I knew that it was Bargarh bandh today. And, precisely for this reason I had the irresistible wish to wander about the near-deserted streets and squares of the town. Moving about like this on a day on which all the shops except the medicine stores have been shut down , with much less traffick, no four wheelers and their irksome screeching horns, no milling, jostling crowd in helter skelter-the mood of romantic, adventurous silence created thereby is perfect. So, I had that mood since morning. I resisted myself until 10 in the morning and then could no longer do so. Something dragged me on. When a man reaches his middle age he has neither the desire, nor the liberty to come out of his house unless he has some worldly chores, like shopping, marketing, etc to do. So, I thought I needed to invent a plea. But I did not have to invent one. I had one, readymade . The sheet portion of one of my oft-worn pants had developed a slit due to its stitch being loosened. If worn, a little private part of the wearer stood the risk of being exposed to public view. And in fact once I had narrowly escaped such an exposure, the details of which I am too ashamed to recount here. Indeed, the pant needed an urgent repair. So, with the pant rolled into a bundle and wrapped securely within a packet, I proceeded by my bike, apparently to get my pant stitched, but actually to enjoy the gravity of a town that promised the sight and feel of a graveyard.(To be Contd.)
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 06:49:07 +0000
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