10.30 am ,Sunday morning, I was quickly pushing down my morning cuppa hot tea as my son shri was restlessly waiting for me near the lift lobby. We were heading out for our breakfast.Thats what is usually our weekend like when my betterhalf is not around. We, mum and son love to have our first meal together somewhere out in some nearby, not so crowded joint. Our favourite ones being subway or bikarnerwala,changi airport.We indulge ourselves in mindless eating on those weekends and share our whole week's stories /secrets over the table.
I quickly wore my sandals, grabbed the purse hanging on the chair and rushed out . After boarding the cab ,I realised that I didn't carry enough cash . If I disclosed this to my son, I was sure to upset him and it would have spoiled our morning ,so I preferred to keep mum and thought that my debit/credit cards will take care of my payment. But to be honest I was very restless which I am always if I don't have enough cash in my wallet .Well, With these thoughts , I looked at my son,hugged him and we started enjoying the song " too gud at goodbyes" which was being played in the taxi and which is one of our favourites these days.
Thru out the drive ,not having enough cash was somewhere bothering me a lot and I thought of searching my purse once again as I was very sure that I will find at least one note from some corner of my purse,which is always a big mess.Well, I am used to carrying real huge handbags and at times I feel there is a mini supermarket inside. You name the thing and you will find it, smallmoney,comb,lipstick,eyeliner,kohl,lipgloss,hairpin,safetypin,pen,eraser,whitepaper,cashews,peanuts,energy bars,power bank,facewash ,perfume ,sanitry napkins and the list goes on. Apart from that there will be dozens of loose papers of each size and shape lying inside, rite from my movie tickets to grocery bills to my travel tickets to visiting cards. At times I feel I need a GPS to track my things inside.Well, If this jumbled mess were to reflect ones personality ,then I must be labelled the most messed up person in the world.( thou I am not..at least I like to think that way ).
Anyways, My hard work paid off and I finally managed to gather $75 from the mess inside . I was super thrilled and so proud of my ineffeciencies.....lol.
We finally reached our destination, bikanerwala ,changi airport. We ordered our regular fixed stuffs , matar kulcha ( as I am on diet) and chola bhatura respectively for me and my son. My boys ( my hubby and son) are slave to their eating habits, they can eat same stuff ,for days,months and years without even shrinking their face, unlike me.I want to relish as many cuisines as I can till I am alive.So life always is easier for my boys as without navigating tru the menu they can place their orders.Anyways, we finished our breakfast and mum /son duo decided to go to 7/11 for desserts. (7/11 is next to my house.)
We took a cab and got dropped at NTUC, a chain of supermarket in sg.7/11 is few steps away from here. We started walking towards it and when we were doing so ,we walked past one old lady, really very old ,must be in her early 80's. She was bundled up in one corner ,below the stair case of HDB ( gov. flats in sg) .We were unable to see her clearly but could make out that someone very old,sick perosn in dire need was sitting there asking for help. Next to her was a folded wheelchair leaning against the wall. My heart sank seeing her pathetic state and I thought that today I shall empty my wallet to her.I did a silent prayer and asked for her well being . My son was also devastated seeing her state and told amma you give away all your money to this pati ( grandmother in tamil ). I took out what all loose cash I had and asked my son to go and give it to her.My son did so and with a very heavy heart we walked towards 7/11.
We spent nearly half hr there shopping and decided to have ice cream and go back home .My son was still carrying that old lady in his thoughts .He told amma lets buy a ice cream for that pati ,for which I instantly agreed .We got a nice cornetto for her. I thought I shall distract my son from her and so asked him to go for his hair cut and assured that I shall pass this ice cream to her. I went to the same place and looked around but cudnt find her. The wheel chair was lying there still.I just thought ,she was wheelchair bound, how and where can she go without it.
I moved around looking for her and after searching her for a while few giggles distracted me . I turned around and saw a gang of oldies sitting in a circle playing cards (gambling). Amongst them was this great old lady who was having a cigarette in one hand and a can of beer beside her. She looked so different and happy. I was shocked. All of a sudden my emotions started somersaulting and sympathy was replaced with anger.I approached her and as I did so I realised that she was sitting there with full makeup. She had a thick layer of unevenly applied foundation on face. Makeup on lower part was all washed away due to sweat and her face looked half white and half grey. Her eyes were all done up and she was wearing a pink color lip gloss. Her nails were painted beautifully with 5 different colors. She tried her best to caumoflage her age but all in vain.
I could not stop myself and without wasting even a single second I asked her angrily "So you not a beggar? you are sitting and making fool of others ? why do you do that ? And whats that wheel chair for? For sympathy rite.
She laughed shamelessly and replied in broken english "No lah ,no beggar. I need money for my drinks and cards. sorry lah, I can return your money .don't angry lah .
Without even waiting and wanting to hear her further, I gave her a real dirty look and left the place. I was holding that half melted ice cream in my hand , which I threw it hard in bin and started looking around for my son. My son came running to me and eagerly wanted to know if I gave that ice cream to pati ,to which I smiled and said yes.
That old lady remains in my mind and whenever I go to NTUC, at least once my eyes looks around for her. And now whenever she comes in my mind, she just brings a big smile on my face,not anger .She remains forever with me in my this story. May God bless her with enough money so that she can fulfill all her wildest and weirdest needs.
(We rarely see beggars in sg. Physically challenged and financially weak sector sell small goods on the streets or prefer playing some musical instrument to make their living .Begging is surely not a profession in sg )
No comments:
Post a Comment