The things I see on the roadside now

When I was a child , roadside shops were full of things I wanted. Balloons ties to a small wooden stick. Plastic toys hanging from strings. Little cara, spinning tops, whistles, colourful balls, bubbles, dolls,and things whouse purpose I couldn't even understand but desperately wanted anyway whenever I saw one. I would immediately look at my parents

Sometimes I would ask . Sometimes I wouldn't because I already knew the answer. The shopkeeper was never really part of the picture. He was simply the person standing behind the toys. My entire attention was on the colourful things in front of me.

Now when I pass those same kinds of roadside shops. I notice the shopkeeper first. I notice the plastic chair they sit on for hours. The umbrella protecting the toys from the sun. The small bag of food beside them. The way they watch every person walking past, especially children. And sometimes I wonder what they are thinking.

Maybe they have a child of their own who also asks for things. Maybe the toy they are selling is something their own child wants but cannot have.bthwee is something painful about that possibility. When I was little.i thought the person selling a balloon simply wanted to sell it.

Now I realize they might have been sitting there for hours hoping that someone would stop. One customer then another a few hundred rupees at the end of the day.enough to take home something. Enough to pay for food.

Enough to cover an expense that has probably been waiting for them since morning. That changes the way I look at those little roadside shops. A child sees a balloon. An adult sees someone's livehood. And sometimes I see both.

I remember once wanting a toy so badly, that,I thought about it for day,I'll was nothing expensive, but at that age, even a small amount of money felt. Enormous, I remember the feeling of wanting something and knowing and knowing that whether . I got it depended entirely on someone else saying yes.Now I wonder howmany children stand in front of those shops feeling the same way.

And how many parents stand beside them silently calculating wheather they can afford it. The. Shopkeeper probably sees these little negotiation everyday. A child asking a parent refusing. The child insisting . Thevparent promising "next time".

Then the family walkes away. And the shopkeeper watches another potential sale disappy. There is something strangely human about that scene. Everyone wants something. The child wants the toy.

The parent wants to give it but may not be able to. The shopkeeper wants the child to buy it because that sale might matter to them more than the toy matters to the child . Nobody is necessarily wrong. Everyone is simply trying to get through the day.

I think growing up has changed the way I look at ordinary things.bthe roadside balloon is no longer just a balloon. Behind it is someone's time. Someone's effort. Someone 's rent.

Someone's family . Someone's hope that enough people will stop today. Maybe that is one of the less obvious things adulthood teaches us.As children, we notice what we want. As adults, we start noticing what other people are sacrificing to provide it.

And sometimes when I see those colourful toys banging by the road. I don't just see my childhood anymore. I see the person sitting behind them, quietly happing that someone will stop