“Who carries their baggage like this in modern times?” I wondered when I first noticed a shabby-looking man walking along the road, dressed in a wheatish-coloured dhoti and kurta, with a long stick resting across his left shoulder and little bundles and potlis hanging from either side. For a fleeting moment, his unusual appearance and way of carrying his belongings caught my attention, but instead of judging him, I felt compassion. Perhaps he could not afford the expensive bags that we take for granted, or perhaps he simply loved the freedom and simplicity of carrying only what was necessary. There was something timeless about him. He walked slowly, as though the long road had made his feet weary and he was quietly looking for a place to rest. I approached him and asked, “Do you want to drink tea?” He simply nodded.
I asked a nearby tea vendor to prepare a cup of tea for him and give him a packet of biscuits, and then went about my usual charity work of feeding stray animals. When I returned, I noticed that his breakfast was still not ready, so I bought some fresh fruits for him. He accepted them gratefully and carefully placed them inside one of his little bundles. After his brief refreshment, he adjusted the long stick on his shoulder, gathered his belongings and prepared to continue his journey. I watched him begin walking again, slowly disappearing down the road, carrying his little world upon his shoulders.
Watching him walk away, I suddenly felt that perhaps our meeting had a purpose. Life, too, is a journey—we carry our own invisible bundles of memories, hopes, responsibilities and dreams. Along the way, we meet people who remain in our lives for years and others who cross our paths for only a few minutes, yet leave behind a lasting impression. As Lao Tzu is widely credited with saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Perhaps that traveler had already taken thousands of such steps, carrying his simple possessions while carrying within him a story I would never know. And perhaps our paths crossed for only a few moments because sometimes kindness does not require us to know someone's entire story; it simply asks us to make their journey a little lighter.
Pic : AI Generated
No comments:
Post a Comment