Daily Bread
It’s a warm Sunday morning in Bangalore. I am seated comfortably on the couch, near the French window of my bedroom, overlooking a quiet street. This is my favorite spot in the house. I can sit here for ages, silently drinking in the movements outside.
Everything that moves fascinates me — the leaves and branches of the oversized Gulmohar trees, the tiny birds perched on these branches, flamboyantly flapping their wings, the humans who tread the ground below, solo or in pairs, the vehicles that create a buzz and a roar every time they whizz past in an indeterministic hurry. It feels like I am the only still life on this mystic canvas.
There are dried leaves on either side of the road, reminiscent of an effervescent life once lived and now making way for newer offshoots. I know that someday I will also be a dried leaf, decorating the footpaths of future generations. But, I have miles to go before I can shut my eyelids in eternal peace. Life feels incomplete now.
I add commas and semicolons to the free-flowing verses of my existence, reluctant to place a full stop anywhere. I slow down to pause and reflect, but never to stop. I am unsure about the destination, but I keep going. I turn back to see if I am leaving a trail worth following. I am eager to have other travelers join me; but, too reticent to extend an invite.
They don’t have the time to stop in their tracks, either. All are in a state of eternal motion, much like the ants on the trunk of the Gulmohar. They are part of a larger pact, yet with purposes and destinies of their own. They are undeterred by the sights and sounds around them. It feels like their only aim in life is to go on, endlessly. Some of them are marching in the reverse direction, their mouths laden with food and eyes glowing with pride. They don’t stop for applause.
The sight of food touches a chord. I feel a rumble in my stomach. I realize that I have been sitting at this spot motionless, for more than an hour. My hands involuntarily reach for the mobile phone. A sprightly squirrel runs down the tree trunk to fetch its daily bread, while I browse through the breakfast options on the Swiggy app, on my phone.
