Barely a
mile from my office, around the basement of Changkha Lhakhang(temple) lays
apartment where I stay. The place is fairly quiet unlike near Flyover Bridge
where I used to stay before which was full of commotion; vehicular honks could
impose dreams to awake at the pitch night when many are enjoying a sound sleep.
As young as four in the morning people walk off from their cozy bed to make as
many circumambulations of the temple doing rosary concurrently. Old and young,
from all walks of lives visit the temple for a lot of religious reasons; to
pray for a newborn’s well-being, receive blessings for long journey and
important undertakings, and many reasons within. The places nearby is a good
combination of all. But rental is also quite high. It takes half of my salary.
For me I have no choice as my Office is caged by the basement of Sangaygang (roughly
translates to Buddha hill). The diameter of my travel would pinch me in
monetary terms to look for reasonable apartment in places like Olakha, Hejo,
Taba and Babesa. So, I have to put up here, which is walking distance to
Office.
Quarter to
nine in the morning, as I ferry to my office with my office mate, a few meters
away on the way, a man at his eighties trudges every day from his home to do
rosary at the temple. His upper part of body bends to form distorted 90 degree
angle and walks with a stick. Walking down to the temple and doing rosary is
his daily work. This is what many old people do. As they count down their days,
they engage more into religion and confine their lives around the thread of
prayer beads.
Every
morning I and my friend meet him on the way, he pockets his right hand holding his
walking stick with left, and he offers us a chocolate each. “Thanks Agay” we
say. Then he walks. He does it every
day. On the first encounter, we just thought he might have seen us like school
going children, because usually the old people use to gift kids with chocolate
to make them happy. He might have seen us like school going children as we have
a bag each on our back and a lunch bag each on our hand.
Source; Google |
We’re
blessed to be greeted with sweet chocolates every day from the man of his age.
Man who would outrun longevity of today’s generations. He might have many to
take of the world with his lifespan near the heel of century. We have never asked
any questions to him for he might have lot to do at the temple and he would
take longer to reach there at his tortoise pace.
We are
fortunate to savor chocolate from Agay; we believe that if we get something to
eat from old people, we would be blessed with longevity. We feel immensely blessed
on that ground thinking that we would have extended our lives to his age.
Everyone likes to live longer if it is possible.
On the sad
note, we still don’t know who he is. All about him remain questions in our
mind. We love calling him Agay. Our talk with him starts and ends with ‘thanks
Agay’ upon handing us chocolate each.
He is
definitely a kind man. He flashes a smile every day when he sees us. This
brightens our day at office. This prelude of our day with this wonderful Agay
handing us chocolate is really worth engraving in our hearts. We shall remain
indebted for his chocolate and kind heart that he carries.
May this dainty
sweet Agay live longer with his kindness to spark a light in many lives of
school going children who meets along the way and receives chocolate.
We know
very little of him but know much of his kindness at heart. Thanks Agay.