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18 October 2026
A public bench tells us something about the people who share a place.
Someone sits there to catch a breath after shopping. An elderly person watches the street. A parent pauses with a restless child. Two strangers occupy opposite ends, exchanging no words at all. For a few minutes, the bench serves people who may have nothing else in common.
Nobody needs to buy anything to use it. Nobody needs an invitation. Its value lies partly in this simple freedom: there is room for a person who has nowhere particular to be.
Yet such ordinary spaces can disappear quietly. A bench is removed because it needs repair. A patch of shade is paved over. A corner where neighbours used to meet becomes another parking space. Each change may have a practical explanation, but together they can make a place less welcoming to those who move slowly, live alone or simply enjoy being outdoors.
A city is not measured only by its roads, buildings and shopping centres. It is also measured by whether people can pause in it without spending money.
The next time you pass an empty bench, look at it for a moment. It may seem like a small piece of street furniture, but it offers something increasingly precious: a place where nobody has to prove that they belong.
Rajat Chandra Sarmah, Guwahati, Assam, India, Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah, YouTube: conversewithasmile, email rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com
