I have to write about this one day in my life that taught me so much. I do understand that we all see life through our own filters , each with a different perception .However there are few things that binds us all together-Love.Humanity.
A few years back when I lived in the cosy and sheltered environment of JNU in New Delhi ..I met a little girl called Nikita. Her mother was a cook and father was jobless at that point in time. This cute , little angel would play in the sun and on my walk from the bus stop to home..I always saw her mother screaming at her . I loved the way..she would look at her mother during these times with a straight face as if she was going to listen to her and do as she said .Everyday was the same story.
Atleast she gave her mother the comfort that she was being heard by someone.
Nikita was about 4 years old that time. I was tempted to talk to her and so I grabbed the first opportunity I got. I asked her where she lived and her answer made me feel so foolish.She replied to my by sayin-'ghar mein'!What a silly question to ask a 4year old.
Well anyway..a few weeks later..Nikita started visiting my home.She would often point out me to her friends. Ah....that made me feel so important !
And then one day on her third or fourth visit...she asked me for some milk and bread. She was hungry.I was more than happy to watch her eat with so much interest.It was such a treat...just watching kids can be so much fun!
What happened next completely shook my being...
As soon as she finished eating she looked at me and askedme for a cloth.A CLOTH !!???? Perhaps to wipe her mouth..is what you would think..just as I did back then. But wait..her face was so clean with no signs of any food anywhere .I asked her why she needed a cloth of all things?!
Her reply left me speechless.With the most innocent and honest face...she looked up at me and said-'kapda de do.Safai kar doongi' .....
I could feel the ground beneath my feet shake. I just stood there stunned and with a thud I landed on the chair and stared blankly at her while she just smiled.
She was 4 years old..just 4...and she felt that she owed me something because I fed her with milk and bread!!
How on earth could this happen?! A four year old girl wants to return me a favour that she thinks I did for her...as if she was ready to let anyone use her the way they wanted to...just because they gave her something that she wanted.I didn't know whether to hug her ,hold her that time and tell her...that it's a big wild world outside...with people who would love to meet people with a heart and mind such as hers'...who would readily,without a thought take advantage of a girl like her. And yet something in me told me that this girl had so much self respect,so much character , so much morality....
What is this world coming to? Ordinary kindness, love,politeness , morals are things that are easily laughed at and forgotten whereas fights,hatred,treacherousness,disloyalty comes so easily to us.Why people with a loving heart and fearless enough to show it are misunderstood so easily.Why must we look for a reason to love one another when the real reason to search for is why we cannot love so easily anymore?
Didn't the man up there create mankind to be the most superior race because he gave us a heart which could love and feel?
Sigh...
A song that would put together how I felt back then and how I am feeling right now while writing this post-
'Imagine all the people living life in peace...
Imagine no possesions,I wonder if you can,No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man,Imagine all the people sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer,but Im not the only one,I hope some day you'll join us,
...And the world will live as one.'
-John Lenon(Imagine)
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Reminds me of one of the first few of my Eng songs - one that ended up being on my all-time-favourite list : Grammy winner - "Another Day In Paradise" from But Seriously...
Goes like this, pasting the lyrics here to avoid erroring ou on any word:-
She calls out to the man on the street
"Sir, can you help me?
It's cold and I've nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?"
He walks on, doesn't look back
He pretends he can't hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there
Oh think twice, it's another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, it's just another day for you,
You and me in paradise
She calls out to the man on the street
He can see she's been crying
She's got blisters on the soles of her feet
Can't walk but she's trying
Oh think twice...
Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do
Oh lord, there must be something you can say
You can tell from the lines on her face
You can see that she's been there
Probably been moved on from every place
'Cos she didn't fit in there
Oh think twice...
To your credit - you managed to think, unlike most of us.Strange are the ways of the world - stranger are the ways of the MEN who make-up this world. "Heal the World". God Luck - get in touch with me if you ever decide upon taking up that adventure :-)
Every day - through forwarded e-mails, e-articles, e-mags, print-media, word-of-mouth - I come across stories. Some inspiring, some mesmerizing. Some granting elation and filling your nerves with a rush of C6H12O6, some others, making you ponder - on and on...
And I am dead sure this must be happening to lots and lots of others too. And every day, it becomes a day gone by in inaction. Thinking - whether to consolidate, to mobilize - or to keep hearing more, from a distance - hoping, hoping, hoping - hoping for God knows what to happen..Sorry - hoping for Goddess-Knows-What (the Almighty is a female for me - the knoweth-all, the doeth-all - the male versions have been ruling the roost for too long, and have made a mess of this world...).
Dear Nikita - whereever you are, whatever age you are - WISH you are okay. Doomsday's would have come and gone by you everyday many times, I'm sure - but hope you're still unscathed, untouched by all the earthy unholiness, and remain blessed.
For us - "You Live...You Learn" ....that is incomplete, isn't it. Our problem is - at least mine is - we tend to fall into the same ditch despite living, despite learning, and the cycle repeats... with stories and more stories and still more stories to tell, and for souls like me to read, think, write back, and eventually, Unlearn the learning.
I suck - so do you all Readers!! Go Play :-)
...hufff....hufff......huffff....so much to create a blogger user-name on the world wide web...won't allow me my name - a name that I choose for myself and for others to use, unlike what the world - starting from parents, then onto friends and folks - chose for me. Naming yourself isn't allowed these days.. you can call others names though...wierd, funy thought!
Well finally registered "goddess_speed" as myself as in Id, and with godspeed.blogspot.com as the allocated web-url-identity, and, and..more in store, a 3rd name here...godspeedsgod as the caller-editor-identity. Thence, three names given to/for myself - adding to many others the Internet has given allowed me to grant myself the pleasure of having - none that I have liked this much though..
So much "simple" naming for simple blogging, meant for even more simplistic traversal of thought-processses... Nice.
Makes sense to me - the not-so-IUPAC-nomenclature, etymology, in simple words - makes it evident :-
--> goddess_speed makes it coming from a goddess - my faith rests with them, the feminine forms, not with the gods anymore.
--> godspeedsgod("s" - makes it pluralistic) - godspeeds - many godspeeds, + god makes it go to god - Gods need that These Days.
Confused. Mighty well be. Incase you're still not disgusted and still managing a read - I am mighty confused too...:-) Took some time figuring out what I placed where...this note will eventually, hopefully, serve a lifetime reference for me to make out my names!!
Finally, Thank You Nikita. With your spirit - you'll go a long way. And sure, you'll make some others go a long way too. Thank You Zaibi.
PS: - am copying this one onto my first root-blog-note . Hope that's not against the blogging (n)etiquette. If yes - forgive the sinner, keep hating the sin. Who cares.
Huffffffffffffffffff......
@godspeed
You need not look at it as an adventure.It is no joyride. It is an extremely hard job to do...yet like I said..like I always will say-don't wait for bigger problems ..start where you are with whatever it is that is staring at you on your face...
writing about it is as good as anything else..it's self healing in many ways.
And thank you.
You encourage me.
Thanks for being a inspiration .I had stopped feeling and even used to turn a blind eye on these issues.It is us who have to make a start and it is definately me.Prayers will not help but actions will surely do .
hey angel , i never thought angels can write , and that too in such a way that directly made me think , feel in a direction i never thought. You are too good , keep writing with that beautiful smile.
Hey Zaib....
You have some good food for thought here...
Keep writing!
Many of us might have heard this line "LIFE IS BEAUTIFULL". How often do we hear this line or how often do we think about this line.
I felt it while knowing about Nikita and tryng to put myself in the picture. I wish I was there with you, I couldnt have stopped myself from hugging that 4 year old kid "NIKITA the LITTLE ANGEL".
This moves me.. gud one..keep writing like this. -- KK
This is really touching!! I really like it.. Donno what to say! But simply beautiful! And this shows what a beautiful, loving person u are!! - Anusha
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