“My life has come to revolve around this shop and my whole existence is centred towards this. But, you would be surprised if I tell you that I had travelled the length and breadth of this country. I was married to a bus driver who often rode passengers from one city to another. As they keep shuffling the drivers to new routes so as to ensure that they don’t get too accustomed to the roads, I used to travel along with him on some trips. On those days, the shop will be taken care of by the neighbours and I will be allocated a small place near the driver’s seat. In this way, I have visited most of the cities in India and the memory of it, keeps me going on most days. Now, we don’t get to travel much and especially after corona, the restrictions are enormous so I come here to my second home to sell my wares. Most days are dull but we still get by with whatever we could make in that day. Someday I hope to get back to my old love – travel. In life, we are so focused on moving the pages, towards reaching the destination but in between, we forget to savour the moments in between. To pause and hold space for admiration and maybe, even offer our gratitude. Come what may, the one thing noone can take away from me is my experience of those travels. Until the day I can go again, I’ll always remain grateful for those memories.”