बच्चे

Summary

The narrator reflects on returning to his hometown after many years, a place he still calls "home town" despite having lived in a big city due to his transferable job. His wife, Suman, dislikes the constant moves, but now their children’s education has rooted the family in the metropolis. The narrator, however, feels his childhood never truly left him; it jumped straight into old age. He visits his hometown not just to see his elder brother, but to meet his childhood, which he finds hidden in the corners of his neighbor Bunti Mausi’s house. Bunti Mausi, whose real name might be Vinti, is one of four sisters. She was always knitting, a habit her mother called a obsession. She knitted sweaters for everyone—neighbors, relatives, friends, even a stranger whose sweater pattern she admired. She learned to knit from her mother and would carry her yarn in a cloth bag, which neighborhood children would beg for sweets from. She completed her M.A. and started teaching at a local school, which later became a college. Her three younger sisters got married one after another, but Bunti Mausi never married, always saying she would think about it after she had sorted things out. Time passed, and she never did. On a recent visit, the narrator found Bunti Mausi retired, caring for her elderly parents, who bicker like children. She still knits, now for her father and her granddaughter. The narrator realizes that Bunti Mausi, despite never having her own children, has mothered everyone around her. Her hands still move the knitting needles slowly, and she remains content, without any regret or complaint. The narrator sees that her childhood, like his own, is still alive in that house, preserved in the yarn and the memories.