A new dawn

Old Raghu woke up at the break of dawn to the sound of birds. He looked out of the window of his shack. The sky was a sheet of resplendent orange with shades of blue here and there. A perfect day with no hint of rain, he thought. As usual, he finished his morning chores very quietly making sure that his wife was not disturbed. However, like every day, she woke up before he was ready to begin his day. ‘How does she manage to do this irrespective of all the hard work she does?’ he wondered. He smiled at her as she handed him his lunchbox and rode his rickety cycle to work. This is how he had begun each day of his life for the last 40 years.

As the cool morning breeze struck against his ageing frame, he realized was growing old. At 55, he knew he didn’t have the same energy as that of a 35 year old, and soon he would be out of work. He liked to work and remain useful. His was a life of content and he knew he made a difference to a lot of people every single day of his life. He saw himself not as a mere postman but as an individual who had the power to connect people with their loved ones. Although he didn’t make much of a living out of it, it was enough for him and his wife to lead a decent life. Had he had children, it would have been hard to take care of them. Whenever he would pass through the narrow lanes on his cycle, the characteristic ring of his cycle bell announcing his arrival, the children playing on the streets would run to him with the same question in their eyes: did anyone send a letter to their family today? They would follow him like little ducklings, jumping around as he made his way to some of their houses. They would look in wonderment as he would dig into his dirty satchel anticipating something really extraordinary to come out of it as if by magic. If no letter had come for them, disappointment would mark their eyes as they returned with hung heads. So he would always carry candy bars in his satchel for those who didn’t get letters.

He always had a special corner for the kids. If only he had a child he would raise him or her with so much love and care and give him/her the best education he could afford. And, despite the presence of a loving wife, he felt he returned to a soulless home every evening. He could not bear to see the perpetual cloud of sadness in her eyes. Whenever his wife would see children playing in the street, she would look at them wistfully, but she never said anything to her husband. She knew how he felt and he understood her.

As he was returning home after the day’s work, he noticed little Radha sitting under the Banyan tree in front of their house, bent over something, deep in thought. He was almost going to go to her when he saw his wife Meera doing the same. Meera gently placed her hand on Radha’s shoulder. Radha looked up at her with troubled eyes. “What is the matter Radha?” she asked. “I cannot solve this maths problem Meera kaki and no one is helping me. Amma and baba cannot read and no one else would tell me. I have a test tomorrow and if I don’t study I will fail. I want to become a doctor kaki”. In these words the little girl poured out all her troubles and dreams to the old woman. “Oh! And you are worried so much for this! Let me see what you have got”. Little Radha’s face lit up as Meera sat beside her and helped her solve the problem. Radha laughed, did an impromptu dance, and giving Meera a hug, ran away trotting like a happy goat. Meera just sat there and stared. Her face was radiating with absolute bliss. Raghu had been looking at their little enactment with amusement. He could see the excitement on the faces of the two as they discussed, thought, argued and laughed. Sudden realization dawned on him. This was it! This is how he and Meera could fill the void in their life! He advanced towards his wife and spoke to her. Her eyes brightened as she nodded at him.

The next morning, Raghu woke up as usual, at the crack of dawn. Even as he tried hard not to wake his wife, she was up and handed him his lunch. He cycled his way to the village streets but today he neither carried letters nor candy. Today he was going to the get the kids back home with him to teach them. And this is how he now began each day of his life.