Crescent Night

Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.

The night had fallen. The otherwise primarily vacant and partially
dark road due to presence of trees with long wide branches full of
leaves, were full of light accompanied by the sound of movement and human
words.

It was the day of the weekly market. A variety of vendors came to sell
primarily fruits and vegetables but also clothes, utensils, spices and
some other wares.

Tahaan stared at the face of the vegetable vendor; the vegetable
The vendor gave a smile which had signs of guilt.

“So, you are telling me the price of onions doubled within a week?”
Tahaan questioned.

The vegetable vendor picked two onions which had strayed from their
heap and placed them back, then he said, “What can be done? Even I
had to buy vegetables at an increased price. You must have read or
heard about it in the news as well.”

Tahaan recalled his grandmother reading a news article about the rise
in prices of some vegetables last week.

“I heard the news at the start of last week, which means last Thursday
you sold me old stock,” Tahaan said before asking the vendor to pack a
kg of onion.

‘Only if the income of people increased in the same manner’, thought
Tahaan. He saw a few irritated faces around.

“Rising prices of vegetables?”

Tahaan turned to see Mr Burman standing with a cloth bag on shoulder.
He was one of Tahaan’s father’s friends.

Tahaan smiled in acknowledgment of what was spoken.

Mr Burman started walking along with Tahaan.

“This should make people realise the consequence of voting for the
wrong political party,” said Mr Burman who was against the ruling
political party of the country.

Tahaan didn’t associate with Mr Burman’s political views but he had to
say something.

“Yeah.. rising prices of necessary things such as vegetables is
certainly a problem.”

“Well, the next elections are 7 months away, all these problems can be
solved. Young people like you should vote for the right candidate and
allow the country to be in the hands of someone actually capable of
going beyond decorated words.”

Mr Burman stopped to buy some green chillies and coriander, then he
returned home having bought what he came to buy. Tahaan continued on
to a nearby shop where he bought some packets of biscuits and a litre
of milk.

It was time to head back.

Tahaan took a different route to go back home than the one he had
taken to come to the bazaar. At a left turn he stopped at big black
iron gates of a society. The gates weren’t always there but in the
The name of security these gates had been placed almost at every turn.

The black gates were chained but could be opened enough for a person
to pass through and Tahaan did. He looked around the wild bushes near
the gate and found the earthen bowl he had previously hidden. He
turned it over for any visible particles to fall down, then he slowly
poured the milk into the bowl.

Tahaan looked around, and then let out a whistle. Three little puppies
appeared from behind the bushes near the street light. One was black
and the other two were varying shades of brown. Their mother had dug
then a hole in the ground to stay hidden.

The puppies approached the bowl wagging their little tails at Tahaan
and they started drinking the milk. Tahaan wasn’t the only one who fed
them, there were others in the society as well who had taken it upon
themselves to look after the puppies. Tahaan stood looking at the
puppies with a smile. He had done his part.

Written by Anuran Chatterji

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