Page 8 - My FlipBook

Biju woke suddenly from his mid-afternoon reverie as Bapa tapped him on the head. He was carrying a small canvas shoulder bag with
a zipper and two big cloth bundles. ‘Hey, Biju, wake up. Are you ready to go? Have you said goodbye to your mother and Jeji Bapa?’

‘Yes, Bapa,’ said Biju, suddenly alert, taking one of the bundles.

He felt big and grown up. He was going to Delhi with Bapa, to help him carry their bundles of saris. His father said they might get a

better price if they went directly to the ladies who wore them instead of giving them to the traders in Sambalpur or a wholesaler in some
big town. It was Biju’s first visit to a big city. Jeji Bapa had persuaded Biju’s father to take him along to get some experience of travelling,
so that maybe one day he could go on a Bali yatra on his own. Biju was very excited and a little nervous.

They walked to the bus stop and waited for forty minutes in the scanty shade till the old, wobbly bus arrived. It took them to Sambalpur
town from where they caught the Hirakud Express to Nizamuddin station at New Delhi.

8