I don't see why!!!

On my way to work, I change 3 modes of transport. Bus- Train – Rickshaw. And obviously, I happen to encounter a lot many people during the same process (“obviously”: not because I change 3 modes, but “obviously” because, I stay in Mumbai. A place where all you can see is people around you. Even if you happen to travel in an odd hour, you’ll still find the place as crowded as it is at any usual peak hour. And then you wonder, “What are these people doing on the streets at this hour, don’t they ever sleep?” forgetting that you are on the street too, and have become a part of this crowd, adding to the already peaking population of Mumbai). No, this post is not another entry about my misery in Mumbai, but is about someone I encountered this morning.

I was sitting in the bus, gazing at sky (for I had nothing to do), when this small, tiny kid (Literally, he was as small as Thumbelina), with a giant school bag, which was almost double his size, hair neatly combed, and huge, round spectacles which covered almost half of his face, giving him a Harry Potter look, entered the bus. He then quickly ran and grabbed a place next to me. Then he took out a 5 Rupee coin from his pocket and in his innocent and naïve voice said, “Churchgate” (asked for a ticket to Chrchgate). His hands were so small that it couldn’t hold the ticket and the change out his 5 Rupees in the same hand. So I extended my hand to help him settle down. Then we happened to exchange smile. When he smiled, I could see everything inside his mouth as he had no teeth to cover it. (Either, because his milk teeth had fallen or because he was too young to have any teeth). When he got off the bus, I couldn’t help but think if such a tiny creature would ever be able to cross the road on his own, or reach his school safely and how heartless are those parents who let such babies out of their sight. But this post is also not about that kid either.

It is about how we, adults, always complain that “I wanna be a kid again”, or “I don’t wanna grow up”, or “It was great when I was a kid”, blah blah blah… What we forget is that kids too have a lot of tension, stress and responsibilities on their petite shoulders. As kids, we used to cry about going to school, exams, results, the responsibilities of fulfilling your parents’ expectations, the fear of getting caught while doing something wrong, the fear of red ink on your report card, the tension that would pop up every time “red list” was to be declared, and lots others. In fact, as kids we had other problems too, like mom yelling “clean your room” when you had a movie to catch; getting caught by a policeman just when you are running late for your exam; dad shouting “Where does my official stuff disappear? Who meddles with it?” Every time he said that, you knew you are next, even though you had no clue. The worse was when you landed in the examination hall prepared for some other subject, and your friends thought it to be funny and would tell this story to their other friends/ parents. Fearing that this time your phone bill is gonna touch the sky and your parents will blame it all on you (since no one else uses the phone as much as you).

Agreed, the severity of problems was not as much as it is now, however we must also realize that the level of tolerance was also very little. Then, small things as getting caught while forging your parents’ signature would put us under depression for days.

I guess, the point that I am trying to make here is, be happy with what you have and where you are. Don’t compare yourself with anyone, for you don’t know what they are going through… (Wow, Did I just make sense?)