A Father Who Never Gave Up in the Battle of Responsibility

Hello dear friends,
I hope you all are doing well and spending a beautiful life with your loved ones. I wish you all happiness and peace.

Life itself is a struggle. But not everyone struggles for the same reason. Some fight to fulfill their dreams, while others fight simply to keep their families alive. On my way from Gazipur to Dhaka, at the Kamalapur railway station, I came across such a struggling father. After getting off the train, I was waiting for a bus to Narayanganj. While standing there, my eyes caught sight of an elderly man sitting quietly in a corner of the footpath. In front of him lay a small plastic bag containing some cigarettes, a bottle of water, and a flask of black tea. Amid the dust of the road and puddles of rainwater, he was selling tea and cigarettes.

At first, the sight made me deeply thoughtful. How difficult life must be that even at this age, he has to sit on the footpath selling tea and cigarettes! A little later, I gathered the courage to talk to him. He told me that every day, from morning until late at night, he sits there. Whatever little he earns from selling tea and cigarettes is what keeps his household running. Age has taken its toll, his body is tired and weak, yet he cannot afford to stop. Why? Because the responsibility of his family still rests on his shoulders.

And that is the truth—age cannot stop responsibility. The smiles of his children, the needs of the household, the demands of the family—before all these, his own exhaustion, weakness, and even illness become insignificant. I could see the fatigue in his eyes, but the determination to fulfill his duty was much stronger. While talking, he said to me: “What else can I do, son? The family has to survive. If I don’t work, how will they eat?”

In society, we often look at wealthy businessmen or successful people and think that theirs is the true success. But perhaps real success lies in people like him. Those who, despite endless hardship, protect their families, work day and night to put food on the table for their children—these are the real heroes. His business may be small, but his responsibility is enormous. Day after day, under the burning sun or heavy rain, he continues his fight. Many may pass him by as just another roadside tea-seller, but inside him lies immense strength—the strength of responsibility and sacrifice.

We often say that old age is a time for rest, for retirement. But in our society, many never get that opportunity. Pressured by poverty, forced by necessity, and burdened by the future of their children, their old age becomes nothing more than another phase of labor. People like this father open our eyes—showing us that when responsibility is on your shoulders, age can never be a barrier.

Standing at Kamalapur station, I realized how diverse life truly is. Some people work comfortably inside air-conditioned offices, while others pass their days on the footpath beside dirt and muddy puddles. Yet, the goal is the same for everyone—to keep the family alive, to bring smiles to the faces of loved ones.

Even today, I remember that father. Perhaps tomorrow he will again sit in the same spot, selling tea and cigarettes. The story of this warrior of life may never be written in history, but his everyday struggle teaches us one timeless truth: “When responsibility rests on your shoulders, age may give up, but a person never does.”