The garden is bright and fruitful inspite of rain!
But I notice a dishevelled Magpie Robin perched in. a branch unprotected weathering the rain. It was. a sore right.
This is. an odd sight, and most birds find a shelter in a safe place during the rain. Was this bird too young to fly, or not well enough to fly or was it bating in the rain! Whatever it might be, it looked odd and sad to watch.
Yesterday, while Anna and I were out in the evening shopping, I watched a woman with her bag coming to the shop. She collected 250 grams of rice and went away. Looking the way she was dressed, she looked economically disadvantaged. I enquired form the shop keeper to know more about there. She lived by begging. She usually came to his shop to buy rice almost everyday. He sells her at half price. She lived on her own on a wayside hut not too far from the shop. Her neighbours help her in many ways. She was widowed at a young rage. She was married across caste. She suffered form cancer and was treated in a government medical college. She might be in her late sixties. When she goes form home to home each day, she gets enough to support her. Fortunately she gets a pension due for cancer survivors.
This looks to be an odd story. But such stories are too many to be odd. They tell us how our society is made of those who live with the benefits of prosperity and some others who live at the mercy of good will of others.
Fo a few days, the shop keeper had not seen tho woman. He out of curiosity went to her house and found that she was down with fever and her neighbours were feeding her. A school going girl he met told her that she went with a news paper everyday to read to her as she was losing sight. Another older girl went to this woman's house to sing with her as she loved singing. She, although from another faith went to church every day to hear the singing.
Life has become harder for people now with job losses, reduced salary, and cost of living still going higher.
The NDTV on Sunday evenings sponsor a programme for two hours highlighting the philanthropic activities of some organisations to raise support for them. It was during such programmes, I realised how much efforts go into to support the vulnerable among us.
A neighbour is the 'keeper' and 'provider' of his or her neighbours. I wish we would be even more neighbour friendly!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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