Fiction: Nobo’s life takes an unexpected turn when he finds an infant abandoned at the station

“Hey, what’s your name?”

They were drinking tea in a tiny shop that had far too many customers. The narrow bench didn’t have space for everyone and so, many people hurriedly sipped their tea, standing.

The eastern sky was yet to turn red. The surroundings were wrapped in a thick fog. The wind bit into their bare skin, which felt like it was being cut into strips by the jagged ends of a sharp saw.

No living beings except humans eat so early in the day. Cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep, ducks, chicken had surely not touched their food yet. They were all in their shelters.

But humans, they are always hungry. They have many different kinds of hunger. They are never satisfied with things that only fill their bellies, they need different kinds of food. Wherever you looked, you were sure to find people hunting for food. They were hungry in proportion to their skills, capabilities and power. Some people were satisfied with a simple meal of dal and rice but some remained dissatisfied even after they had swallowed mines, rivers, forests and land.

These people wearing dirty, torn clothes, with gunk-filled eyes and sunken cheeks covered in a mass of stubble, chomping on bread in...

Read more