DEBASMITA TRIPATHY

Children Stories Drama Inspirational

4.9  

DEBASMITA TRIPATHY

Children Stories Drama Inspirational

Selfless Connection

Selfless Connection

3 mins
694


On a usual hectic evening in 2011, on our return from the office, my husband Dev and I stopped for a while before a departmental store on a busy road in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha. While I was busy shopping for a few household daily needs, I couldn’t trace Dev. I finished my shopping and went back to our car, which was parked a little distance away from the store. After waiting for what appeared to be an eternity I located Dev, who was fast approaching our vehicle.


On our way back home Dev told me what had kept me waiting for so long. While I was busy with my purchase, a stranger approached Dev and started making some requests for lending some money so that he could feed his family. The sudden incident made Dev at first very apprehensive and he wanted to see where his family was. The stranger then pointed towards a lady in her forties and a girl in her teens waiting patiently at a distance under a tree. He appeared to be quite well off and later confided that all his belongings and money that he and his family carried were stolen in a train. He was new in this city and had no acquaintances that he could approach. He was stuck since he had no money even to go back to his home town in Andhra Pradesh. His primary requirement was to feed himself and his family.


So Dev offered to take them to the nearest restaurant and ordered food for them and paid their bills. The family appeared to be really starving. After that, the stranger thanked Dev for his help but as a gentleman was hesitant to ask for further help. Dev could gauge his hesitation and offered some money for getting the train tickets for going back to his place. Dev offered ten thousand rupees for tickets and food, lodging for the night, etc. The family appeared to be from a lower-middle-class background and Dev later said that although he really could not make himself believe all of what the stranger had said, daughter of the stranger reminded him of our daughter, who was of the same age, and Dev was filled with empathy for the girl and his family’s plight at the moment.


Why help was sought from him, there was no answer. Probably their background posed a constraint in seeking help from just anyone. Probably Dev appeared different in the crowd. Whatever could be the considerations, everything concluded amidst apprehension and sympathy.


It had been a fortnight since the incident happened and we were all immersed in the regular humdrum of life when a letter reached us that I can never forget. It was a letter from a gentleman called M.Ramaiah. He thanked Dev for his selfless deed when he was in dire need of help.


The concluding words of the stranger, now Ramaiah, read like this:

“In this world of growing mistrust and amidst incidents of breach of trust, I found a gentleman full of love and compassion for a person in need. For my family and me, the evening meal was the most memorable and best meal we ever had. I won’t pay you back because I know that will diminish the value of the timely help you rendered which I want to cherish and I know few thousand rupees will not alter your status but it really meant a lot for me. You will be in our hearts forever. I am happy whenever anyone will doubt human intentions; I will have a contrasting story to share.

While reading these lines, our misty eyes thanked the souls who were miles apart yet so close to us…




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