It was an unpredictable evening as rain washed away the roads adorned with dry yet sticky dust. I was out for my daily walk to the nearby market but had to cut it short due to the sudden downpour. I was in a remote town living temporarily at a homestay for one of my research projects. While rushing home under the rain, I approached the shop near my homestay. The rain had transformed by then from heavy shower to light drizzling. I remembered I had to return ten rupees to the shop where my homestay assistant Torali works. As I went in, the owner welcomed me, and I handed over the money. We exchanged our usual greetings, but he started talking and insisted for tea Torali had been preparing. The unpredictable rain quickly turned into a heavy downpour again. I was indeed looking for a longer conversation with the shop owner for some time. So, I agreed for the evening tea watching huge raindrops crashing on the glass door of the shop and helplessly crawling downward.
The shop owner is an old man in his mid-sixties, old because he looked overstrained with life’s problems. Whenever I cross his shop, he is found in the small plastic chair sandwiched between overstuffed shelves and layered bundles of goods. The shop is small, but you will find almost everything you need for your daily necessities. Whenever you visit his shop, the old man will greet you in his politest manner – something you can’t miss at all even as a stranger and first timer in his shop. His eyes are always lost somewhere just like his mind. Or at least I have always felt it that way. This made me curious to know more about him, and this rainy evening gave me that perfect time.
As we waited for Torali to get us tea, the old man began to tell his story. It was like the opening of a movie screen right in front of my eyes. He is a migrant from Duporbari who came to the big city with his dreams and eventually built a house in this remote town in 1979. He started working in a public surveillance department from 1981. As times went by, he got married and had two sons. Unfortunately, his younger son has downs syndrome, who is unable to do any of the daily chores without help from others. His elder son was a bright student but left his studies incomplete to join some ‘petty jobs’ as I was informed. That eventually killed his chance of getting a government job confirmed to the old man by his senior officials. The man lost his dear wife to cancer four years ago. Retired from his services recently, the old man now tries to find company in his solitude and the shop.
In the last few years, things happened quickly in the family of the old man. His elder son got married early and had a son. They had issues and disagreements with the old man and started living separately, away from the family. The elder son with his incomplete education and no degree could hardly cater to the daily needs of his family and asked the father for help. The old man, familiar with the adamance of the son yet feeling accountable to the duty of being a father, brought his son and family back to his house. The father decided to give them a room to live separately. But he is the one who pays their household utility bills. Later, he opened a small grocery shop for his son and daughter-in-law. The grandson has a strong bond with the old man, who now sees future through the kid and thinks only about his blooming future. The old man told me that he is simply practicing his duties of a father and a grandfather.
By the time, Torali brought tea for all of us. The downpour now calmed down to a much soothing sound. After his wife’s demise, the old man spends most of his time in his shop. But he is happy and relieved to admit that he is now financially independent and sound if not that well-off. As he took the first sip of his tea, his eyes looked away at the downpour by the glass door. Those eyes were slowly lost, I could feel it.
Our takeaways
Life, like the weather in the story, often turns without warning. The old man’s journey from a dreamer in Duporbari to a retired worker running a small shop reflects a quiet but powerful resilience. Despite personal losses, health challenges within his family, and the weight of expectations, he has managed to carry on. His life shows that resilience does not always look dramatic, it often comes dressed in the mundane routines of daily life. The old man is a familiar sight in the narrator’s daily walk, yet only a conversation in the rain reveals the storm within. His politeness, his stillness, and his wandering gaze all hide the deep solitude and sorrow he carries. It is a reminder that everyone has a story, and behind the warmest greetings might lie the heaviest hearts. Despite disagreements and disappointments, the old man continues to support his elder son and family. He offers shelter, opens a shop for them, and bears their financial responsibilities not because they deserve it, but because he feels it’s his duty.
His actions challenge today’s often transactional view of relationships, reminding us that unconditional love, though difficult, is still practiced quietly by many. Amidst all the hardship, the old man’s connection with his grandson is a bright thread. He sees his future in the child’s eyes, perhaps a second chance at nurturing dreams that were once his. That intergenerational hope is deeply moving. It shows how love and purpose can be rediscovered through the innocence and promise of a child.The narrator’s role is also significant not just as a storyteller, but as a listener. Sometimes what people need is not solutions but someone to sit with them and simply listen. In a world obsessed with noise and speed, the act of quietly listening becomes a form of compassion. Despite everything, the old man maintains his dignity. His shop, his tea, his gentle conversations, these are the small rituals that sustain him. He may not be wealthy or widely known, but he lives with a quiet strength that is admirable. Last but not the least, this story is a mirror to many unseen lives around us. It reminds us to slow down, listen more, judge less, and value the quiet, unspoken strength in people who, despite everything, still choose love, duty, and hope.