Urchins

Ive always been curious about urchins and few incidents in recent days seem to made me rethink about the way I react to situations and made me wonder if how I would have reacted if I was even in such a situation. All happened in local trains.

I had a pretty lousy week. Things wre not going well in office as well as on the personal front. I was travelling alone and lost in my thoughts thinking where exactly things had gone wrong. Suddenly an urchin of about 7 years asked me for money. He had swept the train and was expected something in return. I did not have any change at all and told me so. He insisted on the money. I again told him that I honestly did not have any change. He gave me a look as if he knew I was lying and went away. As my station was nearing, I went and stood on the footbridge. The urchin was standing opposite to me and giving me poignant looks. For some reason I was feeling guilty even though I had not done anything wrong. The station was coming closer and then the boy looks at me and says that I was standing on the wrong side and the train will pull in on the opposite platform. I wondered if I was in the same place, would I have dine the same thing and be sympethetic towards someone who persumably did not care about me?

I had just finished my packet of wafers and stood near the door in the train. A street child of around 9 got in with extremely shabby and dirty clothes and sat next to me on the footboard. As usual I was observing him. He found a discarded packet of cheap wafers on the floor with the last two chips in it and ate them. After that he just sat there with a thoughtful expresion on his face as if wondering about his life just as I was about mine. I was thinking about the packet of wafers that Id just finished and wouldve given it to him if he had begged me for it. But he was obviously too proud beg. He then looked up at me with the expression that said that I was so lucky to be wearing decent clean clothes, working with a well paying job and listening to music on my cell. He then got off at Bombay Central making me wonder what it was that was going on in his mind, whether he was wondering where his next meal was going to come from or about the beating that he was going to get from his drunken father ...

Two very dirty urchins getting in at Dadar and looking back and smiling at me...

Me asking them where they were going

"Movie" they answered

"Where?"

"Bandra"

"Which?"

"Any new movie"

"How much are the tickets for?"

"Rs. 10."

They getting off at Bandra with gleeful expressions on their faces thinking about the movie.

I had got in at Churchgate and an urchin sweeps the train. He asks me for money. The only change I have is a Rs. 5 coin and I was reluctant to hand it over to him. So I tell him that I dont have change. He persists. I again tell him that I dont have change. His friend was standing near the door grinning at me and asks me to please give his friend some money. He has very pretty mischevious eyes. Im smitten by them and hand over the coin to his friend. He is extremely happy that his friend had recived the money and was gleeful. He said a very cheeky "Thank you", gave me a wave and disappeared in the crowd.

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Relationships

I feel so sad to see relationships espically long term ones breaking.

Love is such a complicated subject. People fall in love when they least expect it and people who have been in love suddenly find that they dont love each other and fall in love with someone else.

A few years ago I wouldve frowned at the thought of an extra marital affair. But not anymore.

Love happens. Yes it does even after youve had a love marriage. It happens even after you know that you have grown up children and should not love anyone but your husband. You fall in love with the most unlikely person for the most unlikely reasons. It also seems impractical and silly to you, but you cannot help but love that person.

You suddenly realise that you love someone more than anyone else even after being away for him/her for years together. Yes, there are other people in your life, and though they are nice, no one is quite like that person whom youve probably spoken just a couple of times ago. And you could do anything to be with him/her at that moment.

Yes, love happens when you are past forty with grown up children but you are chatting with that person on phone for hours together just like a teenager and dont feel silly about it.

Someone comes to you one fine day and says that theyve been in love with you since the last so many years but were just too scared to tell you at that time. But after all these years they have still not stopped loving you. This, even though you are with someone else now. You then wonder if maybe things wouldve been different if they had told you this years ago.

Love happens even though you are already in love with someone else and want both of them. But you know that you have to choose anyone but dont want to hurt either.

Someone loves you but you have absolutely no felings for that person even thought hes a gem of a person and you feel guilty because you cannot be as nice to him as he is to you.

You love someone even though you know that he is in love with someone and does not even know that you exist.

And you are still in love with that person even though the relationship has ended a long time ago.....

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