TIME MACHINE

It was the end of December at Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. An early morning woke up at freezing temperature of 1 degree was something we weren’t used to. It felt as if the year long sleeping for over 20 years of my life on plain had been under examination for the first time. Struggle was real to be honest, for my poor body to get along. The lazy butts of cities were in the battle with icy water  from the basin and there was a long queue amongst us for the hot water from  geyser in the hotel room. It felt as if the time had ceased, for it was taking too long for the water to boil, I wonder whether that was a hallucination out of coldness or just an another daily excuse of lazy city creatures, that I often encounters on my travel to cold places. It was indeed, a very long waiting. As the sun arose, the clock struck 10 past 5 and somewhere in the remote village, a mother and her young daughter were struggling with their daily chores. With those numb hands and the redden cheeks in the freezing early morning, they were carrying the wooden logs to burn inside and to heat up their old tattered hut in the “Land Of The Rising Sun”.

Bro !!! I am feeling thirsty said my cousin, Jangila, on our way to monastery, by then it was 9AM in the morning. We stopped our car near a small hut, seeing few items, that were being sold by a small boy of age, around 4 years. There were very few settlements, with fragile structures in the middle of nowhere. The silence was at its pinnacle. The roads seems pretty dead yet beautiful, with not even a single soul to be found. Perhaps, the sheer coldness might have been the reason for people to stay inside the hut for most of the time. As I approach the hut, I could see the clouds of white smoke emerging out of the tattered roof, with a strong scent of burning fresh pine woods from the mountain. “Is there anybody here”…??? asked my friend Kuldeep, ignoring the little boy. "What do you want”, replied the little boy. “My mom is busy inside, you can tell me” said the boy with shyness in his eyes. As I was observing the whole scene from behind, for a moment, something struck my mind. My instincts unwillingly started to compare the two completely different world within the same sphere. The amount of complains we made for not getting what we want, for not having enough in our life, all started to fall apart, in front of the struggle that 4 year old boys is going through. I felt, as if my life had failed in the dreams that were being hold by the bleary eye of that little boy, who was struggling to make a living in an old tattered hut of his. I came across several incidents as such before, but were never absorbed to its depth like I had on that particular freezing morning. There was restlessness in my mind. It was weird, for I was often reluctant to pay any attention, seeing it on daily basis back at home. “Two water bottle please” said Kuldeep. The boy then offered the water bottle and giggled, while calling his mother from inside. A few moment later, a young women of age, around 22 years, came out of  the dark smoky room from inside. It seemed, she was surprised to see the strangers. “What do you want sir” she asked shyly. The dust of charcoal and the fumes from the fireplace, had taken its toll upon her. I could see her dull yet beautiful eyes telling a different story, that was timeless for I was sure, no  matter what, the charcoal can’t hide her natural beauty that was radiating from her pale bright skin.

“ Man..!!! I am feeling pity for them” said Sufungsat to Kuldeep. Perhaps he was feeling in the same way, as I was feeling it too. “Bro purchase all the cakes” said Sufungsat. “Anyway we didn’t have our morning breakfast, we’ll eat it on our way” he suggested. With a smile on his face, Kuldeep asked the young women to pack all the packets of cakes. It seemed, she was pretty happy seeing her items being sold all at once. There was brightness is her dull eyes. There was a faint smile of relief, that nothing could have been any better than seeing her spirit being lift up. There was a long pause between us before we get inside the car. May be we all were reflecting at our lives, our differences, at humans and their different world within the same sphere. There was a quiet moment amongst us, in the middle of nowhere, as if we had added more to the already existing silence. “Shall we go..??” asked our driver. “Lets go” said jangila with a smile and we all resumed back to our journey. As we started our engine, the little boy begun to wave his tiny hands at us, with a broad smile on his face he said “bye bye” as if trying to convey his gratitude for everything. We all waved back, at his tiny hands with a smile of contentment. As we moved further ahead on the road, his tiny hand and little voice got fainter and fainter. He is probably 8 or 9 year old today, but his tiny little hands and broad smile on face will always remind us of the 4 year old boy whom we met, once upon a time and I still remember him through the “TIME MACHINE” that I built inside my mind.