The grass is greener where you water it

This time of the year when this ever speeding world has been put to a sudden halt, I have come in terms to what I used to be. From scratches of memory and my perception of who I used to be, whenever I think of my younger self I see someone who liked to believe in the fact that the grass is greener where you water it.

People, almost all of us are a product of our situations but what makes us individuals and not the crowd is our way of addressing life. My morning walk expeditions have forced my slumber to take a back seat, as I hit the road I see almost the same things in repeat fashion. The smell of late spring blossoms, the chirping monkeys, people in masks, boys hitting soccer and yet in this familiar looking crowd, I always come across one individual. 

No, he ain't some distinguished personality riding a Mercedes. I haven't seen his face yet but he crosses me each morning in his creaky worn out bicycle. This person has this odd familiar smell, perhaps it's his perfume or a mixture of his perfume and sanitised hands but what's striking about him is his nonchalant demeneur. He cycles straight to his destination avoiding the gaze of onlookers. His tidy bag hangs across his shoulder. His weary shoes complement the greys in his head but his firm posture talks about the hard work life has made him go through. Ah, I forgot to add what had captivated my attention in the first place, he wears shades of blue. The blue of his shirt complements the sky and as he rides amidst the Laburnum blooms, it almost seems like he is flying in the sky. And it's blue everyday. I haven't seen him wear anything except for blue. The wind carries odd fragments of the songs he hums which probably are some lesser known Assamese classics. I always think of stealing a photograph but I fear that would threaten his nonchalance. I want him to keep being him and not the crowd.

I have seen people owning cars and grumbling for not having more, I have seen people fumbling over what they couldn't have and here's this man in his creaky bicycle , relaxed and focused at the same time. Probably, he understands the grass is greener where you water it.