Page 148 - Udaan 2019-2021...

JUST A GAME OF DICE

- -BIDISHA BHAR, IX/X

The city was burning in the Sun. So was my temper. For the last
three months, the duration of my night shifts had increased by

three whole hours but there was still no sign of an increment.

After a heated argument with my boss, I stepped out of my

office, only to be welcomed by the deafening sound of the traffic
and the blinding rays of the sun. To add to my miseries, the buses

of the ‘City of Joy’ had organized a strike on that day. A

perfectly imperfect morning.
After ten minutes of walk through the congested lanes of Kolkata

towards the Metro Station, each and every cell of my body had

officially surrendered and my eyes refused to look anywhere but

at the inviting ice-cream cart. Although I was not a great fan of
ice creams, within a minute or so, I was having a mango ice

cream to glory. Just then I looked up to see a father-son duo.

Signs of poverty were prominent on their bodies. The father’s

rough but strong hands showed signs of struggle but when I
looked at the son, tears rolled down

the child's dusty face and his thin

hands pulled his father with all the
might, towards the ice cream stall.

I gobbled up my ice cream as fast

as I could and found myself taking
out few hundred rupee notes from

my wallet and giving it to the father,

who accepted it after many protests.

As I crossed the street, I saw a
happy father and an even happier

son having brightly coloured
--ARYAN PAUL, XI/XII
ice creams with equally bright smiles on their faces.