Several months ago, I was going to the university. And the streets of this city seemed very busy with people. People's lives were going on amidst a lot of busyness all around. It was getting very late for me to go to the university, what should I do? I saw rickshaws passing ahead. I called a rickshaw for myself.
"Where are you going, brother?" the rickshaw driver asked me while wiping the sweat from his head.
"I will go to the university. Will you go there?" I said.
"I will go, get up quickly," the rickshaw driver.
I got into the rickshaw. Then I noticed that the man was wearing a red cotton shirt and it was very wet. Looking at his hands and feet, the veins in his hands looked like rivers. I thought he was a middle-aged man. He might be 50 to 60 years old. But at first he started pulling the rickshaw slowly.
There was a traffic jam all around the city. And amidst this traffic jam, he slowly drove his rickshaw along the road to my university.
After a while, I said to him,
"Uncle, you seem to be having a hard time in this sun in the morning."
He turned to me while pedaling and smiled a little, "What should I do, father, there is no other way. I have been driving a rickshaw in this city for ten years. The family has expenses and there is also a young son. He has to pay for his education. His son has many dreams, don't you have to fulfill them?"
Curious, I told him, "Your son is studying, wow, that's good."
"My son is now in tenth grade. He has many dreams of becoming a doctor. I want him to study well," the rickshaw driver said.
Uncle's words touched my heart. I realized how difficult it is to study in such a poor family. By driving this rickshaw, he takes notebooks and pens for his son, and pays for his education. Then I am very good, enjoying so many benefits.
While talking, we got stuck at a traffic signal.
I said to him, "How do you suffer so much? Don't you have any body pain?"
The rickshaw driver uncle got down from the rickshaw and then looked at me, "
"You know, living in Dhaka city is very difficult for a poor person. But when I look at my son, listen to his words, listen to his dreams, I don't feel bad anymore. Then I find the strength in myself to do something for him. I couldn't do anything myself, father."
Hearing his words, I felt different. How could I face the truth ahead? If I were in his position today, I might not have been able to do all these things in my life. Living life with so much difficulty really makes life very difficult.
After a while, the cars started moving, leaving the jam. The rickshaw also started moving.
I asked him again, "Didn't you ever dream of what you would become when you were a child?"
"What else can I tell you about these things," the rickshaw-puller uncle.
"Hey, listen to me, it was really nice to hear your words," I said.
"When I was a child, I loved playing the drum in the village. When there was a procession in the village, I would play the drum and entertain the people. My father was not there. My mother worked in people's houses and raised me. You can understand, father, what other dreams this poor man could have. Then I came to the city to drive a rickshaw, "Uncle."
Then I thought to myself, "Now I am studying in university, my parents are all here. They give shade to my head like a tree. If I were like this uncle, what would have happened to me? My dreams might never have come true. Maybe my life would have been different then."
I came very close to the gate of my university. Then I said to the rickshaw driver uncle,
"Uncle, you are old now, what does your future have to do with it?"
"I am an only child, I don't know what his future is like. If his future is good, then my future will be good, if his future is bad, then my future will be bad, that is the reality," said uncle with a smile.
I looked at the sky for a while and then I said to myself,
" There is no end to the amount of time I have thought about my future in life, what will I do in life, what job will I do, what will be my career. But it seems that all the dreams of this man's future are in his children. Maybe my parents' future is also in me."
My rickshaw stopped at the third gate of the university. I then realized that I had left. Then I gave him the money.
Taking the money in his hand, he said, "It's really nice to see boys like you. If my son could also study in a university like you in the future, it would be even better."
"Of course, uncle, my prayers will be on your son," I said.
He gave a small smile. Seeing his smile, I also smiled a little. I saw my friend in front of me and told everything to my friend. That day, I understood the reality of that rickshaw puller by listening to his words. I captured his emotions.
| Divce | realmi c67 |
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