The old man

“A happy day would have its moments of sadness too.”

Yesterday was no different. A Play at Ranga shankara. An Auto Ride. A cup of black caffeine with grilled chicken sandwich. A pitcher of chilled beer. A rocker of a night at opus lounge. Right in-between was this old man!

I always have had this bad habit of walking fast even if I am with friends. They usually chat up and lag behind. Walking on Brigade road in Bangalore at 7:30 can be quiet a daunting task. But still, right before the junction my eyes met with this old man. He said something to me but I couldn’t hear what he said. So, I bent down closer to his mouth to understand his words. Very politely he said “sir, do you know English?” His voice was very soft and mellow like the 72 years had brushed and polished it over and over again.

I knew exactly what he was going to ask me. But this time I didn’t mind. I saw the ‘honest pain’ in his eyes. Indeed I did. It was disturbing. A man of that age inching his way through the ‘restless mob of senseless and careless party Hoppers’ and no one notices him. I use the word shameful here and I feel I am still being polite. He was in need of help all I did was ‘help’ him in whatever small way I could. I just asked him to bless me and my friends in return. His old hands lifted in prayer for us and touched our heads one at a time. It’s been long that I had felt such relief and silence in my head. I knew he blessed all of us. He was dignified, honest and humble. His story kind of affected me in a strange way. I somehow could understand all his pain but felt completely helpless because I couldn’t help him more.

The realisation of how heartless can people be is something that really bothers me a lot. Everyone is lost in their own worries and sorrows. When was the last time we made someone smile? Remember? Remember the happiness that you got in return making that person smile. I believe that I am the devil yet I understand the pain of a human being, why can’t other humans do the same?