visit

Was visiting a historical monument with friends.Being familiar with the system at smaller ASI sites, I checked and cross checked the whereabouts and when of the place. Even though, when we reached at the place,it was locked !

Three boys, around 19 years old were sitting at the otta of a nearby house. My initial feeling was of a disgust. I hate boys-youth sitting like this without any productive task and I believed (still do) that they chatter about things which require anything but intelligence and sensibility.

And my friends were foreigners! I was suspicious of the boys taking unwanted photos and expressing their suppressed wishes/dreams/desires. Their expressions can be anything between innocence and ugliness. I wished them to stay away. I wanted them to vacate the area.

But the place was locked. We were observing the outside carvings. One of the boys spoke up that the caretaker lives in a particular street. Surpassing the bitter taste of disgust in my throat, I asked : Can you call him?
All the three started passing the task to each other and one of them even declared, now, that he doesn't know the caretaker. If you are an Indian, you can precisely visualise the scene with the body language and the facial expressions of the boys.
Well, my talk with them continued with myself moving from one pole of emotion to another.I needed to contact the ASI caretaker and these boys COULD be the medium. This need helped me to view them with a sympathy of a teacher. Now, I started seeing things which might be reasons for their idleness and unattended emotions. Certainly, after the age of 18, they should be considered responsible for themselves. But, my need forced me to be kind, literary.

One of the boys was soft. The other two were playing hard on him and he was as unprotective as someone soft natured could be. I, too, gambled on him. Finally, he went to visit the caretaker and returned with sensible information. He brought the number of the person.

I talked with the caretaker on phone and he said, finally, that it will take him two hours to reach us. This talk was also of different kind ; soft yet forceful and convincing. Well! we couldn't wait for so long. Here again, the boys suggested that there is one more monument next to this ASI site and it is a private property. So, I approached at the gate of that piece of history which is a private property, obviously with the boys. We have had a great time inside that monument.

Meantime my bitterness towards the boys have gone away and we have already started talking about their education and family and for how long they sit at the otta and so on. I could see the goodness in the boys, hidden beneath the rough(not unpolished), ugly and loud physical expressions. My parental feeling has also started to bubble up demanding me to advice the boys. The kind teacher has prevented me by not doing that.

The selfish host inside me wanted good treat to my friends. And my, now empathic eldersisterhood has emerged, too, playing her part through wishing humanistic future for the boys.

I asked the soft hearted one, if we can come to his place for a cup of tea (for each one of course. We were six plus three boys as a team now.). And he happily agreed. Even though,I asked him to talk at home. His mother, too agreed happily. Who, in India would deny a cup of tea to guests? His humble mother has welcomed us wholeheartedly and we had truly lovely time over a sweet cup of tea. This thought of visiting his home was out of a sense of belongingness with the boys.

Meanwhile, the ASI caretaker has arrived (before the time, breaking our tradition.). And we could see the ASI site.

The soft hearted one is a fb friend now.

I, now, see the boys at any Otta with a different perspective.
#6@¥4

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