What does the kabuliwallah reveal to the narrator about the reason for his interest in mini?

"Kabuliwallah" is a short story by Rabindranath Tagore. It centers around unusual friendship between Mini, a five year old girl, and Kabuliwallah, a merchant from Afghanistan.

The obvious age gap and unknown background and intentions of the merchant concern Mini's parents who object to this unconventional relationship. However, Mini and Kabuliwallah seem to really enjoy in the time spent together, playing innocent games and telling jokes.

Being accused of a murder, Kabuliwallah ends up in jail, which puts a stop to a two's friendship.

After many years, Kabuliwallah leaves the prison and heads to Mini's house only to find that she's getting married that very day and that she completely forgot about him, her childhood best friend.

There, Kabuliwallah finally reveals to Mini's father, who is the narrator of the story, that he enjoyed spending time with her because he is also a father and that, because of the nature of his work, he only got to see his daughter once a year. So, in Mini, he found a daughter to whom he could express his parental emotions, redeeming him self, in a way, for not spending time with his own daughter.