“We don’t meet people by accident.
They are meant to cross our paths for a reason.”

December 2018
        It was a chilly winter evening. C.G Road was flooded with vehicles. With people moving around for shopping, hawkers wrapping up their stalls, others setting them up, the road was lively… I was in my car with my parents and my younger sister. It was cold but the thought of an ice-cream on that crisp evening was irresistible.

I was in my usual jocund mood as we stepped out of the car. I had seen beggars, poor people selling little stuff, toys, earning a living. I felt bad for them, hurt sometimes. Seeing those helpless bodies, shattered my heart. But that evening, after what I saw, I felt strange and agonized deep inside.

An old lady, nearly 60-65 in age, wearing a simple saree, a sweater and a scarf(as it was winter) was walking slowly. She was slightly bent. It was not the normal elderly bend that she possessed. Maybe it was the result of several years of toil. Maybe it was the weight of necessity of earning for a livelihood, or responsibilities or existence that was burdening her. She carried, on each shoulder 1 black bag which seemed to be heavy. Still, they wouldn’t be as heavy as her grievances that she was carrying for years. Her face showed that she was tired of this ‘weight’ that she had been carrying incessantly forever. The wrinkles on her face were enough for one to understand that she was fatigued. However, her eyes still reflected hope.

She was carrying home made snacks in those bags, imploring people to buy them. She approached us. Her stoopy walk paused as she reached the end of our car. She asked if she could place one of those bags on the bonnet of our car. I instantly agreed as I knew she needed to get rid of that ‘weight’ for a while. She placed her belongings, took a satiating breath for a minute and picked them up again. She started walking her usual yet unusually slow, hunched walk.

January 4, 2020
    Another chilly winter evening. I felt happiness floating in the air as it was my birthday. CG Road was again full of its usual effervescent crowd. I was standing outside a local restaurant with my parents and two of my friends.

What occurred that moment was unthinkable. The same old, unusual figure with the same bags that weighed almost the same, appeared in front of me. It seemed that I had gone into a flashback and was reliving the same scenario as a year ago. I encountered the same old, grieved woman with a face lined with wrinkles. It felt like she had not aged a day older from the last time I saw her. However, she had the same hope on her face.

This time, I went towards her. I smiled at her and checked on the price of one of those snacks. She replied with a smile and asked if I wanted to buy anything else. After a minute or two, she went away slowly- I don’t know where!

It seems almost unbelievable to me that how my fate led me back to her, after a year. Somewhere, after that evening I first saw her, I had this guilt that I wasn’t able to help her. I wasn’t thinking about her all day long but some days I got allusions which forced me to go back to that evening. The unusual figure had occupied a small but a significant space in my mind and heart and that space shall remain hers forever!

(Picture of CG Road, Ahmedabad, India)