An Evening Stroll

Yesterday evening I was feeling quite drained after some very busy days (rather weeks) at work. So, I went out of the office for a walk. The sun was setting and the dust was dancing in the light that pierced through the trees. I walked past the ground which was hosting 3-4 cricket games and a small group of auto rickshaws. A lone man was braving three auto rickshaw-wallahs for a fare bargain. A few children with the their backpacks on, rode past me on their cycles and braked at the temple across the street to quickly offer their prayers.


I quietly walked to the tea stall at the corner of the street and asked for a kapi. "Straangaa Saar" asked the man behind stove, clad in a colorful lungi and a soiled towel on his shoulder. I nodded in agreement. He poured the coffee with extreme precision into a translucent glass and placed on the counter. I picked up the piping hot beverage, swatting away flies that wanted a taste of it. I walked to the other side of the deserted street, placed the cup on a short wall in the shade of a tree and hopped on to it. I sat there sipping the straang kapi, staring into oblivion. This was when a few birds came from no where and sat on the electricity transmission cable. I was suddenly pulled into another world. It was a strong feeling of deja vu. Same scenario, but in a different place and a different time, when a good friend of mine often made a philosophical statement "I think one of the birds did not return today" and us three buddies stared into space. I wondered the same, but this time alone.

image source: http://k43.pbase.com/o4/60/647860/1/57489985.Chai.jpg