The story of grandfather's chocolate shop in front of our school?

The school I studied in had within the walls from the children's section to the higher secondary section, so I spent fourteen years of my life in the same school. However, I used to look forward to enrolling in school and during the holidays a grandpa would sit outside the "big gate" of our school with a big chaat filled with various colored stickers, hojmi powder and hojmi chocolates. We fondly called “Hazmi Dadu”. I have heard from my cousin who is nine years older than me that when they were studying in school, Hajmi Dadu used to come and sit during the school holidays and his face has been almost the same for so many years; A few strands of white hair around that bald head, chubby cheeks, fair complexion, wearing a white dhoti and fatua. Sometimes I asked my mother for money and bought stickers, but I never tasted that Hojmi chocolate or powder.

I started going to school by rickshaw from class one, so there was no money at all. Only mother used to put two rupees in the bag, because if needed, I could call home from the telephone booth. Everything was going well, sometimes buying stickers from Hajmi Dadu and eating puffs at Fonida's shop, I didn't realize when I got to high school. I don't know why after I got to high school, I lost my interest in Hajmi Grandpa's stickers, so I didn't visit Grandpa for a long time. I used to cross the gate and get into the rickshaw.

Class five, just like that one day after the holiday, I see the rickshaw uncle has not come, what should I do, I am standing quietly. All of a sudden, I walked towards Hajmi Dadu on my feet. Many people are busy buying stickers and stickers. I just sit and watch. Even if I wanted to, there is no way to buy anything because I lent the two rupees in my bag to a friend that day. So at that moment my “pocket is empty”. But suddenly Hajmi Dadu handed me a photo of Saraswati Tagore and said, "Take it." I got shocked and said, "No, Grandpa, I don't have money today."

"Don't take it if you don't have to pay."

"No, what will I do?"

In this way, Dadu repeatedly asked to take the picture and I was also stunned. You know what, maybe the age was like this, I started to get many ideas of the real world then but could not assimilate its correct meanings even then. Mother always warned that "nobody takes anything for granted." The exact nature of this "something" or its classification was not yet understood. I didn't have the wisdom to distinguish between what is bad and what is not, so I put all "things" in the same category, "don't take." Another half-finished wisdom on him, "Never take a poor man's property without giving him his due." The matter of this “due money” was also murky. So Hojmi Dadu finally did not take the picture despite telling him several times. It's not that the darkness of grandfather's face didn't make my chest twist, but... I don't know what was going on in my mind at that moment, it was like something was squeezed.


When I returned home, I told my mother that everything was on her head. He said what do you understand and what do you understand. Then mother slowly started to clear the foggy ideas in my mind. He explained that grandfather was giving it voluntarily so he had to take it, but because he didn't take it, he must have suffered. I cried after hearing my mother's words. I told my mother that I will go tomorrow and ask my grandfather for the picture. Mom said, "Okay."


I couldn't sleep well all night, I didn't feel like studying at school the next day. As soon as I left, I rushed out of the gate but Hodgmi Dadu's sitting place was empty. I don't remember how long I stood there in confusion, I regained consciousness by the call of the rickshaw puller. I returned home with a burden of a mountain in my mind that day. That mountain then had to be swept away for the rest of the year. Then slowly the mountain may have eroded but part of it is a heavy stone. I have been carrying it for eleven years now, I know this stone will never decay again.


Yes, you are right, surprisingly, since that day, Hajmi Dadu has never come in front of the school, never. Until the last day of school, I crossed the gate and looked at his seat at least once, but he did not come. I don't know if my grandfather is alive, but I still feel pain because of the mistake I made when I was a child; I think if I could see my grandfather once, I would have apologized for hurting him. But perhaps not all mistakes are forgiven, once time is gone it never comes back...