After his wife passed away, he was lonely even if he continued to live in his own house with his son and the son's family. He didn't mind doing errands on the request of the son and the son's wife. He loved both of them. Their chubby two year old son was the apple of his eyes. He had retired from a very high position in the government and therefore was not short of money. He didn't mind spending his money either, to run the house though his son too was on a good job and was earning well.
The errands were occasional for sometime but slowly became a daily ritual. Every morning his dear son's wife would give him a piece of paper having a score of items-- ranging from toothpicks to detergent powder-- written on it and he was expected to go to the market, buy the items from the department store and then roam around looking for fresh brinjal, two inch long Bhindi etc as per the specifications spelt out to him by her verbally.
The elderly loving man soon felt slighted at the daily command and an otherwise agreeable household chore turned into a drudgery. It hurt his self-esteem. He felt he was losing height and was turning into a beast of burden. His lonely existence after the passing away of his wife became more oppressive.
One day he reached an old age home in the city and stayed on. Life was less taunting there. Soon, the smile of the child at home started haunting. An urge swelled within to go back to the child who too loved him. It made him restless.
One day he reached the tea stall close to his house in the morning and waited for his son to pass that way on his way to the office. The son did come that way, he saw the father but didn't stop to take him home, to his grandchild , as the grandfather had been yearning for.
He wiped his eyes and went back to the oldage home, leaving emotions at the tea stall.
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16th February, 2015
The errands were occasional for sometime but slowly became a daily ritual. Every morning his dear son's wife would give him a piece of paper having a score of items-- ranging from toothpicks to detergent powder-- written on it and he was expected to go to the market, buy the items from the department store and then roam around looking for fresh brinjal, two inch long Bhindi etc as per the specifications spelt out to him by her verbally.
The elderly loving man soon felt slighted at the daily command and an otherwise agreeable household chore turned into a drudgery. It hurt his self-esteem. He felt he was losing height and was turning into a beast of burden. His lonely existence after the passing away of his wife became more oppressive.
One day he reached an old age home in the city and stayed on. Life was less taunting there. Soon, the smile of the child at home started haunting. An urge swelled within to go back to the child who too loved him. It made him restless.
One day he reached the tea stall close to his house in the morning and waited for his son to pass that way on his way to the office. The son did come that way, he saw the father but didn't stop to take him home, to his grandchild , as the grandfather had been yearning for.
He wiped his eyes and went back to the oldage home, leaving emotions at the tea stall.
**********
16th February, 2015
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