A Sense Of Gratitude

"Someone is calling you", told my grandma.

"Who is that? Please ask them to come inside", I replied as I was busy doing my packing to come back. I had gone to my native place to see my grandma.

"You go for yourself and see!"- there was a mysterious smile on grandma's face.

A bit irritated, I dropped the things I was packing and came out. "I stayed here for four days, they could not come to see me. They got time only now,” I was telling myself. I was running short of time.

Normally the old folks, contemporaries of grandma, send messages to her asking me to see them, or come to meet me. As I live in a distant place, I try to visit them even in a tight schedule. Once I just skipped meeting someone, she had left for her heavenly abode before my next visit. And I repent it till date.

“Pranam didi,” someone touched my feet as soon as I was in the verandah. I looked at him- a young man in his thirties, dressed in a crisp white shirt and black trousers, polished shoes, and a broad smile on his face looking straight into my face.

The face looked familiar

I was trying to remember his name. "Didi I’m Vishnu. Can’t you recognize me?”

Now his voice was sounding familiar.

"Oh, my God. Vishnu, you?" I smiled back.

"I’m seeing you after twenty years. I heard from my mom that you have come to see your grandma, just now as I arrived from Mumbai. And I came here, straight."

"Yeah, I have enquired about you before, but we had not met. My time and yours didn’t match before."

"See, because of you, I have reached where I am today. I am really grateful to you.”

To my surprise, he kept on adding "if in that crucial moment you would not have helped me, I would not have reached here. I would not be able to live a life of dignity. Please come home now.”

"So sorry, I don’t have time right now. But, I’ll surely go on my next visit. I’m leaving tomorrow morning.” We exchanged our numbers.

That meeting took me to 20 years back- my mind revisited the incidents that I had completely forgotten.

Vishnu’s mother is a housewife. During those days, she was helping my grandma in household chores, particularly during the harvesting season. She is a very pious lady with little education, but with real wisdom.

Her husband was an alcoholic. Theirs was a family of seven - with three daughters and two sons. The daughters could not complete their primary education. She had to send them for domestic work to the cities. Sadly, two of them fell prey to human trafficking. One of them came back and worked as an agricultural laborer. The whereabouts of the other is still unknown. The third one was subjected to violence and abuse while working as domestic help. The helplessness of a mother and her silent tears used to stir me many times. Finally, she got them married at a young age without any support. After all, when life sucks, who cares about laws and moral ethics!

The younger children, both sons, completed their primary schooling and were struggling in middle classes unable to cope with their lesson without any guidance from the parents. There was no money for food and she could not afford tuition. With just books and one pair of uniforms each, they were somehow continuing their school education.

One day she just requested my mom if I would spare some time to teach those two boys when I was in my first year of graduation. I was staying in a hostel, but often homesick and would go back home on holidays and most weekends. Those boys would come to me for guidance during those weekends and holidays. I would give them homework for next one week or ten days. As I was teaching in my college under NSS Program of adult education, I actually enjoyed doing that as it was not regular.

When I completed my graduation, Vishnu also completed his middle classes and joined the eighth standard at a nearby school.

His mother would rue about being unable to pay me and send me fruits from her field whenever I visited home. Sometimes in my absence, she would give some homegrown vegetables to my grandma also.

The day I completed my graduation exam, went home for holidays, a piece of good news was waiting for me-Vishnu had secured admission to a residential high school meant for the under-privileged children. His mom thanked me that day profusely. After that, I had forgotten that incident and went about my business and my life. I had heard once or twice that he was enquiring about me and was doing well in Mumbai.

Early next morning, Vishnu was back again to meet me. This time with a gift, so many sweets and his homegrown fruits. He touched my feet again.

“What is this? Again?!” I smiled.

Tears rolled down from his eyes. "Because of you only I could pass my tenth and twelfth exams and got a job as a waiter at a Mumbai restaurant- earning reasonable sum to live a life of dignity."

“No, that’s the result of your own efforts, Vishnu. I did not do anything more than guiding you."

"Think, if I had not completed eighth and would not have gone to high school. Maybe, would have been a dropout at the sixth standard itself. Now I interact with people, have seen a different world going out of my village. You are my guru and always I will remain indebted to you. I often tell my colleagues about you."

I was surprised to see his gratitude for my very small contribution.

Out of the things he had brought, I accepted only the fruits and politely returned the rest. He taught me at that moment what gratitude is. I was filled with happiness and contentment for my contribution to his success. I realized that a small help can lead someone to a better path.

Till today, we are in touch. Every time we meet, he touches my feet and reminds me that I will always be his guru. I believe that he does it all from his heart as a sense of gratitude. I have learnt from him to be grateful for even the smallest things in our life.