An experience I wrote about in the early 2000s of my life...
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It was 10:00 AM already on a Monday morning & I was about to rush out of my house to office when my wife beckoned, "I have got something for you...". Feeling somewhat elated, I stood back. She came out of the kitchen holding a small plastic bag. Snacks for 5 o'clock, I thought! "Its yesterday night's Upma. Give it to any beggar on your way to office", she said casually dropping the bag into my hands and disappeared back into the kitchen. What ever happened to the loooong, loving good-byes we used to enjoy after our wedding? The newly-weds euphoria had evaporated without me realizing it.
Feeling quite unpleasant, I rushed out with that slimy bag in my hands. I kept it covered in my palms so as not to be visible to others. There was always a beggar woman sitting just 10 blocks away & I'll get rid of this sticky bag, I thought! But as I turned to that corner, she wasn't there. Usually, she always there, well-established, with her big plastic dirty rug & a boy who's always crying. But today, she just wasn't there. May be, she's gone to the bank to deposit her week-end collections. (she has a bank account, if you didn't know). So I went on, the bag still in my hands.
There are 2 temples on the way to the railway station. And temples always have beggars in and around them. From far ahead, the first temple looked quite desolate. And sure enough, the beggars weren't there. It was 10.15 in the morning and no beggars! I wondered why! May be they were late to work too. Feeling sympathetic for them (c'mon, it's a Monday morning), I trotted on to the next temple only to find the same scene. No beggars again! Is everyone out to annoy me? Is this some evil design to harass me? Now I was starting to get annoyed. Bombay city & no beggars! Walking on, I neared the railway station. The station would not disappoint me, I was sure. I started wading through the crowd of office workers, dabba-wallas, fruit-wallas, innumerable hawkers peddling electronics, dirty CDs & ball point pens, and little urchins polishing shoes. Everyone around had some work. But nobody was begging. Wow! The economy is looking up. No unemployment, no poverty around! Those fleeting moments of joy disappeared very soon as I realized that the slimy little bag was still clutching my sweaty palm.
As I waited on platform number 2 for my Andheri local, I noticed that I was standing right next to a waste-bin. How convenient! All I have to do is quietly drop the bag in that bin & I am free. But it wasn't that easy. How could I do that? I had FOOD with me. My out-stretched arm withdrew itself, caught between annoyance and ethics. I had to get rid of that bag but I couldn't just throw it away.
The bag accompanied me all the way to Mahim. Andheri had betrayed me but I had high hopes on Mahim. And sure enough, I was not disappointed. I saw not one but two beggar women on the Mahim railway bridge. My walk almost turned into a trot as I was just a few feet away from freedom. The woman also knew that I was going to give her something & was looking at me with hopeful eyes. But her hope turned into disgust when she saw a bag of food rather than hard cash. I could not believe it! She refused my offering - just shrugged me off. Overcome with shock, disbelief, frustation and fear, I didn't offer it to the other woman lest she might insult me too. My ego was badly hurt.
Losing all hopes of conscientiously getting rid of that food-filled bag, I dragged my feet towards my office. I was still angry. How on earth could that lowly woman refuse me? Down the road, around the corner, I saw another guy—torn clothes, overgrown beard, dirty rag. Yeah, he was a beggar alright. I proceeded cautiously towards him and subtlely showed him the bag from afar. He was still eager. And sure enough he took away my bag happily. Happy he was & so was I. But I wasn't certain, who was more happy at that time—him or I !
I was happy, very happy. At last, I found a beggar!
Was it a reason to feel happy about? That thought came up for a while but didn't survive for long. Life was back to normal. And I was back to battling usual day-to-day work.
Feeling quite unpleasant, I rushed out with that slimy bag in my hands. I kept it covered in my palms so as not to be visible to others. There was always a beggar woman sitting just 10 blocks away & I'll get rid of this sticky bag, I thought! But as I turned to that corner, she wasn't there. Usually, she always there, well-established, with her big plastic dirty rug & a boy who's always crying. But today, she just wasn't there. May be, she's gone to the bank to deposit her week-end collections. (she has a bank account, if you didn't know). So I went on, the bag still in my hands.
There are 2 temples on the way to the railway station. And temples always have beggars in and around them. From far ahead, the first temple looked quite desolate. And sure enough, the beggars weren't there. It was 10.15 in the morning and no beggars! I wondered why! May be they were late to work too. Feeling sympathetic for them (c'mon, it's a Monday morning), I trotted on to the next temple only to find the same scene. No beggars again! Is everyone out to annoy me? Is this some evil design to harass me? Now I was starting to get annoyed. Bombay city & no beggars! Walking on, I neared the railway station. The station would not disappoint me, I was sure. I started wading through the crowd of office workers, dabba-wallas, fruit-wallas, innumerable hawkers peddling electronics, dirty CDs & ball point pens, and little urchins polishing shoes. Everyone around had some work. But nobody was begging. Wow! The economy is looking up. No unemployment, no poverty around! Those fleeting moments of joy disappeared very soon as I realized that the slimy little bag was still clutching my sweaty palm.
As I waited on platform number 2 for my Andheri local, I noticed that I was standing right next to a waste-bin. How convenient! All I have to do is quietly drop the bag in that bin & I am free. But it wasn't that easy. How could I do that? I had FOOD with me. My out-stretched arm withdrew itself, caught between annoyance and ethics. I had to get rid of that bag but I couldn't just throw it away.
The bag accompanied me all the way to Mahim. Andheri had betrayed me but I had high hopes on Mahim. And sure enough, I was not disappointed. I saw not one but two beggar women on the Mahim railway bridge. My walk almost turned into a trot as I was just a few feet away from freedom. The woman also knew that I was going to give her something & was looking at me with hopeful eyes. But her hope turned into disgust when she saw a bag of food rather than hard cash. I could not believe it! She refused my offering - just shrugged me off. Overcome with shock, disbelief, frustation and fear, I didn't offer it to the other woman lest she might insult me too. My ego was badly hurt.
Losing all hopes of conscientiously getting rid of that food-filled bag, I dragged my feet towards my office. I was still angry. How on earth could that lowly woman refuse me? Down the road, around the corner, I saw another guy—torn clothes, overgrown beard, dirty rag. Yeah, he was a beggar alright. I proceeded cautiously towards him and subtlely showed him the bag from afar. He was still eager. And sure enough he took away my bag happily. Happy he was & so was I. But I wasn't certain, who was more happy at that time—him or I !
I was happy, very happy. At last, I found a beggar!
Was it a reason to feel happy about? That thought came up for a while but didn't survive for long. Life was back to normal. And I was back to battling usual day-to-day work.
This is the best one till now
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