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This is an incident I remember from my
childhood. I must have been 5 or 6 years old. We used to live in a large, 3
storeyed house on Landsdowne Road in Kolkata, then known as Calcutta.
There was a small garden which led to the main gate of the house. A guard or
darban as he was known then was always at the gate. As I stood on our verandah,
I could see vendors stopping at our main gate selling all kind of wares while
calling loudly. An ice cream man came everyday selling Magnolia Ice cream. As
soon as he used to see me, running towards the gate with some coins tucked
safely in my fist, his weather beaten face used to break into smiles of joy.
He
used to ask me, "Kya khayegee aaj bitiya rani", and I used to ask for my
favourite chocobar.
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Every afternoon, a beggar used to come to the gate begging for alms. No one used
to give him anything since he was mentally deranged. He used to keep muttering
to himself but seemed harmless enough. He always had a garland of genda flowers
around his neck.
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Every afternoon, I used to look
out for him and as soon as he appeared at the gate, I used to run to him with
some coins to give him. The
guard at the gate was busy showing the poor old mad man away, but I used to stop
him and not let him go till I had placed the coins on his outstretched dark and
dirty palm. He used to thank me and go to the next house.
Once or twice, I used to ask mom to give him dad's old clothes, shoes etc and
some food.
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We all our so busy with our lives that we don't have time or the inclination
to worry about the less fortunate. Only if each one of us could help the needy
once in a while, the world would become a better place.
Contributed By:
Latika
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