some random things...
was at this coffee shop i go to every morning before work. was around 10, mostly am in a trance and so not very observant. went to the shop and saw everyone staring at something, someone. saw this drunk guy kind of pissed, and quite agitated. now drunk guys in bangalore is not new, every third shop is a wine shop, and at any time of the day u'd find people, drunk to death, lying on the footpath. but he seemed different, one he was well dressed, had an office bag in his hand. was in his mid 40's maybe. seemed like something had happened, something major and he just wanted to drown it in alcohol. but all people saw was a drunk guy, no one thought beyond. no one asked why...everyone just grouped him along with all the other drunk guys.
he wanted to go home, was going from rickshaw to rickshaw, but no one would take him. i was almost praying someone would.
i did nothing ofcourse. one i was kind of scared to poke my nose into this, not sure of my judgment of the guy, another, i didn't want to get late for my office. for all the high talk, this was what it came down to. anyways was thinking, for someone like this, who do we turn to get help, all i could do was to call police. anyways that was that.
was on brigade rd today, waiting for someone while she was meeting someone...story of my life. anyways so didn't want to really do anything, so just bought a pirated book, the last lecture, and started searching for somewhere to sit. mostly i sit on some steps and just pass my time, but experience has taught me that people don't like it. especially if ur sitting in front of a shop, in the most unobtrusive of spots, the security always gets bothered. guess people don't like seeing people at peace, doing there own thing. anyways so found this place, and sat there. no security guard around, so was happy. well as luck would have it, he arrived after some time, i saw him, he stared at me, and my head went 'ok here we go' but he didn't say anything, just went past me. well good, a bit surprised but good. back to reading. after about 4 pages, some one nudges me, i kind of ignore, it many times has worked in the past, another nudge, look up ,he had a questioning expression on his face, may be was saying something which i didn't hear, had earphones on, and the security guard ws holding a chair....asks me to sit on it and read. i smile. :-)
was going from office to meet someone, there is this long winding road, with nothing on both sides. just fenced grounds, anyways its like a highway, beautiful road, curvy. its fun to bank at top speeds. anyways was going, and ran out of fuel. had to reach where i had to as soon as, but had no choice. started pushing the vehicle. there was no point of getting a rickshaw, didn't have time or patience to go to the petrol pump, get fuel and come back. and didn't expect a rickshaw to stop either, they mostly aren't very helpful in bangalore. so was resigned to my fate, and quite hopeless. and was just mechanically pushing the vehicle.
suddenly seemed like someone pushed my activa from behind, i got this rush of anger, thought someone actually banged into me. look behind and there is this rickshaw, occupied, the driver is sitting on a side and pushing the activa from behind. he doesn't say anything, and for a second i am confused, didn't expect goodness at the most unlikely of places or circumstances. he just looks at me, and i know what he wants. i sit on the activa, and he pushes it all the way to a petrol pump, ofcourse with my luck that day, it was closed and i had to push it for another 2 km, but thats another story.
another one...if u go on brigade road, most weekends you can find this girl selling roses. she is cute, about 10-12 years old, speaks fluent school english, has a pleading but hopeful look in her eyes. she tells u that i go to school, pleads and you always feel for her. one of my friends always busy the roses, even though he doesn't have anyone in the city to give it to. i never do, today i did, had a sister to give it to. not digressing from the topic, people do buy from her. she sells it for 20 bucks a rose, but people still do. there are other beggars or people who sell stuff, but not from them. guess the pschycological effect of seeing a 'good family' girl, well dressed and speaking english, pleading for money sells well. plus the girl looks really genuine. and i am not being a cynic, she is genuine and i appreciate the fact that she is selling something, and not just begging. and also her marketing skills at selling roses on brigade road, every second person there is a couple. but i, whenever see a beggar, always end up thinking if he or she is genuine. sometimes even curse them, saying they have able bodies, why don't they work. well just my way of getting over my guilt at not doing anything for them. making them seem undeserving, somehow tells me i am not doing anything wrong.
so the point of all the stories, well true observations from my life...we see so many nasty things and nasty people, seeing good things, gestures, people helping without asking almost surprises us. its not how it should be, should it. well i guess, there are still far more good things in life, we just don't see them, don't talk about them more. the bad things, crimes, things people do to hurt to others, they get far more mileage, and so are spoken of more. look at the news today, is there any news channel which spends anytime talking about good people, good achievements. one of the major reasons life becomes negative.
talk about good things, looks at good people, appreciate goodness. why talk about the 20% and ignore the 80%. should be the other way round.
long post...and after a long time, something i liked.
take care.
