At the Back Street

 

On the first day I found him at a dark corner of Mahakal market. He wore all the curse of this earth. Limbless, eyes were open but of no use. His arms were never bigger than a stick. Naked he lolled against the mosses grown wall. His head was no more than the skull and his skin merged under bones with only the richly grown untidy hair that attired him. His deep sunken eyes blinked frequently and his two begging pale hands shook , he could hardly lift his begging pot, with perhaps the name of the lord vibrating on the pale stained lips.
He was robbed of all the materialistic property except a few coins in his begging pot, passing his time under the roof of the sky and the floor of the earth
The mere figure was really a point to trigger my compassion. While I was helpless and couldn't imagine the fact of his sorrows. So I felt instead of throwing a coin, it would be better to provide him a bread, so that he would not be doubly cheated by the business fellows. I got him the bread and placed it upon his bonny palms. He at once got hold of it, bowed and started to gnaw, it looked so unpleasant, but why should I be so cruel to write all those things here for you, So let me not go far.
The scene of the mere figure stood to cause a pain in me. It impaired my thought and hunted my dreams, not really a hallucination but his feeble image appeared repeatedly in my mind, that remained for more than a week, so I was often afraid, but left it just within myself.
Now when that thought have gone and things forgotten, and may be after a month while I was out for shopping in that same place, I saw that same figure emptied of the soul. He was swollen and looked healthy; his hair has loosened and covered his face. His begging pot was empty and turned upside down...."Where his soul be residing now"?. I asked to myself. I remembered that I had given him the bread once, the very thought pinched my heart and now I had just the mournful tears dropping down my cheeks.

(It is not the description of the person in the image)