Questions unanswered...

A few days back while returning home from City Centre I heard an auto-driver call out in a feeble voice "Karunamoyee". Immediately I stopped as I needed an auto to that place but was shocked to see the driver! He was in his 70's, possibly his late 70's. He looked fit and steady yet old enough to make you keep staring and wondering...

I sat down as I had stopped but it was a long wait. Since the auto was not at the usual queue, he was not getting any passengers even though he kept calling out. Under normal circumstances, because of the rush to reach home, I would get down and walk up to the place I could get an auto faster but this time I didn't have the heart to do so. The man though old, looked educated and seemed to belong to a good family. He was symbolic of the 'Dadu' of a typical Bengali family - those who have a disciplined lifestyle like getting up early in the morning, going for morning walk, having healthy food habits, reading books, thinking intellectually, discussing the new generation's values and vices with people in their age group and loving their grandchildren whatsoever.

As I waited, my mind wandered away trying to think as to what could have led him to do this. It was obvious that there must be some financial crisis, I wondered if there was no other job that would be easier for him. Was he doing this to keep himself active and independent? Had his children abandoned him? Did his family face some unexpected misfortune or tragedy? Did his son who was the bread earner of his family, meet with an accident or something worse like death?

My thoughts were broken when I saw him turn around and say something to me. I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't hear him, he repeated, asked me in English, "Where would you be going from Karunamoyee?" I wasn't surprised to hear him talk in English neither to observe that the sentence was gramatically correct. Soon a teen-aged boy got up and I kept hoping that he too would be ready to wait. He did and perhaps for the same reason I was doing.

Finally in few more minutes we were five and ready to go. I could read from everyone's faces that we all sympathized with him. I was wondering how he would fare as a driver, he had an automatic-start one - so the start was smooth as we geared up for the short journey. He was very good, not slow as perhaps expected by some of us neither like the rash auto-drivers. It was a pleasant journey and we reached our destination. I turned around to take one last glance at him and moved on with those questions still on my mind...