Aye u awsome people of Yahweh! A few days ago it rained here in Delhi and the fog was really bad. The winter supposed to make an exit by now is still lingering around making the nights really cold.
My mom told me that the vegetables at home are over and I need to go to the market and buy some. I wasn’t very enthusiastic about it, coz after a rain the roads are a mess with water puddles everywhere, its really yuk! But since its mummy who said, I chose to obey. (maybe I could atone for some of my many sins) She gave me the list and off I went in the direction of the market. Carrot juice is one of my favorites, I drink a lot of it. That day was no exception. On reaching the market, I ordered a glass of carrot juice from the juice vendor and started sipping it. As I was sipping from the glass, my eyes strayed at the muddy puddles and wet gravel that was all over the place. All of a sudden my eyes fell on a scene at the street corner across the road. I gulped down my carrot juice fast, paid the money and walked up to street corner. I was truly moved at what I saw. As I was just looking on, I struck upon an idea. With two big shoppers empty and folded in my hand, I immediately jumped on a rickshaw and asked the ‘rickshaw wala’ to ride me home fast. The ‘rickshaw wala’ thought that there was some emergency and he was doing his best to reach me home fast. Between breaths he asked “sahib, kya hogaya?” (what happened, sir?) I replied “nothing, just reach me home immediately” When I reached home, I ran up to the gate and rapped on it. I directed my youngest two brothers Johny and Akku to hop onto the rickshaw and accompany me back to the vegetable market. Mummy must have wondered at my speedy return. I never spoke anything to anyone. Akku and johny were on the rickshaw with me. They thought I was taking them out for a small jolly ride. I’ve got a surprise for both of them I informed them. Their spirits were up. They were all smiles. I didn’t mention anything further. Johnny and Akku are a remarkable duo. I feel very privileged to have such wonderful brothers like them. They are good team players. Of late though, I’ve been observing a trend. They have developed a very unholy habit. They grumble and whine for almost anything and everything. They keep comparing themselves on the basis of what they don’t have and what their friends have. When something is shared among us, they’ll see who has got the biggest piece and start saying that they were purposely given the small pieces. At times from what they say, it is apparent that they feel inferior because they don’t have the sophisticated gadgets and stuff that their friends at school possess. Johny being an early teenager. It is very difficult at times to advice him or correct him. He thinks he already knows everything! He tends to find fault with everything and everyone. And if we try to advice this guy his defenses go up. To be honest, for me it takes a tremendous amount of self control to tolerate these type of characters. I’ve tried a lot to advice him, but even before I say anything he intercepts with “now don’t start your big preaching to me ok!” and he’s such a master at switching off his mind if he wants to. The fellow who coined up the axiom “Ten can take an ass to the river, but hundred cannot make him drink!” must have had people like Johny in mind!. I’ve been trying to innovate ways in which I can be a friend and help him to stop his grumbling and fault finding. As the rickshaw reached the market place, we all got off paid the rickshaw wala and strode towards the street corner. Thankfully, nothing had changed. There at the street corner, squatting around a burning tyre on the wet and muddy earth were three small boys, their bare feet half sunken in the wet mud. Their clothes scanty, tattered and dirty, revealed bodies beneath them that pined for warmth and cover. These kids were taking turns puffing at one cigarette and were warming their hands by the burning tire. That day they must have been happy coz their faces betrayed that. A few feet away were 3 huge sacks filled up, leaning on an electric pole. My brothers were standing on either side of me. I don’t know what was going on in their minds, but I know something was happening. My brothers were dumb for a time. They never spoke a word to me. They just looked on. I decided to take it a step even further. We walked up to where they were. I bend down putting my hands by the fire and asked them. “dosto, mei bhi haath garam kar saktha hu?” (friends may I warm my hands also?) “haanji bhaiya aaja na” (why not bro. Come) I sat on my feet, careful that my clothes don’t touch the muddy earth. Akku and johny also joined me. “Are these your children?” they enquired, No I said, they are my brothers. “They must be going to school isn’t it?” one of them asked.” “yes the do” I replied. I took the opportunity and threw back the same question at them, “aaplog padai karthe ho?” (do you folks study?), “how can we study, we are poor people” they voiced. “then what do you guys do?” I continued, they replied “we are rag pickers, we pick up rags, bottles and scrap stuff and put it into our sacks and in the night we give it to our ‘malik’ (master) and he gives us 15 to 20 rupees for our hard earned labor”. As I was talking to them, one boy took out a small packet from his pocket, took some tobacco out of it onto his hand and started rubbing it with ‘chunamb’ (quick lime). Looking at him, I casually prodded, “ you guys chew tobacco also?” with a chagrined smile his compatriot answered for him “hum log sab thambakoo khatha hai, daru bhi pitha hai aur beedi bhi peetha hai” (we guys do it all, we chew tobacco, we drink liquor, we smoke beedis) how much do you spend on these stuff I nosed further, they said, “hamara malik yeh sab phiiree mei detha hai, koi paisa nahi lagtha. (our master gives all this to us free of charge we don’t spend much on it.) I glanced sideways to Johny and Akku. Poor chaps they must have been imprecating me from the depths of their hearts for placing them in such an awkward situation. Johny was seated stiff with his eyes riveted onto the burning tire. Wanting to change the subject I asked, “what do you guys do with the 20 rupees that you get?” they answered, “we eat samosas and jelebis from a roadside shop. We give 5-8 rupees to our homes. It was about half an hour to 45 minutes that we sat with them before the bon fire and i felt i'd broken enough ice to bring Jesus into the scenario...but One fellow said in a matter of fact way, “abhi humlogon ko bori jaake malik ko dena hai, acha ji hum chaltha hu” (now we’ve got to go and give our sacks to the ‘malik’. See you then! Ok!) so saying each one got up, strapped his sack behind him and walked away, leaving me and my younger brothers by the dying fire. We too got up and I said, “hey guys, mummy told me to buy some vegetables lets go and pick some stuff up” they just followed me, without saying a word. We bought the vegetables required, loaded it onto a rickshaw and off we rode home. I didn’t rake up the incident with them after that. I decided to curb my ‘preaching’ to them. I only hope that they have learnt a lesson for life. “I had the blues that I had no shoes, until upon the street I met a man who had no feet!” ----------------------------------------- This email was sent using FREE Catholic Online Webmail. Please tell your family, friends and children about COL Webmail! http://webmail.catholic.org/ During the Lenten Season, please help support the mission of Catholic Online by purchasing goods and services from our sponsors at http://www.catholic.org/clife/lent =============================================================================== This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. 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