Kabuliwala

I’ve to admit, that I picked this up because of Amartya Sen’s Home in the World. Although I read Kabuliwala back in my school days, this read ended up being a nice refresher. I never thought about the filial dynamic that was the center of this short story, I still remember that for the much younger me, this story was all about the exotic dry fruit seller from a faraway land. It’s now that I more aptly understand the last act of this story.

The Post Office — I loved the recitation of this play, it’s partly the narration of Rajat Kapoor but more so, the pure love for life by the sick child. I particularly liked how in one of the acts the kid forces the other characters in the scene to appreciate the jobs they had due to which they can move about wherever they want, while all this kid could do was sit in a room and wait for days to pass. This scene reminded me of a story by Helen Keller I had read in school about how we realize the value/importance of something once we lose it. Good nostalgic read.