Just an Endearing Scene

Today was a beautiful day, streaked with rain clouds and the earth was flaunting some rain puddles, where toads splashed merrily, croaking their joy and a lapwing took dainty steps, like a long-legged fashionista, aware of her mesmerizing aura.

A wizened old man, sat on a chair outside a tea-shop, slowly sipping tea when the barking of dogs fell into his ears. Right in front of him walked a bony man with a sunken chest, hair all disheveled, stopping now and then, almost bending over, clutching his stomach, and coughing up a morsel of his lung.

Just a little distance away from the tea shop lounged a troika of intimidating-looking dogs in one of the rain puddles.

As an old woman, in her late seventies, leaning on a walking stick hobbled on, the terrible threesome somehow felt threatened and let loose a litany of woofs. One sprung up from his watery bed and started growling at her walking stick, another went a little further and tried to snatch it from her.

Morning Meanderings Season 4 – the weekly column by Santosh Bakaya

The coughing man looked around helplessly, trying in vain to stop them. The old man, sipping tea, heard her helpless yells and, depositing his teacup on the wobbly stool, walked in her direction and shooed away the dogs.

The woman thanked him profusely. I walked on, immensely happy.

But I looked back out of curiosity and was delighted to find both sitting outside the tea- shop, sipping tea and exchanging notes about the vicissitudes of the seven decades of their lives, chuckling and growing wistful every minute.

When I came back from my two rounds, I was surprised to see they were still there, animatedly talking to each other. I carried the scene back home, permanently etched in my heart.

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About the Author

Santosh Bakaya ( 169 Posts)

Dr Santosh Bakaya is the author of three mystery novels for young adults, and a book of essays titled Flights From My Terrace, which was recently published as an e-book on Smashwords. Her poetic biography of Mahatma Gandhi, Ballad Of Bapu has been published by Vitasta Publishers, Delhi, India in May 2015 and has been receiving rave reviews from everywhere. Although a Political theorist, with a doctorate in political theory, it is literature which has been her first love. She was awarded the Reuel international award for language and literature 2014 for her long poem Oh Hark!, which forms part of the Significant Anthology. Many of her poems have figured in the highly commended category in Destiny Poets, a UK based website and many are part of international anthologies. Right now, she is giving the final touches to her satirical novel, tentatively titled Sanakpur Shenanigans.
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