I can crib about anything and everything these days! Opinionated, if i may choose to pamper my ego. Starting from an eagle's eye view till the very basics, I hate it all. The traffic is too much, the days are too long, the weekends are too short, the societal pressures are never ending, the diets never work, the money is never enough, the problems never abate, the weather is always humid, the auto wallas NEVER agree to take me, hair never stays in place, while walking back the cars spray the water only on me, and the tame dog in front of my office never takes a roti, only from me.
I am pretty sure the Gods are against me! I am very serious. I sometimes give the idol at my home, a withering eye as I leave for office. Why oh why, should the 20s turn out to be just work? I miss being carefree, I miss being not responsible for the monthly utility bills, or the insurance, or the savings, or the plannings.
So I am going in the local train, berating myself, berating the world, berating the train, just waiting for the ride to get over so that I can get on a stupid auto, to my stupid home (yeah that particular one was a furious train of thought!), when I happened to notice an old lady sitting in front of me, and she was smiling away (at me? I dunno)
It was a long train ride, so I couldn't even put on a surly look and pass the time looking just like that, and hence I smiled back. Tiny bit. She immediately gave a warm look, as if my little teenage-rebellion-attempt was good enough for her! I am a bit skeptical now...
Then she starts speaking. And she speaks. She speaks how she is 82 years of age, and how she lost her husband recently, to a kidney disease. 'He's better off without the pain', she says with a confident smile. She loves to trade in markets, is hooked on to CNBC even though she hasn't studied beyond class 8. She speaks about her garden, where she tends to bonsai plants, her flowers, and her kitchen garden. She talks fondly about her granddaughters, who are excellent painters, in her opinion. She herself is fond of painting - oil painting especially..
By now, I am listening intently. She asks me my hobbies, I mention few, but then i wonder about the last time i made an attempt to do all that.. things supposedly I love. My old lady here isn't over yet about her life.. she is fond of cooking, making her own chutneys and dhoklas at home, and her own special masala tea. She invites me over to her place whenever I am in the area next - to look at her paintings and teach her a little on using a laptop. Why a laptop, I ask? Then she proceeds to tell about her broker, who used to invest on her behalf, but ever since he left, she's been wanting to learn how to operate using a laptop, on her own.
I am hooked by now - on this frail, arthritis stricken but an amazingly strong and positive personality sitting in front of me.. I am sure, with her sheer optimism, she will learn behind a legacy which is worthy of praise.
When I walk back home, (yes water still being spilled, autos still not willing, life still pretty much the same), I think about this seemingly ordinary but highly inspiring conversation with the silvery haired lady in the train..She makes life big. She is exploring all the options and all her strengths to make the best use of the time that she has, age notwithstanding. In front of her, I am in no position to complain...
A chance meeting with a stranger, gives a week's worth of relaxation indeed!
