My Hawker Brother......

As i entered my colony , a neighbouring aunty called and told me , " hey guess who came today ?" I asked , who ? "Your long lost brother". I was baffled. My"long lost brother ?" . I asked her again to be double sure I heard right. Any way i reached home and there i was standing in front of a person whom i haven't met for some 27 odd years and if i din't get the news beforehand, i would have not recognised him ....I stood there shocked and numbed with emotions as the memories of the by gone years came rushing in front of me in flash backs...... was this the same person who years ago had taken me as his little sister and whom i adored like my big brother.....???? . I looked at him and my eyes told me time has not been kind to him.......it had taken a toll on him which was clearly visible on his face. Overcoming the shock , we got down to catch up with what has been happening in our lives. I came to know he lost both his parents as soon as they left shillong thus leaving him an orphan at a very young age. With no one really to take care of him he had to fend for himself and thus survived those initial years doing odd jobs......studies by now all forgotten. Finally with what ever little money he could save ,decided to enter the hawkery trade and then life was a little better in the sense that he now knew where his next meal would come from. As the years rolled by , he got married and had two children. Both doing well in studies . Dada as i fondly call him told me that his daughter wants to study medicine.Son was doing his last year in college before he becomes a commerse graduate. I sat there listening to his stories as he told me first hand the life of a hawker. He was doing remarkably well in his chosen field. what surprised me was that i was looking at this trade as a profession for the first time......All this while a hawker for me was someone who would be wondering in the trains calling out for their goods. and sometimes even looked upon with suspision .I failed to realise that even these people have families back home ......... have children who also have dreams to make it big.......who dreams that their daughter find a good groom....... my dada even had pension plans. I was really brought down to the harsh realities of life..... and to think of our past by gone days when his parents were there what a cushioned life he led......not a worry ........those were the peaceful days.......those days when we use to all sit around in the late afternoon sun in the bitter cold months of january and play chinese checkers......the day he got a doll for me .... which i still have till date.....was he ....could he have been the same person ????? . He stayed with us for a couple of days......and then left for kolkatta where he stays with his family. As i saw him off ,I stood there till his shadow disappeared..... wondering when will we ever meet again....... What ever his chosen profession is .... he is and will always be my brother....the bond we shared will never change........I can only say a silent prayer for him as he goes about his daily trade.....wishing him all the best always.