Our Memories and Their's

In Jan 2017, Rajiv Tyagi  was visiting us and as is my wont, we had taken him for a drive around nearby villages. Two large haystacks in a farm by the roadside caught our attention and we decided to pose for pictures under them. To get to them, we had to walk through someone's front yard. On our way out, the lady of the house gave us the most fragrant desi coriander leaves from her kitchen garden. This is the extent of my memory of that day.

Four years later, today, we stopped by their house again, this time to click a beautiful kainth tree. Once again, we walked by their front yard. On our way out, the family called us to sit with them and have tea. We refused the tea but sat on their parapet wall to rest and talk to them.

The man looked at me carefully and then said "I know you. Your mother was a doctor at Tanda. You used to live in Singapore. You have a young daughter. There was also a man with you." This is the depth of his memory of strangers who stopped by his house four years ago!

We again got a gift of fragrant desi coriander leaves, not to mention the sweetest hospitality and welcome only villagers know how to give.

I left their house very reluctantly. I could have sat on that parapet until the sun set and the moon rose.