knick knacks I wished to buy, and came back home.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Note: Translation of the line in Sanskrit is as follows :Vande maataraM
sujalaaM suphalaaM malayaja shiitalaaM
SasyashyaamalaaM maataram ||Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.This translation is by Sri Aurobindo, and found at the link below:http://www.sanatan.org/en/vandemataram/index.html

Tuesday, January 8, 2008