The Professor on the Bike!

Ā·

2 min read

The Professor on the Bike!

This evening, I took an Ola bike ride šŸ›µto meet two of my batchmates at a spot about 8 kilometers from my place in Bhubaneswar.

The rider, an elderly man well past 65, turned out to be a retired Mechanical EngineeringšŸ”§ professor.

A friendly elderly man,driving a motorbike, side view, with a serene and warm expression. Risograph

During the ride, he shared memories of his childhood, which he spent in Jamshedpur, the well-known Tatanagar, roughly 400 kilometers from Bhubaneswar.

Being curious, I asked him about the city. He smiled and told me how much it had changed and grown since his school days.

He mentioned that he grew up in a colony where families from different šŸŒcultural backgrounds and states lived.

An illustration of a colony, with houses, risograph

This gave him the chance to learn several languages, including Bengali and Bhojpuri, in addition to Odia.

Surprisingly, his reason for riding Ola at this age isn't out of financial necessity or to make ends meet. Heā€™s fit, financially secure, with a steady income from pensions and house rents.

The real reason he takes these rides is to engage in conversationsšŸ’¬with people and make the most of his retirement days.

"The old professor, sitting on his motorbike, engaging in conversation with passengers, smiling and listening attentively, with abstract speech bubbles filled with stories and ideas around him. Risograph style with purple and light blue contrasts."

For nearly 30 minutesā³, I enjoyed listening to his fascinating stories and life experiences.

It struck me that life truly unfolds in these small, fleeting momentsā€”meeting people we may never see again, yet they leave a lasting impression, filling us with a sense of wonder.

If this isnā€™t āœØmagic, then what else is!

Ā