A few days back, when i was browsing through my Facebook timeline, chanced upon this picture. The description below, written by the person who posted the pic, says it all:

Many of us saw her pic in facebook. and I finally met her, Just outside Exide mod Haldiram’s, she was sitting and selling papad (1 packet for Rs 10). This Old fragile lady in her mid 80’s who has a paralyzed son at home and she is the only earning member of the family and definitely too proud to beg. Her clean clothes, sophisticated manners tells the unspoken stories of her aristocracy of yesteryear. one well dressed Man took one packet of papad and gave Rs 100 and vanished quickly in the crowd before she even got a better look at how much he has paid. And he is not an exception, ppl keep buying stuffs from her regularly even though they do not use them. Felt proud that hearts still beat and bleed in this city of joy and all of us has not turned into stones yet.

I was reminded of a similar old lady, who used to come to our home once in a fortnight/month to sell moa. “Moa Dida” we used to call her. One day she stopped coming, she was no more. There are several women like her who have braved old age and kept their self-esteem intact by earning their own living. I only hope she receives a little help from the government or any noble-hearted individual. I hope my city will not disappoint. Among all the Indian metros, Kolkata still has her heart in the right place.