The old man I am talking about lives near my cousin’s house. I remember the first time I saw him; it was around 6 a.m. on a summer morning. We (me and my sister) were in the park for morning walk. We usually preferred to walk slowly and silently; in order to soak in the freshness of day and to hear the chirrup of birds. As we heard the hustle of fast moving footsteps behind; we made a way for the follower to pass. He passed and then looked back at us and said,”Good morning young ladies.”My sister replied him and then elbowed me in the stomach saying,” Stop smiling, you did not even reply him.” I responded,” I wished him by a nod. You should observe more carefully what is happening around, young lady. “And then we walked silently as always. Actually I was astounded by the radiant smile and jubilant aura of his. He seemed lively, living life to its extreme. It made me happy. And then after returning home I surrendered myself to the daily chores. Life went on. The next time I saw him was when we (me and my sisters) were having coffee on the balcony of our home. He was passing by the street in front of our house. As his gaze met ours, he said,” Four beautiful ladies are having coffee together, I see.” And everyone wished him except of course me. I was in the same state as earlier. I just smiled. But I felt pleasure on seeing him like I knew him for past many years. I saw him content making his own way through streets like he had no troubles in his life which were awaiting him on the front door of his house. If he also had struggles in life he just did not wear them around.
One year later, I am again in his city and yes two days ago I saw him and experienced same inner bliss that I felt earlier. This time he wished us a nice day ahead and to my cousin’s surprise I was able to respond him back.
I know these are very few instances to say anything about a person but at the same time I know that he is what he appears. He walks confidently and believes in spreading happiness. He does not pretend. He does not dye his hair black. He looks perfectly handsome in his greyish white hair when he styles them in the mirror of his car. He embodies joy and pleasure. The only thing I wish when I see him is that I want to grow old and reflect-if not whole-a small part of him to another me.
This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.
EXPLORING SELF 