Author Information
Flea Market
I wandered through the narrow lane
The excitement of the evening shoppers
Hawkers ware laid on cotton sheets
Spread out on the dusty roadside
The masks of papermache
Clay statues roughly shaped brightly painted
The unfed artists hope for sales
Some money to buy food to cool their entrails
Their beautiful works of art sold for a pittance
The streetlight cast an unearthly glow
On the twilight zone bedecked welcoming
There is not much to lose.. there is no gamble
Yet the stingy buyers enjoy the haggle
I spied a fiftyish lady squatting lonely
In front were cheap framed snapshots
Photos in blCK nd white- a few in colour
Sceneries of sunrise,sunset at mountains and sea
Pretty birds-prettier flowers,elegant mansions
A small seafaring steamer in the Andamans
Snow capped mountains of the Himalayas
Works of Art - excellent compositions
I asked her "Why are these photographs so dusty?"
She looked me straight in the eye-her looks were nasty!!
"Babu,these photographs cost five Rupees a piece..
take it or leave it and let me live in peace"
"Why are you selling these so cheap?"
In reply the sturdy lady broke down and began to weep..
All these places I visited when I was younger
"My husband and children were with me then
My husband had a fatal accident a year back
My children have left me to seek their luck
I am selling my fond memories cheap
Lest they haunt me in my sleep"
© Bishwanath Mukherjee
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Author's Notes/Comments:
To those who are lost
