In Hindi,the word "bhavra" means bee and garners a lot of content and significance in Hindi, Urdu literature; the context in most cases being as free as a bee, or being innocent, as the English would say. It signifies freedom, zero restraints, a spirit which transpires freely across everyone and everything.
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There's a rusty forlorn cart full of tea,flames,mouth fresheners,biscuits,deep fried snacks and a living associated with it.
There's an old man,his brother,his wife,a white dog with one ear bent spending days under the cart and a child playing with the old man's wife. The child is the vegetable vendor's daughter who sits across the street. She sells her vegetables and her other half plays with the old man's wife. When the end of the day comes, the child leaves with her mother,the vegetable seller. I don't know if the old couple have children of their own.
He had bought a house years back for an amount of money which will not even buy a rich man's son a motorbike these days.
He still pays off the loan to the bank by selling tea and snacks. He is at the corner of a street which has turned into a three way crossing from a single curving road.
He knows how to tell time in ways more than one. The clock inside his cart is just a device to him. He has his own references to time through the fields, trees, buildings, shops, men, women, puppies, dogs, cars, technology that have bustled in and out of his life.
He still has to pay off his loan completely and hence, the tea stall,his cycle, the endless trips to buy tea leaves,milk,sugar and ginger exists.
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There are quite a few dogs that have their lives centered around his shop. In the mornings, he or his wife lay out several plates of bread and milk mashed together for the dogs to eat. The white dog with one of its ears bent lives under the cart itself and when not asleep, spends time being petted by the wife or one of the customers.
I was there on a Monday evening, drinking tea, staring at the sky where black was winning the battle over the blue and orange,a slight breeze blowing.
A puppy appeared out of nowhere, brown fur, bright-eyes and the thinnest tail I have ever seen on a dog. It jumped around for a while, getting in everyone's way and the old man had to finally shoo him away. I watched the puppy move off to the other side of the road and immediately a worried looking brown dog (I am assuming she was the mother)followed the puppy. The streets were busy and a car was taking a turn at the three-way crossing and I lost sight of the puppy on the other side of the road. At the turn, the car slowed as the driver twisted its wheels and suddenly I saw the puppy appear out of nowhere and cross the road with centimeters to spare in front of the car. I looked at the driver and saw the driver hadn't noticed the pup nor the near miss at all. He couldn't have. It had all happened in a matter of seconds.
The puppy dashed across to our side and went off sniffing around as if nothing had happened at all.
I remarked to the old man, "Abhi gaadi ke neeche aa jaata"(He would have been run over by that car just now!).
The old man just said,"nahi nahi,usko kuch nahi hoga, bhavra hai woh"("No no, nothing will happen to him, he is like a bee").
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There's a rusty forlorn cart full of tea,flames,mouth fresheners,biscuits,deep fried snacks and a living associated with it.
There's an old man,his brother,his wife,a white dog with one ear bent spending days under the cart and a child playing with the old man's wife. The child is the vegetable vendor's daughter who sits across the street. She sells her vegetables and her other half plays with the old man's wife. When the end of the day comes, the child leaves with her mother,the vegetable seller. I don't know if the old couple have children of their own.
He had bought a house years back for an amount of money which will not even buy a rich man's son a motorbike these days.
He still pays off the loan to the bank by selling tea and snacks. He is at the corner of a street which has turned into a three way crossing from a single curving road.
He knows how to tell time in ways more than one. The clock inside his cart is just a device to him. He has his own references to time through the fields, trees, buildings, shops, men, women, puppies, dogs, cars, technology that have bustled in and out of his life.
He still has to pay off his loan completely and hence, the tea stall,his cycle, the endless trips to buy tea leaves,milk,sugar and ginger exists.
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There are quite a few dogs that have their lives centered around his shop. In the mornings, he or his wife lay out several plates of bread and milk mashed together for the dogs to eat. The white dog with one of its ears bent lives under the cart itself and when not asleep, spends time being petted by the wife or one of the customers.
I was there on a Monday evening, drinking tea, staring at the sky where black was winning the battle over the blue and orange,a slight breeze blowing.
A puppy appeared out of nowhere, brown fur, bright-eyes and the thinnest tail I have ever seen on a dog. It jumped around for a while, getting in everyone's way and the old man had to finally shoo him away. I watched the puppy move off to the other side of the road and immediately a worried looking brown dog (I am assuming she was the mother)followed the puppy. The streets were busy and a car was taking a turn at the three-way crossing and I lost sight of the puppy on the other side of the road. At the turn, the car slowed as the driver twisted its wheels and suddenly I saw the puppy appear out of nowhere and cross the road with centimeters to spare in front of the car. I looked at the driver and saw the driver hadn't noticed the pup nor the near miss at all. He couldn't have. It had all happened in a matter of seconds.
The puppy dashed across to our side and went off sniffing around as if nothing had happened at all.
I remarked to the old man, "Abhi gaadi ke neeche aa jaata"(He would have been run over by that car just now!).
The old man just said,"nahi nahi,usko kuch nahi hoga, bhavra hai woh"("No no, nothing will happen to him, he is like a bee").
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