Experiences
It was a hot summer afternoon. The sweltering heat and the gusty winds made the journey uncomfortable. The loud noise of an arguing couple few berths ahead of the window seat and crying children in next, was supplemented by the inexperienced coconut seller spilling coconut water on the compartment making the floor making it sticky. As the winds blew, train reached 'Cuttack'. They were the years of infamous drought in Kalahandi of Orissa. People were eating mango seed soups to survive and the state ministers were running amock claiming it was the 'traditional' food.
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Vendors surrounded the train as soon as it approached the platform. So did the beggers.
Jignasu wasn't interested in them, he just had a hearty meal of the snacks he bought in the morning. He remembered the shopkeeper gave him a spoiled 5 rupee note and was angry at him. Jignasu was determined to get rid of the wretched note which reminded him of his carelessness. Then he saw her. An old begger, barely able to walk, came to the window Jignasu was sitting. She begged for food. Jignasu thrust into her hands the note, which he knew, no shopkeeper would possibly accept. In a faint voice she pleaded, ' Babu, nobody will accept this note give me 1 rupee instead'. Being reminded of the worthlessness of the note made him more angry and he didnt bother to give her anything more. And the train moved forward, leaving behind a hungry old woman with a note that nobody would accept and would never throw away either. It was a cruel way of treating an old begger, giving hope knowing fully well that it was false.
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As the journey progressed, the train travelled north through Calcutta, the temperatures were a little lower and it made the journey more enjoyable to Jignasu. One and half days of journey had exhausted all the snacks that he had brought. Feeling hungry he summoned the vendor and ordered a pack of soaked peas garnished with spices. As he gave the 50 rupee note, and was about to take the mouthwatering peas, the vendor suddenly said, 'eta na cholbe'(this won't do). Jignasu searched his pockets only to find 500 rupee note for which the small time vendor had no change. Many hours and vendors passed by and no one had a change for 500 rupees note that was useless to satiate the hunger of Jignasu. Finally it was the pantry car guy who broke the note for him. As he happily counted the change, he remembered the sad face of the old woman in Cuttack. He had only felt hunger for half a day and was thinking it was unbearable, what of the woman who might have been hungry for days? On that day, he vowed never to forget the hunger in his affluence. He never remembered the day quite well,but it didn't matter: Perhaps it was a tuesday.
@
****************************************************
Vendors surrounded the train as soon as it approached the platform. So did the beggers.
Jignasu wasn't interested in them, he just had a hearty meal of the snacks he bought in the morning. He remembered the shopkeeper gave him a spoiled 5 rupee note and was angry at him. Jignasu was determined to get rid of the wretched note which reminded him of his carelessness. Then he saw her. An old begger, barely able to walk, came to the window Jignasu was sitting. She begged for food. Jignasu thrust into her hands the note, which he knew, no shopkeeper would possibly accept. In a faint voice she pleaded, ' Babu, nobody will accept this note give me 1 rupee instead'. Being reminded of the worthlessness of the note made him more angry and he didnt bother to give her anything more. And the train moved forward, leaving behind a hungry old woman with a note that nobody would accept and would never throw away either. It was a cruel way of treating an old begger, giving hope knowing fully well that it was false.
******************************************************
As the journey progressed, the train travelled north through Calcutta, the temperatures were a little lower and it made the journey more enjoyable to Jignasu. One and half days of journey had exhausted all the snacks that he had brought. Feeling hungry he summoned the vendor and ordered a pack of soaked peas garnished with spices. As he gave the 50 rupee note, and was about to take the mouthwatering peas, the vendor suddenly said, 'eta na cholbe'(this won't do). Jignasu searched his pockets only to find 500 rupee note for which the small time vendor had no change. Many hours and vendors passed by and no one had a change for 500 rupees note that was useless to satiate the hunger of Jignasu. Finally it was the pantry car guy who broke the note for him. As he happily counted the change, he remembered the sad face of the old woman in Cuttack. He had only felt hunger for half a day and was thinking it was unbearable, what of the woman who might have been hungry for days? On that day, he vowed never to forget the hunger in his affluence. He never remembered the day quite well,but it didn't matter: Perhaps it was a tuesday.
@
posted by atma_tripta at 3:54 PM
4 Comments:
touching! how often does jignasu have to remind himself of this incident? does it get washed away in the memories as years pass by?
I think Jignasu learnt his lesson and refuses to allow the time to weaken his resolve.
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"It was a cruel way of treating an old begger, giving hope knowing fully well that it was false"
Isn't that what our existence itself is based upon? To have just enough hope to keep the clock ticking but ensuring that the hope is futile to conserve whatever it is that we conserve. I was going to write a few examples to exemplify the point... but perhaps, it is superflous!
Bala I think there is a difference in the hope that enhances our living and the one which is neccessary for the very survival. Giving false hope in the former category is acceptable but in the latter?
But I didnt quite get what you mean by saying 'ensuring hope is futile to conserve...'
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