Kindness Knows No Home!

Source: A WhatsApp forward

**

It was the night of 30^th Dec. And it was cold out there.

They were returning from a party at a friend’s place. 

As they were hitting the main road, at the corner he caught sight of a homeless beggar squat on the pavement and pulling tight around himself a torn shawl, not entirely successful in holding off the shivering cold.

He slowed down and stopped the car a little distance ahead.

‘What happened? Why’re you stopping the car? Any problem?’ his wife got a wee bit tense.

‘No, nothing wrong with the car. Look there, an old man shivering in cold.’

‘So?’

‘We have a shawl with us in there. Let’s give it to him.’

‘What? That expensive stuff we bought for my mom?’

’Let me get it…what to do? There’s nothing else to spare…we’ll get another one for your mom.’

‘You know what? He is not going to use it, let me tell you. He’ll trade it in for some weed. They do it all the time.’

He picked up the shawl from the seat behind and got down.

Went up to the man, draped the shawl around the startled man fearing worse. Stepped back to have a look. With a wave of has hand, left him behind and returned to the car.

They came home in silence.

On 31^st night once again there was a party they attended more or less in the same area.

Later they took the same route on the way back home.

The homeless beggar was at his spot.

‘See, what I told you, I can’t see the shawl,’ observed the wife.

He stopped the car and both of them got down.

‘What Baba, where’s the shawl we gave you yesterday? Bought yourself some ganja with it, eh?’ the wife said mockingly.

A bony arm stuck out pointing to a figure crouching on the pavement some distance away, shrouded in what appeared to be the shawl.

His voice was tremulous: ‘One leg, polio affected. Draws unwelcome attention from passers-by. She is without clothes even to cover herself properly. At least I have this for myself.’

They returned to their car without a word. She was sure there was another shawl in the bedroom closet.

End

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A Tale From A Mango Tree (A Drabble)

The Sanyasi and his shishya were passing through under the Mango Tree.

That’s when a small stone fell barely missing the Sanyasi’s head.  No damage done.

The shishya looked around and saw a scrawny looking man poised to have another go at a raw mango on the Tree.

‘Hey, pause for a couple of minutes, we’ll be gone. See, you almost hurt my Guruji with the stone.’

The man was unapologetic: ‘Do you guys know what it is to go without food? You appear well-fed. Move away. Else you might get hurt properly this time.’

Turning to the Sanyasi, the sishya mumbled: ‘What insolence…uncouth fellow…Let’s go from here, Guruji. No point in talking to him.’

The Sanyasi agreed with his assessment: ‘You’re right, we should go. An empty stomach never feeds on reason…give me a moment.’

Calling the man to his side the Sanyasi turned to his sishya: ‘Please present him the fruits we are carrying. That should ease his hunger until he finds his next meal.’

Disapproval writ on his face, the shishya did his Guru’s bidding.

The man grabbed the bag like it was his and walked off without even looking at them. No gesture or word of gratitude for them.

The Sanyasi calmly picked up the stone, held it to his eyes like it was something scared and stowed it in his habit.

As they continued their sancharam, he shared his thoughts with the puzzled sishya more as a self-reflection:

‘This stone is a great reminder to me. A sanyasi’s dharma is not to save food for the next meal – even fruits. Even otherwise, look at it this way: To a fellow throwing stones at it, if a tree can give away its fruits, shouldn’t we…mind you the one stone wasn’t thrown at me nor did it as much as graze me.’

The Mango Tree smiled.

End

 

 

 

Source: Inspired by a strip in Dina Thanthi

Leap Before You Look

There are times when it is best to act before thinking. Read on to find out about one such occasion – here’s an extract from my diary:

“…

June 1st
The film disturbed me…the plight of the single women left in the lurch by the shameless men. Amazing NGO guys working for them…and what do they get in return…

June 10th
The pravachan (talk/sermon) by the Swamiji (holy man) – it made so much sense. Shouldn’t we all give back something?

June 21st
The Swamiji said it again. Have been thinking about it. Will set aside a thousand rupees a month for giving away. I think I can afford it.

July 2nd
The HelpAge brochure…just the thing I had in mind. Helping destitute women. Must write a check.

July 5th
The check yet to be sent out. Damn all this work. Sucks up the time and the energy to do anything else. Keep forgetting.

July 18th
Saw the site. Seems to be a big setup. My contribution – a burp in a hurricane. The phrase – I coined it, Hadley Chase’s was less sanitary. Look at smaller setup’s desperately needing support. These guys won’t miss it.

August 28th
Sanskrit and Veda’s institute struggling for survival… So what if I haven’t learnt. Must do our bit for preserving tradition. It’s only two thousand rupees. Nice and smart of them to ask small.

September 7th
Yes, the institute. Had a thought – what if they’re already beyond the tipping point? Would be a waste, no? Must look at something else.

October 5th
Home for Cancer patients…poor folks. Need a place to stay in the city for treatment. Cities…so expensive. Six thousand rupees to cover one or two patients. A great thing. Will also protect us – it’ll be such an irony. Lord would not let that happen.

October 16th
Just checked on the Home’s brochure. No Income-Tax registration. No known names. These days…so many scams. Who knows if it’s genuine?

December 10th
Today, a procession by film-stars collecting for flood victims in the south. How will my contribution make a difference? These stars…if they give what they charge for just one film that should handle half a dozen floods. And what is the government doing with all these taxes? Passing on the buck to us? What passing the buck? They’re collecting the buck. There’s a word for such wrongly applied phrases – can’t recall. Some mal…

March 10th
So boring. Had to be done. Readied Income-Tax returns. Just found haven’t made any donations to claim deductions. Must do it in the next financial year.

March 28th
This is easy. Swamiji talked about small acts of kindness – like feeding the pigeons. I think, I’ll begin with that. Men will take care of men. Who will worry about these poor creatures? Need to check on this avian flu, though.

…”

No later entries found on the subject.

Once in a while, when the thought of doing good enters one’s mind it is best done without a second thought; given a little time the rational mind asserts itself to successfully dissuade one from actualizing it.
–                –                –               .
End

Credits: Image from nafisustain.com