Life is all about perspectives. Well, I know it is a cliché, but Life has a way of repeating its lessons till we learn and remember them by the heart of our inner-hearts. Had to come across one such a repeat session recently.
A couple of weekends ago, on a late summer Saturday afternoon laced with languor, I had accompanied my spouse to a furniture exhibition. After going through the stalls, we decided to have a bite at the food-court outside. As we sat at our table, digging into the dishes in front of us, our eyes fell on a janitor cleaning the tables nearby – an elderly woman with shriveled skin, lean physique but straight posture, her silvery hair tied into a neat bun, not a strand out of place. The style of her sari and the fading tattoos on her forearms made it clear that her origins lay in the land of lovely Telugu. The wrinkles on her hands and cheeks would put a fractal artist to shame, with skin-folds that crisscrossed into countless patterns. Here was another human being, performing a menial job, but her mien and dignity second to none there.
My wife also noticed the lady and, with astonishment in her eyes, mentioned how fortunate we both are, in the sense that we are both young and have our organs, especially our skins, intact. She expressed pity for the elderly woman’s having to work at this advanced age and remarked that such a state should never befall us.
Cleaning the floors and tables, collecting the disposable-cups and paper-plates carelessly thrown around by ‘the rich and the educated’, the elderly janitor came near our table. From the corner of my eyes, I could see that she didn’t move ahead but stood next to our table, mumbling something. Being a run-of-the-mill big-city-dweller, I assumed that the elderly woman was asking us for money. Calculating in my mind for the spare change in my wallet, I turned to face that lady, only to realize that she wasn’t even looking at us. Her gaze was on a good-looking middle-aged woman, sitting on a wheel-chair pushed by a younger woman. It was to make way for this woman on wheel-chair that our janitor lady stood aside, standing next to our table.
I was feeling a sense of guilt for my condescending assumption. After the woman in wheelchair and her companion moved ahead, the elderly janitor shook her head and, turning towards me, remarked ‘What a pitiable condition! Such a state should never befall us. It’s our good karma that we have our organs intact and don’t need someone’s help to move around’. Saying that with an innocent look, she went on collecting garbage from the floors and wiping clean the tables.
Is Life indeed all about perspectives? What do you think?
A couple of weekends ago, on a late summer Saturday afternoon laced with languor, I had accompanied my spouse to a furniture exhibition. After going through the stalls, we decided to have a bite at the food-court outside. As we sat at our table, digging into the dishes in front of us, our eyes fell on a janitor cleaning the tables nearby – an elderly woman with shriveled skin, lean physique but straight posture, her silvery hair tied into a neat bun, not a strand out of place. The style of her sari and the fading tattoos on her forearms made it clear that her origins lay in the land of lovely Telugu. The wrinkles on her hands and cheeks would put a fractal artist to shame, with skin-folds that crisscrossed into countless patterns. Here was another human being, performing a menial job, but her mien and dignity second to none there.
My wife also noticed the lady and, with astonishment in her eyes, mentioned how fortunate we both are, in the sense that we are both young and have our organs, especially our skins, intact. She expressed pity for the elderly woman’s having to work at this advanced age and remarked that such a state should never befall us.
Cleaning the floors and tables, collecting the disposable-cups and paper-plates carelessly thrown around by ‘the rich and the educated’, the elderly janitor came near our table. From the corner of my eyes, I could see that she didn’t move ahead but stood next to our table, mumbling something. Being a run-of-the-mill big-city-dweller, I assumed that the elderly woman was asking us for money. Calculating in my mind for the spare change in my wallet, I turned to face that lady, only to realize that she wasn’t even looking at us. Her gaze was on a good-looking middle-aged woman, sitting on a wheel-chair pushed by a younger woman. It was to make way for this woman on wheel-chair that our janitor lady stood aside, standing next to our table.
I was feeling a sense of guilt for my condescending assumption. After the woman in wheelchair and her companion moved ahead, the elderly janitor shook her head and, turning towards me, remarked ‘What a pitiable condition! Such a state should never befall us. It’s our good karma that we have our organs intact and don’t need someone’s help to move around’. Saying that with an innocent look, she went on collecting garbage from the floors and wiping clean the tables.
Is Life indeed all about perspectives? What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.