Enthusiasm - Regenerated

It was yet another working day and it was so dull… I was thinking why there weren’t any national holidays in that month and was calculating when my next off day would be.

I was completely lost in my thoughts and was still walking on the platform (at the railway station). My office was just a few steps away. Suddenly I heard one of my colleagues calling out to me. He looked so enthusiastic and was smiling. Didn’t give it a thought why he was calling me nor about his enthusiastic smile and went to him in a robotic fashion. I looked at him and flashed a ready-made smile. He showed me an old lady who was sitting in the bench next to him. She was having a cup of tea and seemed to be enjoying it. It looked to be the tea from the stall in the platform – the very same one for which we were cursing the vendor every day. And this lady didn’t have any complaints having it. Rather, she was enjoying each sip of it.

My colleague introduced me to her and I flashed the same ready-made smile at her. She returned back and gave me an enthusiastic and friendly smile. I was ashamed for not having given her a good one.

My colleague then quizzed me “Guess her age”. She looked to be in her late 60’s. He replied that her age was 76. The old lady then added “There is no horoscope for my age but that’s what my relatives tell me”. He then asked t her to tell me what she does. She couldn’t narrate in a continuous fashion. To help her, my colleague started asking her one question at a time and made her narrate what he wanted me to listen. He added some information that he already knew from her.

She hails from a village in Ramanad district. Her husband passed away some 4 years back. She has a son who doesn’t have a good job to support the family. So she is trying to help him with what she can earn. She starts from her place at 4am with a basket of guavas and catches up the Nagore express. She travels to Trichy in that train and during the 6 hours of travel, sells these guavas. She gets down at Trichy, goes to Gandhi market and purchases lemons. She returns back with the lemons to the station to catch up her next train – the Guruvayur Express. This time she does not do retail selling but carries it with her until Madurai. At Madurai, she sells these lemons to a wholesaler and then reaches the Matuthavani bus stand and. From there she buys either cucumber or some seasonal fruit and catches up a bus back to her village. She sells these on her way and the surplus to a local shop near her place.

She does this twice or thrice during a week. And on the remaining days, she helps her daughter-in-law with the household chores. She does not have any regrets doing it, rather is very happy to be helping his son.

She bid adieu to us as she had to hurry to the Gandhi market, else she might miss her scheduled train. She doesn’t have any gadgets but planned her logistics so well.

She definitely was an inspiring personality. She was enjoying every simple thing in life – be it having her tea or helping her son. She never had any complaints in life nor blamed anyone for what was happening.

Even at that age she was highly enthusiastic and energetic. She passed on that energy to us also by her bubbly and friendly smile. I continued to walk towards my office with energy and enthusiasm. I now knew why my colleague was giving me an enthusiastic smile!!!

 

Thanks Sreema. You are always the first to post your comment. Thanks again!!!

 

Nice saying.. Thanks for putting it here.

 

Thanks Mindian.