Yes, all that glitters is not gold but all that is gold definitely glitters. Well, what is Gold other than that precious, most malleable and ductile metal. Why, consider that river of molten gold of Wordsworth's daffodils stretching up to miles and miles swaying gently, dancing rhythmically with the wind, enriching Wordsworth's moments of solitude with a splendor which I definitely find impossible to capture in words. Like him we all have a treasure of certain golden memories which when brought out from the deep recess of the heart light up our world with splendid resplendence, bring out a smile when sad, reinstate our faith when we waiver. So, here I am with few of the golden gems of my treasure.
It was that office hour rush time. A busy square of city. At the center of crossing stood a dry fountain encircled by iron railings/fence.The hot summer morning of North India.Traffic from all the directions passing in a disorderly erratic way .Every body was in a hurry. The bikes swished away, hoards of six seater and autos zoomed in and out in a haphazard way. City buses were trying to make their way with a grunt, huffing and puffing. Nobody wanted to be distracted even for a fraction of second. Everybody was in a hurry to reach the destination. I was sitting in one of the six seaters. It was waiting for other passengers. Suddenly I saw him, a man perhaps in his late thirties. He was tall, must be about six feet, well built. His attire and looks suggested that he must be hailing from nearby rural area. He had a girl of about 14 years in his arms. Her one leg was fully plastered, a boy of about five years was clutching his dhoti. He was trying to cross the road. With every passing vehicle he moved unsteadily trying to save his girl's plastered leg from getting hurt, ensuring that the little boy is safe and at the same time balancing the girl in his arms. He definitely needed help, but nobody seemed to even register his presence. I thought of getting down and help him to cross the road but then the keys of branch and cash keys weighed heavy in my purse. Those days I was posted in a rural branch and had to change six -seater at three places to reach the branch. I will certainly be late if I got down. An image of crowd waiting outside the branch put shackles on my feet. Then those two young boys of about 14 years or so walked from behind our vehicle with their school bags on their back and stood near it. They looked at the struggle of the man. One of them nodded his head. The other, though willing said, 'we will be late for school and then will be punished. The first one weighed the probability in his mind and then with a shrug of shoulders and that big bright smile said, have we never been punished before for our own carelessness and naughtiness so one more time...........and both of them crossed the road towards the man with confidant strides. Eighteen years have passed after this incident but it is fresh in my memory. The boys not only helped that man that day, they have handed over to me a source of joy and faith forever.
One more incident I remember. Almost thirty years has passed after this. For a short temporary period I taught in a nearby intermediate college.The section of 12th standard I was entrusted with had number of girls who failed to clear their exams in earlier session, but these girls were really diligent. I encouraged and appreciated their efforts a lot. After mid term exams I was distributing the examination note books to girls and appreciated this girl a lot. I had marked her steady progress and her hard work and was really happy that she could score the marks competing with the brilliant ones of class. After the period I was in the staff room when I noticed this girl lurking near the door of the staff room. Guessed that she wanted to talk to me. I was alone in the staff room at that time. I called her in. She entered with bowed head. I was puzzled to see the sad expression in her face. She should have been very happy as today she was appreciated and received applause in the class. I asked her if she wanted to say something and here is what she said, 'Miss, today you appreciated me in the class but I don't deserve it. You have so much faith in me I could not deceive you. I was feeling guilty. In fact I copied two answer from Supriya, who was sitting next to me in the examination hall. She extended the note book towards me, 'you can cut marks for those two answers. I shall be accepting this before whole class but I can not deceive you. you have always believed in us and I can not malign that faith'. For a few seconds I was non-plussed. The enormity of the sincerity displayed by that young girl filled my heart with awe and pride. With her courage she has entrusted a life long responsibility to me...to own up my mistakes with dignity. I hugged her and said, 'my dear girl, you deserve far more accolades and applause than what you got for those marks. I am blessed to have a pupil like you'. After that, so many times in life people have taken advantage of my trust and faith in them but every time that haloed face has beamed through the hurt and helped me to continue my faith in the intrinsic goodness of the human heart.
I want to hug those kids whereever they are but most of the time the memories of those moments embrace me when I need the strength.
FEB 2011,LUCKNOW
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