Unequal Goodbyes

“Punyala challa toh shikayla”, he was telling everyone he met that day. His grandson was moving to Pune for his studies. “We are going to Amravati to see him off.” He added as he got into an overcrowded auto rickshaw that would take him from the village to the nearby town. He would get a state transport bus to Amravati from there. 

The rickshaw made him a little uncomfortable. During a similar journey, a few years ago, his rickshaw met with a terrible accident. He broke four ribs. The bones had healed. But the scars stayed. He could never sleep comfortably. His ribs hurt every night. But he had got used to it now. He rarely complained. 

But today was no time to ponder about the past. He was excited to see his grandson and spend the day with him. The farm work would have to wait. He and his wife carried two big nylon bags filled with all the good stuff from the village - bor, harbhara, danyachi chikki, dinka, chincha, laadu, and so much more. The handles of the bags dug into the inner side of his fat fingers. His palms were surprisingly soft for a farmer.

His grandson was very happy to see him. But the teenager lacked the vocabulary or the body language to express his joy and love. The grandfather understood. He didn’t mind. He knew how precious this day was. At the back of his mind, he knew there were going to be very few such days now. The distance will grow, he feared.

He insisted on going to the bus stop to see off his grandson. At the bus stop, he was quiet. He knew he couldn’t talk now. From the window of the bus, he smiled awkwardly and waved. As the bus started, tears started rolling down his cheeks. The kid was leaving him. His goodbye was harder than the kid’s. 

The kid was a little confused and felt sorry to see an old man cry like a boy. He would only understand this emotion a few years later, looking back at this incident after the old man had passed away. This time the kid was being left behind. His grandfather was leaving him. His goodbye became harder. Tears started flowing from his eyes.