My
watch showed 8:15. I was rushing home after the morning walk thinking of the
short time I had in hand to reach the office. May be a packed breakfast today
will save time. I was also motivating
myself that the weather had changed and now I needed to be a little less lazy
and finish the morning routine before it was time for kids to get ready for
school. Lost in thoughts I quickly passed by the old lady as she walked
laboriously towards home. I could have stopped and walked the next 100 yards
together but then I had already greeted her and exchanged pleasantries in the
park itself and now I was literally running towards home. I had barely gone a
few yards when I heard her say “beta jara mujhe paar kara dena, aj bilkul chala
nahi jata”. I stopped, a little ashamed, then held her hand and walked together
very slowly. In the course of the next hundred yards and ten minutes she
revealed that her arthritic knees had inflamed and today she had come despite
pain. And she was scared about crossing the patch of road where water was
flowing courtesy a broken pipeline underneath, near the edge. She also wondered
why so many officers living nearby had not bothered to complain when everyone
was so concerned about “saving water.” I
almost blushed again, this time with guilt.
At
the corner, as I took leave and we said goodbye to each other, she whispered
again, “Mai soch rahi thi kisko bulau, kaise chalu per Rabji (God) ne tuhanu
bhejia.” The profound affection in her
eyes really made my day. And not to forget that today And I made it a point to lodge a
complaint for that leaking pipe. Sometimes a little nudge full of love is indeed
needed to keep our conscience awake.!!
