It was a beautiful morning. I looked up at the sky and stepped out of the gate for that most awaited morning jog.
Yeah, I waited for almost 8 hours before I could get up and get going. Just saying!
As I took a few steps towards the road, I bumped into Mrs. Kashyap. She had this huge thaali in her hands and was all decked up.
“Good morning ji, where are you heading early in the morning?” I asked in a rather sugary tone.
“Ohhh good morning, I am going to the temple, to offer these moti choor ke ladoo, I got them specially made from Haldiram, poore 1000 rupaye ka thaal bana hai! My husband got promoted to MD post in his big company, so we must thank the God, you see!” Her voice was quite celebratory.
As she finished talking, this clumsy looking, painfully thin, rag-picker boy (5-6 years probably), in murky looking clothes, those were covering his body, came close to us, pulled on her sari ka palloo and said in a dim voice, “Ek laddoo do na, maine kal se kuch nahi khaaya”.
“Hat!!! Door hat, mere kapde mat kharaab kar! Bhaag yahaan se, ye ladoo bhagwan ke liye hain, tum jaise bhikhariyon ke liye nahi!” And proudly, she headed in her direction!
I could not help but smile, took out my mobile from my tracks pocket and called home “Meera, zara 4-5 bread piece aur ek glass doodh neeche le aao, yahaan ek bachche ko de do”. I asked the boy to wait till my domestic help comes with the food that I called for.
I again started to walk, as my eyes met 75 years old Mathur uncle carrying a big milk can, which must have weighed around 5-7 kgs. He is an old, feeble man with a pale bent spine. He could hardly walk, and the weight of the milk can was further pulling him down. “Mathur uncle, what happened, can I help? Let me hold this can for you”, I gestured to take the can from him.
“No, no!! I have to carry this to pandit ji’s home every day for 21 days. My Guru ji told me that I must offer 5 litre milk to pandit ji, and carry it myself or by a family member, and I will definitely be relieved of my Asthma, after I complete this ritual. Our God lies in our Guruji, I have to do what he says, and I will definitely be well. My Asthma is actually killing me now!”
“But you are so unwell uncle, you should take rest at home, let your son do it for you.” I said in a helpless tone.
“Oh, what are you talking, my son has no time for me, he has gone to visit Amarnath with his family. He wants to please Bhole Baba!” And he moved forward.
I sighed, and as I was about to step forward, I heard someone call my name from a distance. I turned around and saw Usmaan bhai rushing towards me. He almost sprinted towards me, and while trying to catch his breath, he muttered in a single breath “See, my bai has fallen from the stairs and is hurt. Her foot is bleeding. She is sitting in the staircase only. Please take her to the doctor for the first aid, here is some money. I could have done it myself, but it is my namaaz time and I cannot miss it, my Allah will not be happy. I have to rush to the masjid. I am already late. Please do it for me.”
He shoved a few hundred’s bills in my hands and went off in a hurry!
I gave up the idea of morning jog and started to move towards Usmaan bhai’s flat, to take the bai to the clinic.
By now, I was quite confused and asking myself, “We all are so devoted to make our Gods happy? Where exactly is he?”
Do tell me if you have the answer. I shall be waiting.
Writer’s Note: With this story, I absolutely do not have any intention to hurt anybody’s religious sentiments. The only objective is to draw attention towards something, which is getting lost somewhere in the process of pleasing our Gods, which is called Humanity.
