There are similarities and differences between the Cabuliwallah and Mini’s Father. The Cabuliwallah is from Afghanistan, while Mini’s father is from Calcutta in India. The Cabuliwallah has traveled from his country to Calcutta, India, to make a living by selling fruits, specifically grapes. He walks from door to door selling the fruits, which he carries in a bag with others in his hands packed in boxes. He, too, sells the fruits on credit and comes to collect the debts from his customers later on. Alternatively, Mini’s father is a writer who makes a living by writing novels. The first time he meets the Cabuliwallah, he is working on the seventeenth chapter of the novel that he is writing.
The Callibuwallah and Mini’s father are of different social statuses, presumably, Mini’s father being of a higher social status compared to the Cabuliwallah. This is evident by comparing what the two of them do for a living. The higher probabilities are that writer will tend to earn more income compared to a street fruit vendor. However, despite being of different social status, Mini’s Father and the Callibuwallah have great personalities. They are family men who show affection towards their families. We can see that Mini’s father can never have enough of his daughter. The Cabuliwallah also has a daughter who is of Mini’s age and has much affection for him. All along, he carries a piece of paper that has an impression of an-ink-smeared hand, which shows that as he travels to Calcutta, his heart always yearns for his daughter.
The Calibuwallah and Mini’s father have a lot of affection for each other’s daughter. The Cabuliwallah strives to create a good relationship with Mini, who initially fears him. He ‘bribes’ her to reduce her fear of him and eventually manages to create a close relationship with her, which even makes Mini’s mother paranoid. They became very fond of each other, to the point that, despite having a busy day, he would still spare some time in the evening to spend with her. However, Mini’s father feels for him and his daughter when he learns that he had a daughter back at home whom he carried along in his heart while moving around the streets of Calcutta hawking.
Mini’s father suddenly changes his earlier attitude toward the Callibuwallah and feels the fatherly ties that bind them together. He understands that he is a father just like him. He had earlier sent him away while he insisted on seeing Mini, but now he is on the verge of breaking down and calls out for Mini to meet him. He feels so much for him that he forgets that he is just a poor fruit seller and will not even listen to the resistance when he calls out for mini. He is perplexed to see Mini all grown up and in her wedding gown. At that point, it dawns on him that his daughter has grown too, and she is no longer the little girl he used to know. Mini’s father has a loving heart toward the Callibuwallah’s daughter, just like the Callibuwallah has for his daughter Mini.
Moreover, Mini’s father reciprocates by giving him a note while instructing him to go back to his country to see his daughter. He even makes a wish of the happiness of the Callibuwallah meeting his daughter, initiating good luck to his child. The affection of Mini’s father for the Callibuwallah and his daughter is so great that he has to cut down on some of the wedding celebrations. Even though this disheartened the ladies of that house, to him, the joy of the thought of a long-lost father meeting his only daughter in a faraway land was even more beautiful than the supposed wedding celebrations. In conclusion, I prefer watching fiction to drama to listening as watching involves more human senses, thus requiring more concentration thus meet the desired goals of such engagements.