Weaving your way through the clamour of crowds and vehicles, you pass by Mandi Crossing Chowk everyday on your way to work. Eyes glued to the ground, in your rush to get to the other side what all do you see, what slips away- you never have time to pause and think about all this.
Can a routine boring day, a predictable journey, an ordinary moment somehow be made ‘special’? When you begin to think of this, your heart flickers like the slow rumbling of the first monsoon cloud. And your fingers feel electric, as if filled with lightning.
Once again, you are standing on the same road, the same crossing. Your phone camera, like your eyes searches through the familiar scenes, looking for details. It is as if you are seeing all of this for the first time- interestedly, lovingly, comfortably, at leisure,
Maybe it was the striking red that caught your attention at first. Or perhaps it was the two men standing amidst the piles. But one thing is certain. Mandi Chowk will no longer be an ordinary, mundane crossing for you ever again. Now, whenever you pass by, you will look out for that shop filled with flowers. And surely you will think something. This much is definite, that’s all.
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The pile of stray petals fills the air with their fragrance. Passersby stop to admire them, soaking in the smell.
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Translation from Hindi by Ruchika Negi.
