The Flap Of Faith

An old man was crossing the street as an extra hand from a lady helped him propel forward. The wrinkled face, which must have seen better days, creased further to form a beautiful smile. The lady smiled back, nodded and walked away. All this episode was visible from my balcony as I folded my arms, rested on the balcony railings, leaned forward and sipped a steaming mug of fresh Darjeeling tea. The sun was setting in the horizon and the white birds returning to their nest while my mind was jostling with thoughts.

A week ago, a colleague told me about a student’s camp. It was two days event scheduled for a weekend next month where we could share our experience and help them with education. It was in a remote village on the outskirts of Bangalore. I have been into these activities before but sacrificing two hard-earned weekends was nothing less than an ice bucket challenge. I wanted to relax, spend some quality time with friends and surf YouTube aimlessly. I had dismissed the idea with a line that kills many actions – I’ll give a thought and let you know.

A day back, my manager asked me again about it and I had dismissed him politely. I guess I was just thinking about myself more or was it the busy life that had taken its toll? I nipped those thoughts in the bud and concentrated on the ongoing meeting. It was Friday evening and I had to visit a friend. He had rented a new apartment recently. I had some quality time with friends that evening – topics ranging from all areas like psychology, history, entrepreneurship, business, cinema, blogging, real estate, football and office filled the room. As we wrapped up it was quite late, many left, and we few decided to stay back. I slept like a pig that night. I could hear chirping sounds at a distance – a bit had felt like a part of the dream initially which turned into reality as daylight kissed my cornea. I woke up!

While the rest were still asleep, I made a cup of tea and went up to the rooftop. The sun was out but remained covered by clouds. The day was cool and I found a place to sit where the breeze brushed my cheeks just the right way. At that moment, I heard the chirping sounds louder than before – I was curious, as the little boy who would stare at the birds flying for hours. I stepped towards the sound; at a corner under the dish TV antenna, two tiny birds pounced for the food which their mother had brought - flapping their tiny wings the two chirped with joy and danced with enthusiasm. I was there for about an hour, the mother bird came back dedicatedly and served her little ones. How selfless of the mother to care for her offspring! We learn a lot about giving back to the society from her.

I went back home that evening, the incident still revolving my skull. After a while, I made myself a cup of tea, watched the sun set at the horizon and birds return to their nest as I thought about the selfless act by the tiny bird on a rooftop. Slowly, as if the clouds clearing after a heavy shower I knew what I had to do. At that instant, I called up the colleague and said yes for the student's camp volunteering activity. There were few hopeful faces somewhere waiting for me to serve them with my grains of knowledge. Meanwhile, the old man waved at the lady who had just helped him cross the road. My jostle was over and clouds all clear.