A word that stirred my life...
Even small thing changes in life can take you out of the comfort zone of your life, family and career. Even a single word or event can created an unsettled stir in our life of which we don't know what to do.
SOMETIMES SOMETHING happens to you which take you out of the comfort zone of your life, family and career. I am writing a heart breaking rendering of an event, where a single word from a four to five years old girl created an unsettled stir in my life but, I don’t know what to do.
I was visiting Siliguri for some dental treatment over three weekends. Along this zone, India is a narrow strip. It was sleeper class and a big group of people from the minority community, visibly very much financially disadvantaged, as gauged from their clothes, get-up, luggages (plastic sacks filled with seemingly house hold items) boarded the train perhaps before me. It was clear, that they were changing their settlement. They could be Indian, or could be from our neighbouring country. If the latter is true, this problem is not new in India. This is a serious issue, but I am not talking about this now.
This team was about to get down at New Cooch Behar. They left their seats a little early for the station. My seat was the last side berth. A young girl, about four to five years old was standing in front of me. I made some space for her to sit. In line with my normal nature I tried to be friendly with her. She did not respond and continued with a peculiar look – a mixture of distrust, anger and sadness. A young woman carrying a baby of a few months and a boy of around eight in tow was sitting across the seat across the corridor. The age group of the girl fitted in and I thought her to be the mother of this girl as well. But after some time, the woman asked the girl about her mother. The girl without batting her eyelid and without any change in the expression said ‘morsey’. It is very difficult to translate the term, which is a very local dialect of Bengali, but can be somewhat like ‘arre mar gaya (died)’ type. Not our sofisticated ‘Bhagwan or Uparwala ne utha liya or Swargvas ho gaya’.
I do not want to conclude anything. It is not that I am seeing either poverty or distress for the first time.
I am not sure that I would ever be able to convey the tone of the word ‘morsey’ (died) with all my knowledge and perceived intellect. It will remain with me forever.
I have been relocated in my job in Assam close to Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon. I started writing a Bongaigaon diary with some funny event about experience when I tried to buy a bottle of dettol. A few more funny things have been encountered on the way. But this one is different and unbearable for me.
This team was about to get down at New Cooch Behar. They left their seats a little early for the station. My seat was the last side berth. A young girl, about four to five years old was standing in front of me. I made some space for her to sit. In line with my normal nature I tried to be friendly with her. She did not respond and continued with a peculiar look – a mixture of distrust, anger and sadness. A young woman carrying a baby of a few months and a boy of around eight in tow was sitting across the seat across the corridor. The age group of the girl fitted in and I thought her to be the mother of this girl as well. But after some time, the woman asked the girl about her mother. The girl without batting her eyelid and without any change in the expression said ‘morsey’. It is very difficult to translate the term, which is a very local dialect of Bengali, but can be somewhat like ‘arre mar gaya (died)’ type. Not our sofisticated ‘Bhagwan or Uparwala ne utha liya or Swargvas ho gaya’.
The woman could not hear the answer and asked again; and before the girl could answer, the boy with a big smile on his face repeated ‘morsey’. This did not elicit any additional empathy from the woman. She casually asked about the father, and the girl was back in silent mode and with same facial expression. It seemed that there is her ‘mamaji’ somewhere in the group. Despite initial urge, I did not venture to ask about the father.
I do not want to conclude anything. It is not that I am seeing either poverty or distress for the first time.
I am not sure that I would ever be able to convey the tone of the word ‘morsey’ (died) with all my knowledge and perceived intellect. It will remain with me forever.
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