Moral Short Story – He was my “Buddha”
Photo credit: mantasmagorical from morguefile.com
One day it was raining like cats and dogs. Well Mumbai is famous for that. The local trains were overdozened to such an extent that even air molecules were not able to make their way from one door to the opposite one. It was a real horrible day, just one small push from behind was enough for making a person fall off the train. I got really scared due to this as people falling off the local train is very common here in mumbai. I boarded the train at THANE station for MUMBAI CHATRAPATI SHIVAJI TERMINUS.
Even before the train stopped everyone on the platform was ready to jump inside it and yes i was one of them. Well the train was stopping at its usual speed and everyone was adjusting their locations so as to catch the correct coach. I saw many frustated faces on the platform, and i am pretty sure they may be the passengers who had purchased first class tickets in order to get a seat but all in vain beacause even those who were not having a second class ticket had already occupied the seats as you would not expect a ticket checker that day.
Well the train made a stop and all the people at the back were shouting and abusing the other people to come out of the train fast and were pushing all those who were infront of them so that they could reserve a seat for themselves. But soon this competition ended out for another one to start and that was to grab a place to stand next to the people who were about to get up, well apart from a little smartness you also needed a little more luck for it. I was soon pushed inside with the mob and dragged myself inside because i did not want to risk my life by standing at the edge of the train as i had seen many people falling of the train.
The floor was all wet and slippery at that time as it was covered with water and dirt. My shirt was torn out and slippers broken in that extreme surge of crowd. Well i thank god that i got a favourable place to stand which was far away from both the doors.
For the first time i had ever got into a 1st class compartment but was unfortunate to even look out for its surroundings and to know what else did it have that differentiated it from the 2nd class. Once again the league of bad luck continued. Well what else do you think a poor boy like me who’s birth is in itself a slip of fate would think to get out of his life. I could see nothing instead of me being surrounded by people on all possible directions. We were like glued together. My face reached other people’s chest and i could do nothing except gulping in the foul smell which came from their armpits. Again i started cursing my bad luck for this. We reached the next station and then again a wave of many more helpless people who wanted to reach their home safely came rushing in.
It continued until the next station bhandup until the train was so much packed that our bones were having a chit chat with each other. We were standing like statues installed on a place and nobody could have moved even a nanometer further. I couldn’t even turn my head. I was rotating my eyes in order to search a place where there would be somewhat more place so that i could atleast stretch my body as i was standing in the same position from at least half an hour, but i did not get a such a place, well i again congratulated my bad luck for it.
I saw that everyone was holding the metal rods at the ceiling for support and calling their families to tell them where they were and the time it would take them to reach home. I always wanted that device, it was so stylish that it gleamed in my eyes. I thought i could flaunt that device in front of my friends as none of my friends would have even seen that in their life. Then suddenly i thought would that be right, would that not be termed as “STEALING”, but my mind made me forget every bit of human nature that i had. It was like my eyes were glued on that and my brain was busy creating a step by step procedure to steal it from that guys pocket.
I did not want to do that but it was like my body had completely surrendered against the orders of my brain. I felt like i lost my will and was hypnotized by somebody and doing whatever he said. It may sound ridiculous to some of you but its true.
Then what, i looked for every chance when that thin and sleek man was not looking at me. Each and every second my right hand went near his left pocket where that beautiful device was waiting for me. I reached the rim of his pocket and would have silently taken out his phone without letting him even noticing that all, but all credit to my bad luck, the train made a sudden stop and we all fell forward. My hand too went inside his pocket in one go. He suddenly slapped his left pocket to see what was there. Then suddenly he saw me and knew that it was my hand. Our interaction was like a lion seeing a small and helpless puppy. He saw me the same way for a minute or so and i was like in utter shame and was saying “please forgive” me from my eyes.
I think so he understood me because he lost the “LEO” look on his face and i am sure he must have seen my condition, my torn clothes, my broken slippers which would have created a feeling of sympathy in him for me. For another 10 mins he kept his hand over mine and then dragged me out with him at dadar station.
I thought be would hand me over to the police. Really bad thoughts made their way to my mind and i walked with him wherever he took me with my head down. The view before my eyes was completely whitened out because of the tears in them. I thought, so this is how my life was to end, this is what i was born for. Wow! I thought nobody in this whole world would have got such a gigantic store of bad luck as me. Then he made me to sit on a concrete chair at the railway compound. I could have run from there but i thought that it was of no use as my bad luck would have chased me down no matter wherever i go.
So i kept sitting there and waited for the police to throw me inside the prison. But do you know what happened next?
The man offered me tea and a packet of chips along with many chocolates for home. I went completely blank for a moment as to know whether i was day-dreaming or what. I pinched myself extremely hard and found out that yes it was all real!!!
He sat down besides me on the same concrete chair and just asked me why did you do it? Dont your parents give you whatever you ask for? I started crying and held his feet as tightly i could saying that please forgive me i will never do this again. He gently held me up and said me to sit.
Then he told me his own story. He said that ” I was born in a poor family in dharavi and we didnt even have two time meal in the whole day, but i never let the odd circumstances rule me out. Those all things gave me more courage and made me more concentrated towards my goals and today i am the general manager at glaxosmithkline pharmaceuticals pvt limited”.
He told me that everyone has the power to see dreams and the power to get it done. He told me to work hard and one day he could even buy a shop full of phones better than mine. He was like “BUDDHA” to me. He opened my eyes and and instilled in me the courage to fight all odds how so ever strong they may be in the future.
At last he said best of luck for your future and always remember what i said to you. He hovered his hand over my hair and with a faint smile he departed. I looked at him with my eyes wide open till i could differentiate between him and the other people on the station. Before taking a right turn and disappearing for ever he turned back for the last time and waved his hand at me. I remember i jumped from my seat and waved him back with my face held high and shining like the sun.
After that i sat down on the chair for another half an hour thinking deeply on whatever he said me and then i returned home with a zeal in me to do something and fight whatever may come my way.
At last I thanked god that he blessed me with such a person who changed my definition and perspective of seeing life and also offered my apologies for saying that i was the most unlucky guy in the world.
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