Happy Man
Dear Amy,
Recently I read a collection of short stories of J D Salinger called Nine Stories. One of the stories is, 'The laughing man' which, I read, is inspired from 'the man who laughs' by Victor Hugo. In Kottayam Malabar your grand mothers' place there was a person who used to be known as Happy Man.
When I was a kid I used to see him often during my bus ride to that place. He would be in the middle of his usual walks. When he sees a vehicle passing by he stops his stride and see it off with a wholehearted smile. For the sane world he was a bit demented, for he was always walking, from early morning till evening with purpose known only to him. That's the only thing he knew, and to smile. May be trying to remind us to smile now and then.
I hadn't seen him in a long while. Visits to your granny's place were lessened as well. Recently when I visited the place I saw him again. He has changed a lot. His smile is gone for one. I might not have recognised him if wasn't thinking about Happy Man. Thinking back, I guess I might have seen him during my previous visits and didn't recognise him. He isn't the happy man any more, just a dreary old man. Our sane world caught up with him finally.
With Love,
Nirmal
Recently I read a collection of short stories of J D Salinger called Nine Stories. One of the stories is, 'The laughing man' which, I read, is inspired from 'the man who laughs' by Victor Hugo. In Kottayam Malabar your grand mothers' place there was a person who used to be known as Happy Man.
When I was a kid I used to see him often during my bus ride to that place. He would be in the middle of his usual walks. When he sees a vehicle passing by he stops his stride and see it off with a wholehearted smile. For the sane world he was a bit demented, for he was always walking, from early morning till evening with purpose known only to him. That's the only thing he knew, and to smile. May be trying to remind us to smile now and then.
I hadn't seen him in a long while. Visits to your granny's place were lessened as well. Recently when I visited the place I saw him again. He has changed a lot. His smile is gone for one. I might not have recognised him if wasn't thinking about Happy Man. Thinking back, I guess I might have seen him during my previous visits and didn't recognise him. He isn't the happy man any more, just a dreary old man. Our sane world caught up with him finally.
With Love,
Nirmal
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