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The Trays of Dried Fruits
A gift hamper of dried fruits for the New Year
The young man, Brajesh, sat on the road, selling his cane baskets. His mother and two older sisters would make the cane woven baskets in the village, while it was his job to take them to the village to sell. The teenager Brajesh had been doing this for the last six years, after his father passed away. His father, Romesh was a railway guard and he got killed when he was caught in a crossfire between the local police and the bandits who terrorized the train passengers.
The family was compensated with a little money, and Sita, the widow got a small government pension, from the transport department. Brajesh had two older sisters, who were married, but worked with their mother making baskets, while their husbands took care of the crops. The farmers were not paid well by the local landowner, Zamindar Ravindra, who was wealthy, and who extorted all he could from the common people.
It was a warm and sunny day, in May in the town square. There were a few people in the marketplace. Brajesh had sold a few baskets. He had eaten the dried cake he bought at the local canteen in the train station. He also drank a small cup of tea, in an earthen cup. It was over before he had quenched his thirst. His mother prepared much tastier and more satisfying tea at home. The four small bottles of…
