Compassion and fat aunties!

I am a person driven by compassion for those around me. It doesn't matter if I know someone or not, but I never think twice if I have to help someone. I always give up my seat while travelling if I have a senior citizen, pregnant woman or a physically challenged person standing in front of me. I almost feel guilty of sitting in front of them! I don't do it out of obligation, its more like a reflex for me. I hate it when people shamelessly sit on the seats meant for senior citizens or disabled and continue to sit on it in spite of a senior citizen standing there, managing his/her belongings and walking stick. I just hate it when people act so selfish! I have the same feeling when people litter on the road. None of these people spit or litter in their own home, then why don't they feel guilty while doing the same when they are outside? To much bhashan I know, but that's just the way it is. I just hope that people learn from my acts and pass the message.

Now what prompted this flow of emotion is a bus ride from home to my office. I got a seat soon after I got in the bus and at every stop the number of people in the bus increased. Few stops latter, a very old man got on the bus and he dint find a seat as there where people shamelessly sitting on the ones for senior citizens. I instantly got up and offered him my seat. He had to get off a few stops latter, so he refused (he was actually feeling shy, old people have this ego thing going on), but actually he wanted to sit. As soon as he said no, a fat lady standing behind me, pushed me and sat on my seat. I politely told her that I got up for this old man and not her. She started arguing with me saying he said no anyways so I sat. I tried to reason with her and asked her to get up, but she just refused budge her fat ass. The old man looked at me helplessly while everybody around watched in silence. No body said a word, instead they all gave me mocking looks as if I was the culprit. The old man got off a few stops later, while I stood there in utter disbelief of what had happened! I asked the lady to get up from my seat again, and then she said, you were going to stand up for that old man anyways, so now wait till I get off. I din't want to argue with her anymore, I just gave up. No one said anything and I was the laughing stock of the bus instead. All this makes me wonder if it is worth showing compassion for anyone and if at all people appreciate and learn from it.

I am not going to give up on what I believe in though. Am just gona make sure there are no fat aunties around and announce it clearly before I give up my seat for someone. For those reading this, you think I was wrong? Do you think it is worth the trouble at all? Why are people so selfish? Why do people lack compassion for those around them? Why do they take everything for granted? And how many fat aunties does it take to teach people to show some respect for the elderly?

The ride of a lifetime...

We have all grown up with prejudices, be it for people from a certain social background, caste, religion, status, et all. We even have prejudices against men or women, the biggest of them is for Eunuchs. I have been petrified of them ever since I was little kid, even today the sight of one gives me the hibbie jibbies, but today something changed it all...

I was to meet my cousin at a CCD near my office. just to get to the place faster and save my lazy ass some trouble, I called for a rick.As soon as I got into the rick, an Eunuch came running towards my rick and begged of me to drop him somewhere. I froze at the sight of him, n then I told him that I cant drop him. He started begging of me all the more, apparently it was an emergency. I told him that I was scared and asked him to get another rick, but there were none. After a lot of begging he said to me, am I not a human? Is it my fault that god made me like this? I froze again the minute he said this. I let him/her in my rick and sat there petrified. Minutes after the ride started, my head filed up with a million possibilities...

What if he took out a knife and robbed me? What if he snatched my gold chain? What if he and the driver kidnapped me! I sat there holding my bag close to me, hoping and praying for the journey to end soon, while he sat in the corner, repeatedly asking me to calm down and saying that he wont hurt me. My ordeal ended shortly when he decided to get off at the signal. Before he left, he turned around, smiled and said Shukriya beta. He also said that I am not goin to hurt you, if god had made me normal, I would have had a daughter like you...

As he left, I sat there staring blankly at him. I don't remember a lot of 'normal' people who bother to say shukriya. He had no intention of hurting me. Just like me, he had to go somewhere urgently too. Then why was I so scared? And just like me, there are a million others who refuse to be associated with a eunuch, even their own families abandon them, the rickshawala refused to take him in his auto! Why are these people shunned by the society? Don't they have the right to lead a normal life too? This incident did give me that much needed jolt of reality check and am going to look for answers to these questions. This was the ride of a lifetime, lesson learned: Have no prejudice, and don't let society decide your fears...