empathy

My fear for ghosts and scary stories is very well known among my mates and colleagues. So much so, that they have started capitalizing every opportunity to feed energy to this fear.

today, i was ployed into watching 'Resident Evil' trailer, and so the fear of crooked characters, ugly scary lumps jumping across the screen  was still fresh in my mind. soon, in the evening i was walking along my friend Sarat towards a food 'take away' place nearby, we saw a very old woman near the cross road. i saw her through the corner of my eye and as i was doing that, my friend mumbled not to look at her. this mind is full of filth and is crazy, i had this impression of the trailer still fresh, and here i see this old woman, who wore the textbook definition of old crooked witch. i chose to ignore her presence and hop past.
she was completely bent from her spine and she looked above at us.

we hurriedly walked past her, while she was pleading for help. suddenly Sarat stopped. i do not know why we did that. we were just going to walk past and 'the small ugly lump' jumping across the screen picture was still fresh in my mind.
we stopped.
Sarat helped her cross the road.
i walked with them, and i can now only feel ashamed that i didnt stop to help her. then we were about to leave, she said she cant walk further and needs to go by a rickshaw to Ameerpeth
the filth in my mind is deeper than i can imagine, and i thought 'ah, she would now demand 100 rs for going to that place'. i indicated to Sarat that we should leave, thinking that she would ask money and we would not be able to say no.
we were ready not to be fooled and go from there, when she helplessly moaned to us to help her.
the soul has a way to know truth, and we knew she really wanted us to help her.

we asked a rickshaw to ride her to ameerpeth. he demanded a higher fare. she was a dignified woman, and said 'No', she demanded that she be charged as per the 'fare meter'.  the rickshaw guy relented and she left.

So, now i am penning this page, feeling deeply ashamed of my act.
if i were stern enough, i think we would have left her, but i am very happy that Sarat stopped and chose otherwise.
we dont know if she reached properly, if she had money to pay fare, if she has any place to stay, but we didnt talk any transaction.
she was a very fine old lady, spoke well, asked our well being.
She did ask for one thing. she asked so that we could receive. she kept on asking that which i lost.
she asked for 'empathy'.

Poverty in Museums

There are few times when an idea comes and sweeps you away by the sheer force of its propensity and impact. As much as poverty is a complicated subject to understand, equally complex is its eradication.

So, without having experienced poverty even remotely, without having seen poverty from close ends, am i a person to comment about poverty. No.period.

Just Because

Just because,

                   she is honest, doesnt mean she is outspoken
                   she appeared quiet, doesnt mean she didnt have a lot to say
                   she appeared happy, dosent mean everything was okay
                   she laughed a lot, doesnt mean she doesnt take things seriously
                   she is forgiving, dosent mean she can be taken for granted
                   she doesnt show her feelings, doesnt mean she doesnt have any

What it does mean, she is the best girl you can have.
PS: it could be your beloved mother, darling sister, dearest soulmate or a new found friend, whom you seem to be knowing for ages
                      

(inspired writes)

Who's the boss

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises.He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him.He is not an interruption in our work - he is the purpose of it.We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to serve him.- Mahatma Gandhi

I found this on while I came across Zoho corp's About Us page. Strangely in his own land, how much do we practice?