A day back, my friend’s mother passed away.It triggered a train of thought in my mind and connected a many instances in life when I felt annoyed with life for not giving me what I wanted , when I envied others for what they had …but the most striking thoughts were those when I felt blessed for being born and brought up the way I am but still a little discontented with life for no good reasons at all.
Just wanted to share a few of those encounters!
The dilemma still persists!
The first year of college, the naïve me , and a whole lot of new things to think about! I was traveling by bus from Jalandhar to Chandigarh and came across this guy(almost my age) who played an instrument , more like a violin ( am still unaware of what it is called actually). With the rickety PRTC bus pacing at it best speed on Punjab’s not so smooth roads , this guy had this rugged look and continued playing his ‘violin’ while singing a Punjabi folk song. And I was struck big-time because I was told since childhood , “begging is not a good thing and you should never give money to beggars because it does more bad than good for them”. But my mind wondered , “C’mon , he is trying to sing in the most non conducive environment and look at him , he’s your age! Have you ever put in so much of hard work to earn anything in your life?” So , I gave him a 10 rupee note but felt disgusted even after that . Would a 10 rupee note make any difference to his life? And who am I to pay somebody ..I am my self a nobody!
The cherub ‘Roshni’!
If you have been to Chandigarh and have visited 35 main market then you would know whom I am talking about. When the Diwali fervor was full on and the nooks and corners of Chandigarh illuminated with beautiful hues, we found the tangible version of light – “Roshni” , a little girl in the vicinity .She’s so small that she can barely talk but manages to deliver her message in her own style. We found her in 35 main market , the beaming cherub in torn off dirty clothes , walking the aisle barefooted and carrying out a practice which disturbs my mind – “beggary”. We couldn’t say a no to her, she charmed us into forgetting all those principles we imposed on ourselves. We asked her what she wanted and she pointed towards the ‘juicewallah’. When she got her glass of juice , she refused to drink it unless we got the same for her brother(who translates her expression to us). And we were touched! When they gulped down their share of drinks , the gleam of joy reflected from their eyes gave us a sense of satisfaction. But a glass of juice or food that people offer them by being lured by Roshni’s innocence hasn’t changed their life one bit. The other day , I saw a video in my friend’s mobile covering Roshni and her ineffable charm .So ,I found out that she had been illuminating a many lives with her charming existence but who would come to illuminate the life of “Roshni”?
And she left me dumbfounded!
I like visiting Mansa Devi temple with friends. It is located around IT park Chandigarh. More than faith , the ‘kadi chawal’ served in their ‘pandal’ drive me towards the place. The other day, when we were coming out of the temple, we had an unusual nasty conversation with an almost 7-8 year old girl and I was left dumbfounded. It wasn’t anger that I felt, it was a question that hammered my head , “who teaches them all that?”
As a regular affair, there were beggars soliciting for money outside the temple. We offered them Prasad as usual and as usual they wanted something more than that. But what happened after it was what I call utterly bizarre. This little girl came running to us asking for money,while asking for it ,she showered a million blessings on us, particularly that I would get married soon with the love of my life and I shall have wonderful kids. Now, why I mentioned this very blessing is important to know because when we refused to give any money , what she retorted follows : “ May you have kids before your marriage and you never get married after that”. Now,what kind of terrorism is that ? and who puts it into the nascent mind of a little girl baffles me more than her curses.
