The woman was a sad sight, she was not exactly old but was bending, clad in an old sari. Her eyes seemed to be two pools of darkness, yet through the infinite depths of darkness you could still see a tiny sparkle. The man was in an even worse condition, quite old, toothless, he could hardly walk, and I noticed his hands were shaking. It seemed as if every movement he made was a form of suffering for him.
I went to the bank today with my friend. We had to withdraw some money, and my friend had lost his ATM card ages ago. I gave him my ATM card while I filled out the cash withdrawal slip for him. When he came back, I asked him the amount, and as I finished filling out the slip, a lady I recognized as one of the maids in my hostel, came to us and asked me to fill out the slip for her. She seemed so helpless and unsure about whether we would help her or not. She gave us a booklet which had her details and told us she has to withdraw a thousand rupees. I passed it on to my friend, as I was never very fluent with Hindi, and I did not want to make a mistake. Then she had to sign, so she went and got an ink pad and put her thumb print as her signature on three different spots. She was illiterate.
Then the old man came, looking even more unsure of himself, and meekly asked us if we would fill his too. I had seen him earlier while waiting for my friend, the man was having difficulty tearing out a slip from the stack, and when he got it, he walked out the bank (probably in search of someone who could help him fill it). He had to withdraw two hundred rupees. He kept telling us his details, unsure about whether my friend filled it our properly or not. He could not speak very properly. When it came to signing his signature, he took the slip and walked out the bank again. By then I was feeling really depressed, and to make it worse my friend turned to me and said, "It's really sad. I've lent that man a hundred rupees before, I think he drinks a lot though."
My friend got up to withdraw his money, and I sat there watching everyone in the bank, especially the woman and the old man. I felt like crying.
When I got back to my room, I did cry (I do not mean to be dramatic or anything, but these things make me really sad).
I understand we have come here to study, we are here to get a job or go for higher studies, earn a lot of money, get a few cars, buy a house, support our family, but is that really all that life is about? There's so much poverty, so much illiteracy in this world, in our own college, yet I hardly ever see anyone giving a damn about it. I am not even a good person, but still I notice these people around us, living in animal-like conditions. All you good people out there, what has happened to you? Why do you miss these things when you go places? Why do you miss seeing the kids working in our mess? Why do you not notice those kids at the crossing who do not go to school? Why is it that you see the old working and care not for their heavy burden? Why is it that no one thinks that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to live? Have you ever given candy to a poor child and seen their face light up?
There's more to life than just success, money, and fame. As the literate lucky of this society, I think we should take it up as a responsibility to look after the less fortunate. Everyone deserves a chance to live life.
I went to the bank today with my friend. We had to withdraw some money, and my friend had lost his ATM card ages ago. I gave him my ATM card while I filled out the cash withdrawal slip for him. When he came back, I asked him the amount, and as I finished filling out the slip, a lady I recognized as one of the maids in my hostel, came to us and asked me to fill out the slip for her. She seemed so helpless and unsure about whether we would help her or not. She gave us a booklet which had her details and told us she has to withdraw a thousand rupees. I passed it on to my friend, as I was never very fluent with Hindi, and I did not want to make a mistake. Then she had to sign, so she went and got an ink pad and put her thumb print as her signature on three different spots. She was illiterate.
Then the old man came, looking even more unsure of himself, and meekly asked us if we would fill his too. I had seen him earlier while waiting for my friend, the man was having difficulty tearing out a slip from the stack, and when he got it, he walked out the bank (probably in search of someone who could help him fill it). He had to withdraw two hundred rupees. He kept telling us his details, unsure about whether my friend filled it our properly or not. He could not speak very properly. When it came to signing his signature, he took the slip and walked out the bank again. By then I was feeling really depressed, and to make it worse my friend turned to me and said, "It's really sad. I've lent that man a hundred rupees before, I think he drinks a lot though."
My friend got up to withdraw his money, and I sat there watching everyone in the bank, especially the woman and the old man. I felt like crying.
When I got back to my room, I did cry (I do not mean to be dramatic or anything, but these things make me really sad).
I understand we have come here to study, we are here to get a job or go for higher studies, earn a lot of money, get a few cars, buy a house, support our family, but is that really all that life is about? There's so much poverty, so much illiteracy in this world, in our own college, yet I hardly ever see anyone giving a damn about it. I am not even a good person, but still I notice these people around us, living in animal-like conditions. All you good people out there, what has happened to you? Why do you miss these things when you go places? Why do you miss seeing the kids working in our mess? Why do you not notice those kids at the crossing who do not go to school? Why is it that you see the old working and care not for their heavy burden? Why is it that no one thinks that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to live? Have you ever given candy to a poor child and seen their face light up?
There's more to life than just success, money, and fame. As the literate lucky of this society, I think we should take it up as a responsibility to look after the less fortunate. Everyone deserves a chance to live life.
3 comments:
very touching post. i said i had given that man 100 bucks, not lent them. and in the bank, he was reeking of alcohol. he couldnt talk very properly for he qas quite drunk. i felt equally sorry for them if not more. the guy was jaglal and the lady's name was sheela. the guy had been on election duty yesterday and earned around 400. someone outside asked him how much he saved, he said he had spent 250 bucks on food since morning. alcoholism is one of the biggest scourges facing our society, along with illiteracy.
that was a thought provoking post in every sense of the term. The questions you ask,seem to be ignored by most,sadly.
Life indeed is not about success,fame or money.Life is too profound to be just that.There's a lot more..if only,more people realize that.
It is immensely satisfying to know that you're somewhere , the reason , for the smile on another person's face and it does not take much..just an outstretched helping hand.
Thanks for the wonderful post.
Cheers,
Sharad
Medley
the simple incidence makes one think about one of the major problems in the world. people need to take out just a little time for these issues and the acuteness of the issue may reduce . a thought provoking post
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