India, particularly in the city of Mumbai is a small tea stall run by poor women. These stalls are allotted by the government and they serve a definite purpose in society. Years back I had an emotional encounter with a young girl who ran a tea stall. I could never locate her again as she seemed to have vanished in the depths of this great city.
It all started in the month of June, the period when the monsoon is in full force. I drove to my office, when thunder boomed and boomed again. Torrential rain commenced and I thought it a good idea to stop the car and wait for the rain to stop. I looked around and through the rain espied a small Jhunkar tea stall. I rushed to the stall and saw it was run by a young girl. She was perhaps about 22 or 23, but she looked lovely in her sari that clung to her body.
She served me tea and hot samosa. I was loathed to leave and continued sitting there. We got into a conversation and she told me she was married for 3 years and had no kids.
This was the beginning and almost everyday I visited the tea stall. A strange intimacy developed between us and a few days hence , I became a more frequent visitor to her stall. One day I found her crying and she told me she had been beaten by her inlaws as she didnt have a child. Spontaenously I gathered her in my arms to console her. The effect was electric and we ended kissing each other
Love blossomed, at least for me and we had regular trysts in the stall. I was swept by passion and this continued for 2 months. One fine day, I entered the stall, but could not see my girl. An old woman sat and she prepared tea. I casually asked where the young girl was. The woman beamed and told me god had blessed her and she had gone to her village.
I sat stunned, wondering what to do. I didn't even know her name or address. I wondered what lady meant by the words ” blessed by God”. I had a lurking fear of what it meant, but fate had decreed and I had to obey. Memories die hard.
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