The Bench Under the Banyan Tree

Date: 27/06/2026
All Rights Reserved by the Author

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” — Confucius

In many towns, there is an old bench that seems to belong to everyone.
People rest there after a long walk.
Friends meet there without making appointments.
Children climb around it while elders exchange stories.
One such bench stood beneath a sprawling banyan tree.
Generations had used it.
No plaque marked its history.
No guidebook mentioned its importance.
Yet it had witnessed countless beginnings and endings.
Arguments had been settled there.
Dreams had been discussed there.
Laughter had echoed beneath its shade.
Modern life often celebrates speed and movement.
But some places teach the value of stillness.
A simple bench offers no luxury.
It merely invites people to pause.
And sometimes, in that pause, we rediscover what truly matters—conversation, companionship and the quiet comfort of belonging somewhere.
Perhaps every community needs such a place.
Not grand.
Not famous.
Just familiar.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com
youtube: conversewithasmile