Poverty - Top Priority!

"Sir! Can you please donate to our charity home? Even a rupee can make a lot of difference to us" requested a young woman named Akshaya.

The man sitting in the AC car rolled his eyes indirectly demeaning her. "Are you educated?" He asked in a rough voice.

"Yes, Sir!"

"Which degree did you earn?"

"Masters in Computer Science and Engineering, Sir"

"Then, why don't you earn money by taking up a white-collar job and then donate to charity home yourself?" the rich man said, throwing daggers at her with his look.

Akshaya didn't lose her cool. Instead of cursing him inwards, she smiled and nodded her head making way for the car to move forward. The rich man was surprised to see her gesture. He drove the car out of the parking lane. It so happened that he needed to attend a fifteen-day conference session in the same hotel where he saw Akshaya for the first time.

Every day, he saw Akshaya patiently asking the people in and around the hotel at a particular time to donate money for charity homes. He saw her dedication, determination and willpower. She didn't make an angry face even though when she was being ill-treated by on-goers. Some of them tried to misbehave but she dodged them cleverly.

On the last day of the conference, he couldn't resist keeping his doubts to himself anymore. So, he walked to her after the end of the conference.

Clearing his throat, he drew her attention. Holding his hands behind the back, he smiled. She smiled back as usual and asked "Do you want something, Sir?" in a polite voice.

"Yes! I want to know how can you smile even after getting ill-treated by many people. If I would have been in your position, I would say 'I give up' to myself and would have left the place. The highest probability would be I would have resigned from this job and find a rightly suitable job for me" He said, sympathising with her situation.

She chuckled for a brief moment. "If I were in your position, I would have donated more than half of the money to the charity homes bringing change to the lives they lead, Sir. Despite having a meritorious degree, I am working as a donation collector to gain self-satisfaction and fulfil my passion of fighting against poverty" she said in a soft voice.

"Are you crazy?" he flinched back and said "Okay I am ready to give you one lakh rupees but on one condition. You must not take a single penny from it. What say?" He used this method to test her sincerity.

"Sir! I would be more than elated to receive it" she smiled wholeheartedly.

"What are you made up of, Woman? Do you hail from a rich family? That's why you don't care about making money" he said, giving a pointed look.

"I am made up of unshakeable faith and passion to serve the poor in our country, Sir. I belong to a lower-middle-class family" 

"Then, One lakh would have brought a huge difference in your standard of living but the same one lakh wouldn't sum up to eradicate poverty. Why don't you accept it? You didn't give a second thought too" he wondered.

"Because my Priority to earn money through you in this way is less than the Poverty that is persecuting in the charity home I know. Poverty is rapidly prevailing in our country due to overpopulation. The main reason for this is Relative poverty! We are measuring our standard of living by comparing it with others' living standards from a social perspective. Nowadays, more than half of the population want to become rich, richer and richest to provide a comfortable and easy life for their loved ones. The once clear, distinguishing line between wants and needs has now diminished to a greater extent. Few of them at times, even sacrifice their desires, happiness, hobbies etc., in a bid to earn a lot of money for their next generations so that at least they can lead a happy and financially hassle-free life. They are let going their physical and mental health to save money for their loved ones" she said and paused for a moment to check on his reaction.

Making a poker face, he signalled her to continue sharing her thoughts.

"Self-Satisfaction is the key to my happiness, Sir. If you are not satisfied with what you are and what you are doing, then you will never be happy. We keep on running a marathon race until the last breath but we feel we never achieved anything great until we are self-satisfied with our progress. Earning huge amounts of money by doing a white-collar job is not my top priority and will never be my top priority. Money is used by me as a qualified paper to satisfy our basic needs and for education since our society is designed so. Nowadays, we are keeping the money more than we need which is drawing a huge distinct line between the rising population. Family planning is another major concern! Educating the illiterates helps our country to become rich in knowledge. But selfishness, egoism and other traits are pulling us down from outshining. I want to say one last thing, Sir! Our Priorities directly or indirectly affects the Poverty line in our country. It is up to us whether we consider money as our top priority or the people around us as a top priority. Our family alone does not form Society. The human population together form Society. I want to give back something useful to the society as I was born and brought up in this society" she said and exhaled deeply without forsaking her graceful smile.

Rich man pulled his chequebook and signed on cheque donating one lakh rupees with a victorious smile.

"Today I learnt a life lesson from you which is more valuable than money, Ma'am. I will be thankful to you in my entire life. May Almighty bless you with health and self-satisfaction forever and ever!" He said, handing over the cheque to her in favour of charity home. She gave a receipt of acknowledgement by filling in all the details.

The next day, the rich man grew curious and sneakily stood in the parking lane by parking his vehicle far away from her sight. Akshaya still stood there asking for donations like always. 

"I wish I was like you self-satisfied by the work I do, Ma'am. I am proud of you!" He smiled broadly and left the place practising to become self-satisfied. 

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The End.