Kabul is very much in the International news these days. Watching the men in Kabul on TV has reminded me of Kabuliwala. The name Kabuliwala is typically from Kolkata given to men from Afghanistan who are merchants in the city. During our childhood we have seen the turban clad, bearded, tall men with baggy pajamas carrying a big bag. Our grandmother used to scare us saying that the bag is full of naughty children kidnapped by the Kabuliwala. I later realized that this narrative had reference to Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s short story titled Kabuliwala. This famous story has been made into films in Bengali with Chhabi Biswas as the protagonist in 1957, and in Hindi with Balraj Sahni in 1961. A poignant story of filial relationship between Rehmat, the man from Kabul, and five-year-old girl Mini, daughter of a Bengali writer. In case you have not read the story, click this link Kabuliwala and buy it from Amazon for only Rs.113 (Maple paperback). Rest assured, you will like Kabuliwala written by Tagore in 1892. Quite different from what is being written these days about men from Afghanistan.
BhaskarChakravorti 