Mr. Suri….?
Are you there?
Hello…. Hello... Hello.... Mr. Suri…
I know him since I was 19. He adored me like his own son, I used to sit with him since I was teenager just after school and did my homework. Mr. Suri was separated, he was living alone in his house. Mr. Suri was in his fifties, I guessed so. He was tall enough and had white grey hair what he looked like a French beard with three piece trifocal glasses. We were recently moved from Gwalior. That day he was working in his garden something or he was weeding it. He wore a light green T-shirt, a sky blue Pajama and a hat. He was indulge in his work and not paying attention to anyone but in his work and was looking quiet. I saw his garden, it was really well managed and honestly it was really looking beautiful.
I was playing with ball, which I just bought this noon while returning from school. My father has a job where he was relocating frequently so I never had any good friends. So I know how to play a alone. I just fixed a bat between two bricks just like batsman hold it between his legs. I started bowling there, I was super excited with my new ball so I bounced the ball forcefully and so that it crossed the fence and reached to Mr. Suri's garden. One of my school mate told me that I can bowl as faster as I can. But here I was bang-bang my new ball stuck in my new neighbor’s garden where he is working diligently.
Uncle… Hello Uncle….
He didn’t pay attention as he was working really hard. I yelled like anyone else- Uncle Ji… Uncle Ji…
There he was. He got up and asked me- I told him that my ball just jumped in his garden mistakenly. I want it back. He behave like a madman for few minutes I thought he is just a jerk. Anyway he returned my ball with a dire warning that if ever my ball or anything will entered his garden, he would never return it. No matter what.
I was really surprised the way he behaved though I was little sad too. Until next few weeks, I didn't see him. I usually snuck in his garden. No…. No… not to meet him just to check where he is. It was really fancy garden I ever seen, so many roses with other flowers and hell of plants which I never seen before. I wanted to know the names of those plants because I always wanted to know everything especially the things which were around me. I wanted to talk Mr. Suri but I never got a chance even at least to see him. I felt something strange in him which I never sensed before. Anyway months passed away, now it's winter here, the days were small. I was returning from my school I saw a man was picking vegetables from the roadside. I doubted, some motorbike hit him or his bag might be ripped.
Oh my God! It’s Mr. Suri, I just paddled my bicycle as faster as I could and reached near him. He glanced at me and started babbling, can’t even they see a huge man walking on the road side with the heavy bag? No horn, No lights, No warning. After all this taunt me, ‘uncle-dekh kr nahi chal sakte'. I felt really angry.
Bloody scoundrel fellows.
Luckily, I had an extra bag in my school bag just to bring some vegetables sometimes my Maa asked me to bring it while returning from school. I took out and started picking everything spread on the road and kept them all in that bag. Mr. Suri thanked me, I asked him to sit on my carrier, so I can lift him till our house. He refused for that but I saw his shirt was torn out and there might be some wound in his elbow. I insisted him to sit, while he was refusing with an excuse that it might be heavy for me to pull him but I told him that he can’t be heavier than my mother whom I pull from vegetable market during weekend. Somehow he convinced with me and sat on my carrier indeed he was quite have your then my mother but I was feeling really happy. While pulling Mr. Suri I was thinking about those insolent fellows the way they did with him. Here we are! Mr. Suri, I will help you to carry your groceries up to your door. He just said OK but he had pain which I sensed while bringing him home, so I just brought his groceries packet and he opened the gate. I entered the verandah, it was really well managed. It's been around six months, I am living here and this is the first time when I entered Mr. Suri's house. He thanked me and ask me to get inside but I told him that my mother must be waiting for me.
My mother asked me when I reached home. Why I was late? I told her entire incident happened just before, what exactly happened with Mr. Suri. She was really concerned about him so she told me to go and check whether he needs anything, was he really fine?
I ran there and knocked his door twice.
It's me Gautam.
Coming….
Ohhhh… Hello...