Kabuliwala is a Bengali short story written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1892, during Tagore’s “Sadhana” period (named for one of Tagore’s magazines) from 1891 to 1895. The story is about a fruitseller, a Pathan from Kabul, Afghanistan, who visits Calcutta (present day Kolkata), India each year to sell dry fruits. While living in India, he develops a filial affection for a five-year-old girl, Mini, from a middle-class aristocratic family, who reminds him of his own beloved daughter back home in Afghanistan.
The main theme of this story is that humans, no matter what their nationality or background, are all the same, as symbolised by filial affection—the deep love that fathers have for their children. In the story are encountered three examples of filial affection—the narrator and his daughter Mini; the Kabuliwala “Rahmat” and his own daughter in Afghanistan; and the Rahmat “Kabuliwala” and Mini. In this story Rahmat comes to India every year to sell dry-fruits and to meet this girl named Mini. He encountered a physical confrontation with a person while collecting debts and that’s what led him to end up in jail. After several years, he was pardoned and was released from jail—he returned to meet Mini at her house, she had grown up and could not recognize him due to circumstances.
