Lucky you

December 2005, dont remember the date. It was a very windy Saturday evening. Normally in Kolkata we dont find weather cold enough, but that day it was worst in past 10-15 years. I was really upset on some of my friends in college. Had a fight with mom in the morning which made me feel like I am alone in the world. I started feeling that I am very happy that I am alone. I can spend the entire time with me. I dont need to care about anyone in the world. Took my jacket on top of a full sleeve heavy sweater and muffler to go out. Mom called from behind, I didnt listen to that. Took a bus and got down at Deshapriya Park. People say in the city that is the best place to walk around. I started walking towards southern avenue where the lake subhash sarovar is. A chilling wind was coming from the lake side, but as my blood was boiling from the frustration and anger, I ignored all these and kept walking. Lot of things were going through my mind, how bad people behave with me, how wrongly they treat me, how harsh they are on me. Suddenly the phone started ringing. I saw one of my friend with whom I had a fight a while ago. I picket the call, he said "come on buddy, whatever has happened, its between you and us. Why didnt you listened to your mom and went out in this bad weather. Just take a u turn and go home. I didnt say anything and dropped the call. My anger level went high, my mom started calling my friends just to show how bad son I am. I decided not to leave the war front any more. I will also see the end. It was quiet, almost pin drop silence around the park, except the sound of wind. I saw a small tea stall, but no one was there to have the tea. Its a pretty odd scene in Kolkata at least. That empty tea stall showed how bad the weather situation was. I took a big earthen pot full of hot tea and kept walking. I was walking unmindfully, suddenly I heard a sound. Someone, mostly an old lady chanting something. I listened carefully, it was "bhagawan tumi amare shokti dao, ami ei ogni porikha theke bachte chai, amake lorai korar khomota dao. ami jani sudin asbe, amio bhalo kore bachte parbo abar. tomar ei porikkha te ami pass haboi". If you dont understand bengali, here is the translation. "God please give me strength to fight the battle, I want to overcome this acid test (Donno how to describe agni parikhsha). I know good days are waiting for me, I will again live a good life. I will pass this test". I was kinda surprised. What kinda pray is this? I saw people praying for a good life or else asking to take him/her to the eternal peace, to the heaven. Never in my life I heard someone saying to strengthen her to fight the bad days, without asking a good future days. She was confident that if she can surpass this battle, she will see good days. I went closer, and found someone very skinny, almost invisible, is lying down on the footpath under a bench wrapping only a thin sheet of bed cover. She was shivering, very very badly. I went close to her, sat next to her but didnt know what to do. After a min, I kept a hand on her and asked what happened, why are you lying here in this cold weather. She stopped chanting and brought her head out of the bed sheet, said I dont have any other place to go my son. This is my home for last 25 years. Believe me I saw her smiling, it was very hard to identify the smile in her face, but she was smiling. The words what she said was again hardly audible to me, somehow I managed to understand what she is saying. I was pretty sure, she was not well, how could she be in this weather. I asked her not to say anything and took my jacket off. I put the jacket on her like a quilt, thinking that would make her warm. She was nodding her head, I understood what she was trying to say. She was saying if I give my jacket I will catch cold. She tried to lift her head, but couldnt. I assured her that I am fine without jacket, I have a sweater also. By that time I decided whats next. I knew if I leave that lady like this, she would die. I didnt think anything for the future, but the only thing was running in mind was saving her for this worst night. I ran to the tea stall and took 2 cups of tea with some biscuits. I asked the shop owner if he ever noticed the old lady or not. He replied, that lady is staying here since long, before he opened a tea stall here. I requested him if he had any blanket or anything which can make that lady comfortable and warm. He said "No way, why should I spoil my blanket, that lady is anyway not gonna die. o toh jomer o oruchi". The last statement means even the god of death is not gonna take that lady. I was completly stunned with this. But I was desperate that time. I asked him to take money from me and give me the blanket as I didnt have time to go and purchase a new one. That guy was astonished with this, and finally he gave that to me without taking money. He said sorry, that he behaved rudely. I rushed to the lady with all these things. I wrapped her with the blanket, took her head on my lap. I gave her my muffler also. I took her hand in my hands and started rubbing the palms. After few minutes the lady smiled again, and said thank you. I told her to have the hot tea with biscuit. she agreed, she tried to lift the cup in her hand but she couldnt. Seeing no other option, I dipped the biscuit in tea and held it in front of her mouth. She swallowed it. Like this she took couple of more times. I could see her face in the low street lamp light. I dont know whether I was wrong or not, but she looked happy. There was something in her face which made me feel like cry and sit with her for ever. All of a sudden she started breathing very fast. She was sucking her lips with the tongue, I thought she is thirsty. I rushed to the tea stall and came with a glass of water. Slowly slowly I tried to help her sipping the water. After couple of sips, I saw the water came out of her mouth. She was not breathing anymore. I couldnt cry, couldnt say anything for a while. First time in my life someone died on my lap. I couldnt do anything, Nothing. I dont remember whether I shouted or cried, the tea stall owner came running and saw me sitting there. I dont know what happened then. Only I could remember lot of people was around me...
11:00 PM in the night, Kolkata Municipal Corporation came and took her body inside a van covered in a white sheet. The tea stall owner came to me and gave me my jacket and muffler. I took those and went near to the van and put the muffler and jacket, my favourite jacket on her body. There I couldnt stop my tears. The driver started the engine, slowly the van started moving and in a few moments went out of sight. The tea stall owner came to me and said, "now you go home. Dont worry, she is in better world now. In the world where she will be happy. And you know one thing, she was happy, I saw smile on her face for the first time in last 20 years. You go home"

11:30 PM, I came home in a police van. Everyone was worried there. The moment I entered the room millions of questions were triggered on me. Only mom came to me without saying a single word and gave me a hug. I kept my head on her shoulder and cried like a baby.

That night I couldnt sleep. But I had a dream. That old lady came in my dream and said "I was right. I knew if I can survive the bad days definitely I will see something good. Thats why I always asked god to give power to survive. My son you are the only person in last many a year who fed me with his own hand. May be the biggest thing I got in my life. The best. I didnt have any expectation beyond this. Thanks a lot. Now I am happy."

That was the day when I realized how lucky I am. I have so many people around me to care for me. In this beautiful world there are millions of people who has to wait for thirty years for someone to come and make them feel that they are not alone.