One day short of the Gruhapravesh of my first house, I broke down. It had been a difficult period. I had very limited resources but the urge to have one’s own house had been too strong. A wrong estimate which saw actuals go up by two times had only made matters worse. I had borrowed from everyone I knew to somehow finish the house. Anand, the civil contractor who did my house had only one thing going for him. He was sincere.
Why did I break down ? One day short of the big event, the electricity board brought in an unexpected demand of a couple of thousand rupees and I had not even a penny. 300 guests had been invited the next day and I had no lights !
So, I went and sat in a corner of the house and literally sobbed.
A few minutes later, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around. It was Anand. He said, “Ramesh Sir, a friend of mine returned ten thousand rupees which he owed me. I don’t need the money for three months. If it is with me, I will only spend it. Will you please keep it safely for me ?” The Gruhapravesh went off very smoothly.
I was bachelor a few years back and loved to cook even then. Shankar was a vegetable seller who would visit our neighbourhood in his small cart every day. All my neighbours would haggle with Shankar for fractions of a rupee. Remembering that I would pay for vegetables at a mall, at the printed price, without the opportunity of negotiating, I told Shankar I would not bargain with him and would leave it to him to charge me reasonably. From then on for four years, Shankar continued to give me the best of vegetables and never cheated me. Not once.
A fortnight back, Sachin, Rajesh, Purushottam and I were at the Bharath Restaurant at Trichur. Easily the best for vegetarian food, the restaurant was jam packed. We found a table after a long wait and the harried waiter, snapped “what do you want ?” I smiled at him and said, “You seem to be very tired. It’s been a long day isn’t it ?” The waiter (I learnt his name was Saji , later) broke into a huge smile. Didn’t say a word but gave us a memorable meal.
Why do we find it so difficult to be nice to “small” people? Isn’t it a fact that our lives would miserable without the Anands, Shankars and Sajis ?
We are rude to them because we can get away with it and we can’t do that to our peers ? Or, are we trying to take revenge because someone treated us pettily ? Doesn’t the bible say, “Vengeance is mine, said the Lord”
We go buy a car worth a million rupees and literally beg for a freebie worth a pittance while we bargain for a few rupees with the “small” man ?
Let us learn to be a little more human. Let us give the “small” guy his due. He does not need our millions. A little respect. Some sincere appreciation. Lots of empathy. Surely we can all afford these ?
