Street lamp
A story in Tamil by Pudumaippithan famous Tamil writer
Retold in English by me
At the street corner there is a Municipal lamp lonely without any company.
It lived for long trying to spread its scant light. Youth, old age then death!
These are not after all not taken as a contract by humans! So,the street lamp
also is now old.
Its stone pillar is now tilted a little. Glass shade is also broken on one
side. Children throwing stones playfully do not perhaps know that lamp also
would feel bad. Did the wind take out its breath in one go? Nay. It cruelly put
the lamp into trouble step by step and left it half dead. Is the lamp able to
spread its light even at least when the winds take pity? Not anymore. Who looks
after it when it catches cold during rains?
Does the wind know that?
There is no need for this lamp anymore in this area, they say.
The lamp also has a friend.
He is an old man.
Friendship Blossoms well between people of similar age.
What is Peculiar about it?
Lamp has the old man.
Old man has the lamp.
Old man is not aware that the lamp is being uprooted.
How can he know that?
Does he not go for begging for food around?
How can anyone live without food?
It's true that the streetlamp is his sole friend.
What benefit can he derive from its light?
He came back that evening.
There was only a ditch there.
Darkness! Very dark!
It was like a blind man whose hand stick was snatched by somebody, and he
was gropping not knowing which way to go.
On that day the world turned into a void and useless.
Any mental solace!
Where does it come from?
The streetlamp was after all broken; but to him it was giving some solace.
Maybe there is no light, but there was that stone pillar to touch and take
pleasure.
Next morning, people going that way, saw there the dead body of an old
man.
On that day a new lamp was fixed there.
That was an electric lamp.
Children were jumping around and playing around it.
Who would be worried about the old lamp and the old man?
Just like them even these children would one day turn old.
But what about it?
It is all the same anywhere and anytime.
Old gives way to the new.
New comes into force.
That is the nature of this world!
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