It was a particularly dry summer when I decided to quit my job at the Mithilesh University of Arts and Commerce in Shamli, where I worked a...
It was a particularly dry summer when I decided to quit my job at the Mithilesh University of Arts and Commerce in Shamli, where I worked as a lecturer in the Sociology Department. I was in dire need of a break, and my hometown, Pichrapur, which was a few kilometres from the campus, seemed like the best retreat, not just to recuperate from the mind-numbing job I had been in, but also to finally prepare my synopsis for a Doctoral thesis.
Summer had just started settling in when I arrived. The air was warm and heavy, and the thick rustic scents made me nostalgic abut my childhood here. I woke up late every day and, after eating the morning meal, went for a walk around the village. When I came back, I either read on the chaarpoy in front of the house, or watched something on Netflix in my room. After lunch, I took a long siesta.
My tauji and taiji did not mind my aloofness. They were happy to just have me around. They were aged and lonely. Their five children had gone abroad, or to big cities, and visited rarely. I could image that the house would get full and cheery...
