The জলখাবার or welcoming snacks we were given as we entered the house
A few days ago I was invited to the In-laws' home of a brother/friend.
Its in the same district as mine, but quite far from the town. We rode our bikes for 1:30 hours on decent roads, half an hour on a rode that can be only described as a "গ্রামীণ মেঠোপথ", and then we had to park our bikes at a stranger's house and take a walk for like an hour or so to reach that household through an even worse(!) path, locally called "জমির আইল".
The whole journey to there was as exhausting as it gets, one of our bikes stopped working in the middle of nowhere to make the whole situation even worse. But after all these, right as we entered their home, the warmth, the vibe, the whole environment made it all worth it. It's been years since I've experienced that kind of homely appeal. People from various households gathering on a shared front yard for the cluster of houses, serving পান to each other, talking about how their day went, bitching about their neighbours but with less generic hatefulness, irritating kids being irritating in the corner, but in a naive ways; these are things I haven’t seen up-close for a long time.
The whole experience, from the simplicity in their hospitality, to their heartfelt goodbyes; it was as wholesome as it gets.
As I was returning home, I had to ask; do I want this life for myself? Would I be comfortable to switch my current life and lifestyle for this?
The answer wasn’t as simple, but it was "probably not."
But then I had to ask, what if this was the only kind of life I had even know?
I couldn’t find an answer to this question. I don't know if I ever will. I don't really know, if I ever should.
took the photo as we went out boating after 9 in the night, witnessing the least light pollution in, I can't remember how long.
