A tale of ....

Abdul kalam might hit the roof if he was informed that more a person dreams after the age of twenty greater are the chances of him becoming weird. If a person tries to understand the meaning of life he may become disenchanted with it. During childhood I wanted to rise as an adult as quick as possible because I thought people had a lot of freedom and I desired to watch the idiot box till midnight, to sleep even after 9.00 am and to have unrestrained access to refrigerator. These dreams as a child were rational because after few years it came true. As a grown up the habit of dreaming may prove to be an adversity (I think so).
It was another sweltering afternoon, after heavily feeding my stomach I was in a quandary about what to do next i.e. get to sleep or to watch some lackluster television programs. But mom came with a task. She asked me to visit a relative convalescing from illness residing in a town about 30kms from my home. I told her that the trip would cost her Rs.1000 plus other expenses. Most dames are persuasive and she was not an exception. Her tone reflected a feeling that she wanted a reprieve from my verbal onslaught for some time besides the road leading to the town has one of the beautiful sceneries, surrounded by plantain trees on both sides fostered by the waters of the river tamirabarani meandering nearby. So I took up the errand agreeing for a negotiated sum which cannot be disclosed here. The bus stop was just five minutes’ walk all I had to do is walk past the Ignatius convent school and the LIC building. There I spotted him near the entrance of the LIC building sitting against the afternoon rays of the scorching sun. Of course he was not our area corporation counselor whom none among our locality had ever seen after the election campaign nor he was one of the employees of LIC staging a protest for a hike in salary. He was a beggar with both his hands half amputated. It is a common sight to see beggars in the vicinity of temples/churches /bus stand or other densely populated areas but his peculiar working site drew my attention, I was immersed in a thought why he couldn’t go for a shade nearby. After paying the visit to the relative’s house I was returning to home after sunset, to my surprise I founded him at the same place where he was before. I walked past him but something bothered my mind, I returned to him and gave the bulk of coins which I had. After receiving the coins he asked whether I could do him a help. I told him “sorry I am urgently leaving to a place”. I always had a feeling that every men are equal, should be treated fairly irrespective of his status/education. Anything can be easily said than done, the moment of testing has arrived, and I was facing a litmus test. I paused for a while and asked what I can do for him. He said I must first give assurance before he could utter it. I said O.K. I shall do it whatever it may be. Then came the dramatic question “Will you get it by using your money or I shall give mine”. I was stunned and asked him to say what he wants to have before I could mull over it. However he turned to be adamant which made me to leave the spot. All this happened within few seconds, I returned home a confused man. I narrated the whole incident to mom and she said there was no fault on both myself and the beggar. She said that the beggar would have wanted me to buy food for him. Sometimes I feel victimized that this world has been unfair to me but when I see an underprivileged person, it enlightens me of the fact that I am luckier. When things go wrong I believe on a superhuman power (may be known as god) to set matters right. People say that human beings are punished for their wickedness during their next incarnation, but the mind/ inner conscience of the next birth is not the same or similar to what it was during the previous birth. People push each other inside the shrine to have a glimpse of the lord, some say they do service to god by converting people to their religion, some also justify killing others in the name of religion. Considering the billions of years since this earth could have come into existence, the human civilization’s period is less than 10000 years and it is determined on not only destructing itself but to change the course of the natural cycle(global warming).Who is he? Why did he became a beggar? Is there any redemption awaiting him in the future? What is life meant for him? Is people of this world are nothing but mere objects revolving according to bidding by fate? Questions poured and troubled me. Usually talks turn philosophical on the eve of exams. Some people with sinister motives retorted that I would have an answer about how beggars originated within few years. The following paragraph illustrates a midnight encounter with a stray dog.
It was gloomy night, the streets were deserted, my chronometer (!?) showed it needed only half an hour to strike 12.00 A.M. I was on my way to home after visiting my pal’s place. These days there is steep increase in the number of stray dogs, I wished not to bump into one. As I kept strolling something in the size of calf appeared to walk towards me. To my horror it was a dog, I decided to turn away from it slowly but it came very closer to me that I was completely bewildered. There was no one in the street. “Barking Dogs seldom bite”. The dog didn’t bark so does it mean that it would bite me. My mind started to race furiously (!?), I know dogs cannot be outpaced by running, so I decided not to run and stayed fixed to that place. It came near me, I could feel my palms are getting chill; it started to smell my leg, but to my luck it started to walk away within a fraction of time and disappeared in a nearby alley. I managed to reach my home unscathed, sweating profusely even in cool ambient temperature. Folks tried to disparage my deed and said that the dog would have taught me a fitting lesson had it hurted me. Surely they could not tolerate a clever decision maker.