Letter about spending a holiday.

Vivekananda

Pally,

Malda.
12.8.04

My dear Tina,

Hope this letter will find you hale and hearty. The last holiday on
the occasion of Janmastami left a deep impression on my mind. Here is a pen
picture of it.
The entire area around our village was flooded then. In the sunny morning of the
day I, accompanied by my two cousins, went out to enjoy boating by our own
dingi. The entire area became a sea of water. Neither the corn-fields nor the
small plants were visible. We could only see some tall trees and straw and
bamboo made huts raising their heads. No human being came in sight.
Suddenly at a distance we saw a poor fellow wearing only a torn lungi floating
on a raft beside a straw made hut. We noticed him staring at the hut with tears
in his eyes. We came to learn that the flood snatched away the only son of the
man , a mere day-labourer. His wife died of a broken heart leaving him to suffer
alone in the world. I got stunned and speechless. Oh! God, help this wretched to
bear his sorrows, was the wordless cry of my soul then as I found no word to
console him. We left him knowing that he took shelter on the road-side , the only
shelter of such a destitute. We returned home dumb. In the afternoon I alone
rowed my boat to the road-side and tried to find him out in vain. Coming back
home I spent the night sleepless.
But the day is still vivid in my mind and I can only visualize the face of the
poor fellow with tears in the eyes.
No more for the present. Let me know your reaction on hearing such
an account. With love and best wishes,
Yours ever,
Sumi.