The Lalgarh episode took me down the memory lane.
I had just completed Law College & I was appearing for some competitive exams.
I would often go & study in my neighbour's home as our house was quite small.My neighbour was a senior lawyer who was a member of a communist party.He would leave for court & I had the house to myself to study.
He would often advise me that I should attend courts also instead of only studying for exams.His idea was only studying was boring & attending courts would give mean overview of the judicial system.Often,I would complain that I was taking so much pains to get a decent job & how things were easy for qualified people in the days gone by.Once,he chided me & said,"Do you call this sacrifice ?"I was stunned & he continued,"Sacrifice is giving up everything for a cause.In the jungles,where Naxalites are operating,when the police raid their hideouts,the Naxalites leave their wives & children so that they can continue working for the cause.Even women leave their kids in the cradles in the jungle whereever they are & flee."I was too stunned to react.I was told that Naxalites were fighting for land & for hunger & I believe,even now,the causes which drives them to fight the State are the same.
I do not approve of the violence used by them to achieve their purpose but the fact that even now,they continue to fight for land is a signal to the nation to address their issues.If as a nation,we want them to embrace non -violence,we must distribute the our assets voluntarily among the have nots.
This has also taught me that I was striving only for myself unlike them who were serving a greater purpose.
Showing posts with label neighbour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neighbour. Show all posts
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Meri Padosan
I have a padosan who is one of a kind ! She will come in almost every alternate day when my bai who cooks rotis for me is there & chat up with her.My bai works at her home as well.Now, really,she can instruct her when she comes home but nah,she has to do it when the bai is at my house.All this happens early in the mornings, when I am preparing my kid to get ready for school.So I get quite bugged .
Also,my padosan will come & borrow items like potatoes,onions,ginger,cucumber,tomatoes,etal.I readily give her but am quite unable to understand as to why she cannot wait till my kid leaves for school at seven in the morning.I am in a tearing hurry at that time & attending to my padosan becomes a chore for me.Perhaps, she wants to let me know that she is in a bigger hurry in the mornings-that's why she urges me up to quickly open the door & address her needs.
She has borrowed money from me quite a number of times even though all in her family are earning members.Even she gets a pension ! They own a factory or two & she still need to borrow even as small an amount as a fifty rupee note to pay to the plumber or the electrician.The excuse, is that she has no change.In other words,I am always rolling in change as I am middle class & she is well, upper crust ! So,how will she ever have such change-she will have notes of only bigger denominations ! Also,though, I have tried not to lend her money,I have failed.She has always managed to borrow from me saying that if I did not have the amount she needs,she will settle for a lesser sum.Her persistent attitude just gets too much & I give in.
She will give cakes to my daughter whenever they celebrate a birthday.Then after two three days,she will again give the leftover cake ! I have a harrowing time denying that leftover cake pieces to my kid as I don't want her to fall sick ! I once gave her the choicest Gulf dates as my hubby had just returned from the Middle east.The next day,she requested for more dates.She told me that she had to return a box to her married daughter & the dates were so tasty that they would make a good impression !
Yesterday only,she came & used my telephone as usual . She has informed me that only incoming calls are allowed on her phones. Also,I have to dial the number on the instrument as she finds the device too cumbersome! All members of their household have cell phones but she has told me at other times when she has used my telephone that she wanted to talk something to someone which she did not want her family to know.So you can see that she trusts me more than her family !
None of the bais in our building are ready to work for her as she pays a pittance & also calls them at different hours each day.The security guards posted at the entrance of the building turn away as soon as she spots them as she asks them for small change to pay for the autorikshaw fare ,which she promises that she will pay some day.
Once,she had given the keys to her house for safe keeping when they all had gone out of station.After they came back,something was amiss & so she asked me ,"Did you make use of the house ?"I just mumbled,"No,I did not".
Her house keys are still handed to me whenever she feels like it but with specific instructions each time ! One more reason for this fondness for me is that she has broken up with all the other neighbours for some reason or the other-primarily bais.She feels her neighbours have lured her bais by paying them more.She has hit back by thieving their milk packets ,their dustbins etal !
One must always remain optimistic whatever the circumstances .I have opted out of joining a laughter club as my padosan keeps me laughing on a daily if not hourly basis ! What more can I ask for in these stressed times ?
Also,my padosan will come & borrow items like potatoes,onions,ginger,cucumber,tomatoes,etal.I readily give her but am quite unable to understand as to why she cannot wait till my kid leaves for school at seven in the morning.I am in a tearing hurry at that time & attending to my padosan becomes a chore for me.Perhaps, she wants to let me know that she is in a bigger hurry in the mornings-that's why she urges me up to quickly open the door & address her needs.
She has borrowed money from me quite a number of times even though all in her family are earning members.Even she gets a pension ! They own a factory or two & she still need to borrow even as small an amount as a fifty rupee note to pay to the plumber or the electrician.The excuse, is that she has no change.In other words,I am always rolling in change as I am middle class & she is well, upper crust ! So,how will she ever have such change-she will have notes of only bigger denominations ! Also,though, I have tried not to lend her money,I have failed.She has always managed to borrow from me saying that if I did not have the amount she needs,she will settle for a lesser sum.Her persistent attitude just gets too much & I give in.
She will give cakes to my daughter whenever they celebrate a birthday.Then after two three days,she will again give the leftover cake ! I have a harrowing time denying that leftover cake pieces to my kid as I don't want her to fall sick ! I once gave her the choicest Gulf dates as my hubby had just returned from the Middle east.The next day,she requested for more dates.She told me that she had to return a box to her married daughter & the dates were so tasty that they would make a good impression !
Yesterday only,she came & used my telephone as usual . She has informed me that only incoming calls are allowed on her phones. Also,I have to dial the number on the instrument as she finds the device too cumbersome! All members of their household have cell phones but she has told me at other times when she has used my telephone that she wanted to talk something to someone which she did not want her family to know.So you can see that she trusts me more than her family !
None of the bais in our building are ready to work for her as she pays a pittance & also calls them at different hours each day.The security guards posted at the entrance of the building turn away as soon as she spots them as she asks them for small change to pay for the autorikshaw fare ,which she promises that she will pay some day.
Once,she had given the keys to her house for safe keeping when they all had gone out of station.After they came back,something was amiss & so she asked me ,"Did you make use of the house ?"I just mumbled,"No,I did not".
Her house keys are still handed to me whenever she feels like it but with specific instructions each time ! One more reason for this fondness for me is that she has broken up with all the other neighbours for some reason or the other-primarily bais.She feels her neighbours have lured her bais by paying them more.She has hit back by thieving their milk packets ,their dustbins etal !
One must always remain optimistic whatever the circumstances .I have opted out of joining a laughter club as my padosan keeps me laughing on a daily if not hourly basis ! What more can I ask for in these stressed times ?
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