Oh! To be a baby again !

“Are you looking at Ajji? What are you seeing?” says an old lady slightly bent due to her age. She is wearing a faded cotton saree the pallu of which hangs loosely around her body and her shoulder. She has noticed the baby watching her pass by our car parked near a chat stall. The wrinkles on her face belie the struggles that she must have endured. The worn out cotton saree shows that she is from a lower middle class family. The smile on her face shows her kindness and her trust in life. She beams at me and looks back at the baby.

“Is Ajji looking nice ? Such a cutie pie you are ... Look at you staring at me... God bless you my dear... !” she says as she blesses the little one, smiles at me and moves on.

I feel movement on my legs as I am lost in my thoughts with my baby sitting on my lap. It is around nine pm in the night and we are waiting for my husband to get a packet of milk from a near by provision store. The baby is smiling and talking in her baby language. I follow her gaze to see a 70 year old cobbler smiling at her and cooing back at her from his small ragged shoe stall made of planks of wood. He is tall and well built. He is wearing a faded albeit clean white kurta and a faded white turban adorns his head. His demeanor evokes respect. Seeing me notice him, he gives me an apologetic smile. The conversation between the baby and him has been interrupted by my gaze but the blissful smile on his face is still intact. Seeing me smile back at him, he cooes to the baby a little louder.

Then he comes near our car and struggles to communicate with us. He says in Tamil, a language that I don't speak and very sparingly understand, “I have four children and twelve grandchildren. What to do akka? I have to come down here from my village in Hosur, which is around 60 kms from here, to earn my livelihood. Looking at your daughter I am reminded of my grandchildren...” He pauses to smile at me. I can see contentment all written over his face.

I am at Crosswords, the book store, looking for certain books. I have the baby in my hands and I can see that she has become restless suddenly. I can hear the baby saying, “AAaaeee…aaaaa… aaa…eee… aaAAAeee…aaa” I am curious and I turn back. I see two boys and two girls (staff at Crosswords) talking to my baby. The little one is excited at the attention she is getting and talking back to them. I smile at them, and let the baby entertain them. A little while later, they say “bye baby” and go back to their work areas. The smile on their face is still intact.

I pay for my book at Crosswords and go back to my car. I remember the happy faces of the old woman, the cobbler and the staff at crosswords. I turn to look at my little one who is now on her bubble making spree oblivious to the happiness she has spread around.

I smile with contentment as I make my journey back home.