Encounter With An Escapist

Atrocities committed by the men in power, accentuated by the illiterate population can make the progress of a country stagnant. So why is it that the fortunate keep on praying for knowledge while the deprived wait beyond the permitted imaginary boundary asking for alms? Immersed in these thoughts I finished offering my prayer to the Goddess of Knowledge Saraswati and got out on the streets of Kolkata. The library has always been my go-to destination, be it any occasion, birthday, Puja or even an excruciatingly bad day. It was the time of the year when the sun won't be suffocating you, and you won't be having to wear a jacket either, the cool pleasant breeze would brush past you, enticing you with happiness. Kolkata observes a routine in this day, everybody rising early on a holiday, giving themselves a bath, and giving the 'Pushpanjali', a devoted request to knowledge in the form of a prayer. The afternoon City sees crowds of youth on the streets, executing what is being planned over the last month. Being conscious of my part in the day's chores I didn't intend to be unceremonious when I found the library closed. I bought myself a second-hand book from the street vendors and sat myself down in the stairs of Flury's, the renowned confectionery of the city. My state of contended fulfillment was momentarily perturbed by a young boy, in dark denim and tattered shorts with bright colorful balloons. He had probably given up on his day's income as he sat beside me without asking me to buy any of his balloons, I thought. After a while I heard him murmuring, as if he was trying to form a sentence, joining broken pieces of a jigsaw puzzle; when my focus shifted to him, I heard him saying "A for Apple, C for Cat", and then he looks up to me inquisitively, momentarily going blank after excavating 'D' from his memory, so I help him with a Dog. Then I correct him by placing a "B for the ball" in between his A and C hoping it gets imprinted in his memory. This little encounter had been significant for me. A question that had remained dormant in my subconscious for long found has sprung active. The little boy aware of the vastness of the society and his grueling schedule has the want to know, the desire to learn, I could hardly fathom his determination with awestruck wonder.