Moments, whether good, bad, happy or sad, make up our lives! It is neither always a ‘ bed of roses’ nor a ‘bed of thorns’. We come across people who have gone through much in their lives. I happened to meet a wonderful person, who with her liveliness and simplicity had turned all her sad moments into moments to cherish.
Being a sweeper by profession, though not voluntarily, didn’t deter her from being a cheerful human being. As s a matter of fact, I learned quite a few life- lessons from her in a span of a few hours. I who always had complaints about life, started viewing things in a different perspective. That woman, who had gone through a lot, showed me, how to be cheerful no matter whatever situations life throws at you.
When she started narrating incidents from her life, without being prompted, I knew that it was coming from her heart. Her way of putting complexities of life into an ‘ easy- go- lucky’ way perplexed all of us. How can someone who has gone through such bitter life experiences, put across things, in such a casual way? This is what attracted all of us towards her personality. It kept me thinking about my own experiences and reactions. She reminded me that ‘life is as you take it’. She shared with us dozens of upheavals she went through, but never really wallowed in self pity. No, sympathy was the last thing she was looking out for! I felt as if she was telling things to us in order to lighten some of those burdens she carried in her heart! At one point of time her eyes did brim with tears, but she didn’t allow it to trickle down, as if she had a strong determination that no matter what,’ I can hold on to it without letting it fall’. She turned every moment into a humorous one through her gestures! Hats off to the woman!!
The meeting made me ask my self, ‘why do we complain about things that we don’t have?’, why not count our blessings instead, like that woman who had absolutely no remorses about her life? That woman, who earned a paltry sum a month, had no complaints whatsoever and we, who earned more than enough in thousands were just disgruntled with life. She had nothing much with her but still had a lot to give. She had a smile on her face, that sparkled in her eyes and touched our hearts!
Her words ringing in my ears are now etched in my mind forever. She although had a petite and frail physical appearance was one who possessed a gigantic personality. I don’t know whether, I would ever meet her again but one thing I am sure of, is that she had already made a mark in my heart. She very casually ended her talk by singing the famous lines from an old Hindi movie.
Rahi manwa, dukh ki chinta kyun satati hai
Dukh toh apna saathi hai
∎
