All it takes...

The journey was tiresome. How long can one sit in a train this long and not get restless i wondered. In the midst of relatives, time flew and yet i felt the journey's grind. At times i shifted uneasily in my seat when i thought of him. Sure, he's my cousin and we grew up together and .... blah blah blah... but he's a salaried individual now. corporate guy, as they read in the papers in the village. and i am still that village, all of it. nothing about me has changed.

he went off to study in the big city four years back. and i hardly saw him between then. its mighty expensive, this travel, and it takes four days just to get home. so i never saw much of him even when he came... Now he was paying for all our tickets you know?! huyyoo. he must be making so much money to be able to do that. as the days lit up our space only to fade off, so did my hopes of finding him the same as i once knew. he's doing a duty by bringing us over to the city. he knows that his relatives will be very happy and commend his mother because he is doing this. and he knows how important that is to his mother. he was always a good son... i have read that in the city people live a very fast life. they have less time for much beyond oneself... what about him? was he a city guy now? i felt it unlikely that he was not. it was nobody's fault. i will never blame him. God knows, i might have become the same way if i had been in his place, maybe worse. I might not have even sent for my relatives this way. i frowned at myself and my thoughts....

the train pulled into a crowded noisy station. it was very very big. even bigger than the one we boarded from which was the nearest town. people walking to and fro, brisk movements, baggage, shouting, announcements, coolies pulling at my uncle's cloth bag... in the midst of it all, i made it a point to keep my mouth shut. everyone had so much to tell him. about the things we had made and brought him, telling him how thin and tired he had gotten, that his hair had grown too much... my little cousin, mouth agape, pulled at his trousers and felt his full-sleeved shirt... i smiled smally... everything was perfectly as i knew it would be. no problems. all was fine. we moved on, a small mass in this big mob making our way towards the exit.

i didnt notice that he slowed a bit.i looked up when i felt a nudge. he did not say a word ... his eyes, they were just the way they were when he first left the village... happiness is a warmth i knew then.. yes, everything was perfect and harmony reigned within.

PS:Dedicated to my brothers who have a gift for radiating love and happiness