HELP before it is too late

LET’S SHOW our love while we can, while people need us. That is something I learnt from an incident in Bhopal .

 

I saw a little boy daily near the Hanuman temple, always in a white tee and black pants, with a small Hanuman pendant around his neck.

 

He sat with a basket of fresh floral garlands. Be it at six in the morning or nine at night, he would try his very hardest to sell his wares.

 

I was a frequent temple goer and each time the boy would ask me earnestly to buy a garland. But somehow I never did. Even when I came out, he would follow me to my car, begging me to buy one at least.

 

Other boys sold flowers too, but none as persistently as he. I went back to the temple recently after a gap of some months.

 

The boy was there, seated exactly as before. I tried to avoid his gaze(look), assuming that he would follow me. But he did not budge(move).

 

I went inside the temple and came back. But the boy made no effort to sell his garlands.

 

I thought he was angry or just showing his own self-respect.

 

I suddenly missed the communication. I always had with this unknown boy and went to him. He looked at me but did not speak.

 

This was strange. I gathered courage and asked: “Dear, why are you not asking me to buy your garlands?”

 

He said, “Bhaiya, why should I ask? You are rich but you can’t spend five rupees on my garland. Anyway now I am not so desperate. My sister was suffering from cancer and I had to work for her medicines. My father had left us. My mother makes the garlands and I sell them. We used the money for my sister’s medicines. She passed away two months ago. You can now take one for free.”

 

I bought them all. But I felt so small. I still repent that I did not respond then when he tried so hard.

Contributed by: hsgrao @ gmail.com