What’s a simple pleasure in life that brings you joy?
On a quiet Sunday evening, the black gates of a house opened and a man stepped out with a milk container. There was a sense of hurry in the manner he closed the gates behind him.
Then he proceeded to cross the road towards his parked scooter. He placed the milk container on the floorboard and positioned himself on the seat of the scooter only to realise he had forgotten the key. He immediately got down, balanced the scooter on its side stand and rushed back only to return to get the milk container left sitting on the footboard, since he wasn’t sure someone might not steal it. Then finally he got inside with a straight mind, returned and was on his way to get milk.
Some said Milan’s weekends were busier than his weekdays, he was always in a hurry to do one thing or the other. He was quiet and shy as a boy and nobody really knew what he was capable of. But there was no problem, Milan had his father, who had a dreamlike story of coming to the city poor and finding success to a better life. Surely Mr Chopra would be there guiding Milan, if not all, a long way ahead.
However, it was far less than long before Milan found himself without a father. He was in his graduation years. Everyone thought what would happen now, how would Milan, his mother and paternal grandmother manage everything.
Milan stood up to the challenge like no one had wondered and even if he was rushing around, he was getting things done. He was more social; many knew who he was. He has a good job, he has become a good person, maybe sometimes taking more pressure than is required. He is older to me and the few times that we come across, usually at the general store or the milk shop, and he is not in a hurry, we exchange more than a few words and it is always one of the simple pleasures of my life to get to talk to a good-natured, hard-working person who genuinely gave an effort to smile.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 