Kalpurush

// On bonds held by lose stitches

Two days ago I went to the print shop I know the owner for 5 years now He was playing “Chithi Na Koi Sandesh” on the radio It reminded me of a story my mom told me Of my dad, after his dad passed away And he used to play The same song while sitting all alone in grandfather's rocking chair in the verandah It made me wonder Who was the print shop owner missing that day?

This morning I sat down with mother to peel some tamarinds It was my first time doing so But I'm a fast learner, a kinesthetic one too She didn't need to teach me for too long I've read about animals grooming each other as a form of showing a love Monkeys, chimps, gorillas. Mother puts oil in my hair sometimes. But unlike most mothers, I have to request her to do it (Not the other way round) I wonder, if today made us closer If I showed enough love.

We were walking, brother, father and I Towards the river. On the road we saw two kids playing with paper and scissors They were cutting heart shapes out of ruled papers They were sitting on the footpath I wonder, if their hearts were as white as those papers.