A cry made me turn behind. It was a baby lying flat on her tummy, fallen while trying to cross the single layered brick border surrounding the park. Her family members were right behind, letting her learn her lessons through falls.
As I was making a note on how I should also let my daughter loose more often, a beautiful scene caught my eyes. A man and a woman of the family who had just entered the park, were now standing side by side and holding hands. They had their backs to me, yet the language without words was speaking for itself. There was an unmistakable air of comfort, admiration and affection. The dusk was adding to the glowing love and the cool breeze was carrying it to me, carrying it to places distant. I relished this serene moment for as long as I could.
Then the baby came running towards us, followed by her dad. The dad made her sit in the merry go round but she would not lift her legs up. She was trying to push it herself. Her father kept saying something which just fell deaf to her ears. The grandpa then made his way towards us to rescue the dad. He said the magic word, "basa!" and the baby immediately settled down. Grandparents and the kids somehow plot together to make the parents feel incapable and dumb.
The grandpa was a man in 60s wearing an off white shirt with small red flowers. He looked at me intently and asked, "Don't you use aloe vera? For your pimples?".
"No!", I said without even thinking since the unexpected question made me too conscious. Then I remembered how that was also one of the things I had tried long back. I resisted back my temptation to tell the same and story of all the things that I had tried. Not today! Today I wanted to be an observer. I shook my head with an expression of having given up on it and waited for him to continue.
"It is very good. Acne gets cured. Do try!" he said.
I smiled and nodded my head in agreement.
"That is my girl! My daughter!", he pointed out proudly to the lady, now sitting on a park bench nearby. The lady, whose hands he was lovingly holding a while ago.
"Hehehehe!", I giggled amused at his enthusiasm and youthfulness. "I made out", I said, recollecting their sweet moment a while ago, which did not escape my eyes. I then looked at the daughter who smiled back. Probably he told it to to make me realize that he had a daughter of my age and hence the concern and knowledge.
He seemed a bit puzzled with my laugh but continued, "This is my girl's girl!". I smiled and nodded my head, not telling him this time that it was obvious. Perhaps it was now this uncle's turn to cover up his awkwardness at my unexpected reactions. He continued. Pointing at the baby's dad, he said, "This is, in law, my son! My son in law!" Happily nodding my head again I looked at the son in law to finish the formality of the introduction. Could it be that the son in law was embarrassed with his father in law's silly explanations or was he really busy managing his daughter on the merry go round? He did not look up to meet my eyes.
The young old man continued looking at me, thinking what to tell next. I decided to finally take a lead. Was it just him, or was it the love he showered on the little princess in his life, which made him such an adorable person. Or was there something else too? So much youth, friendliness and freshness radiating out of him. Could it be the effect of the place he was from too? "Basa" sounded like Marathi.
"Where are you from?", I asked.
"Where are you from?", I asked.
"Goa!", said he, making me dreamy again. That was the place I had never been to. The place which reminds one of freshness and youthfulness. The place where everything seems to be merry. The place where perhaps people never grew old just like the one in front of me.
After a few minutes the son and father, both by law, were led to the slides by the baby. Very soon I coaxed my daughter out of the merry go round so that other kids get their turn. As she ran towards the other play items in park, I turned behind to finish my unspoken conversation with the daughter if she was still sitting on the bench. Co-incidentally she too was looking at me. I smiled at her trying to convey something through my eyes. She immediately smiled back as though she understood but within moments it faded to be replaced by a strange melancholy. I meant to tell her that I found her dad admirably cute like my dad. Perhaps she understood my sign and perhaps I too understood the void.
I walked away with a contentment, imagining that amidst all the noise and cheer, we silently shared more than just a smile.
No comments:
Post a Comment