End of the World, are we there yet?

 

As 2010 comes to an end, I cannot ignore the overload of scam related news that poured throughout the year. Many businessmen I admired, many businesses I used to follow, many sports/events that I liked watching were all mired in controversies. And at the bottom of all this was greed and dishonesty.

Most of this year went by reading one story after another about corruption scandals, unethical ways adopted by people to do business and shameful exposure of public servants/celebrities. The dearth of good, comforting news was unnerving. Is it really so bad? Where did all the good people go? What happened to all the values and ethics we once took pride in? I was disappointed, if not disheartened, by all this. And I am sure many others like me must be feeling the same. That’s why, this blog post.

Some time back, I went to my home town Satara - a place, still glowing in the cushion of greenery, a place where I spent early years of my life learning about all the great things and amazing people that exist in this world.

One evening, I was sitting along with my mom-dad in the porch of our house having nice hot tea. We had already discussed the scandals and all that is going wrong around the world. Their feeling was no different than mine. Suddenly I heard someone knocking the gate of our home. I went near by to see who it was. I saw couple of kids knocking the gate. The older one must be 10-odd years old and the younger one must be 5-ish. The older kid was holding the hand of the younger one. I guessed that they must be brothers. They were shivering due to the cool breeze. From the looks I realized that they were quite poor - disheveled uniforms, torn school bags and no footwear. Definitely kids from a very poor background. The younger one had just stopped crying I guess. He had moist but very lively eyes. The older kid was holding his brother close. His eyes and expressions showed all the love he had for his brother. I was instantly reminded of my own older brother and the days when he used to take me to school "double seat" on his bicycle. I skipped a heart beat.

However, my very next reaction was to drive them away. I have seen so many of those nagging beggars in Pune and I did not want to see them near our home. However, the older kid soon started speaking. He said it was first day of their school after Diwali vacations. His mother had given him Rs.10 (< 25 cents) to buy a new notebook for his younger brother. But he had lost Rs.2 and couldn't buy the notebook. I realized why the younger one must be crying. He explained that the school teacher had scolded his brother for not bringing a notebook to school. Also his mother would scold him for loosing the money. I saw honesty in his eyes and innocence in his expressions. Some times life is so cruel. We waste 1000s of paper napkins and printer papers in office and here these guys did not have enough money to buy even a Rs. 10 notebook.  

I immediately went inside and brought back Rs.10. I gave him the money, but to my surprise, he did not accept it. He said he needed only Rs.2! I was in a way happy with my decision to wait and hear them instead of driving them away. I handed over Rs.2 to the kid. A glow appeared on the face older brother and younger one's face was lit with a big smile. Soon they were gone. I felt very good, not only because I helped the kids but also because of the humbleness I saw in them.

The next day I was busy meeting friends and family. There was a function in the family. There was fun and frolic every where. We had a great time together and around evening I was back at home. It was colder than the previous evening. I made some tea for myself and was sitting in the porch enjoying the combination of hot tea and cool breeze. I heard someone knocking on the front gate. I checked and it was the same kids again. Soon my “Pune” mind thought that the guys were back to ask for more money. I thought they had successfully fooled me the previous day by telling a sorry tale. My thoughts moved between anger and disappointment. Anger, because I thought the kids were lying and again going to ask for money. And disappointment, because I thought they were perfectly following the footsteps of corrupt politicians and dishonest businessmen.

What happened next was straight from morals and values text books. The older kid gave me back the Rs. 2 that I had given him on previous day. He said, he had narrated the day’s incidents to his mother. She had scolded him, not for losing money, but for taking money from strangers. He said, she bought a Rs. 8 note book for his brother and asked him to return the money. The kid apologized for what he had done and said that he and his brother were ready for any punishment. I froze. No words. No thoughts. Tears almost rolled down my eyes. I was so wrong about the kids. I was so very wrong that there are no values or ethics left in this world. I took the money back from the kids, patted them on the back and handed them couple of candies I had.

It took me some time to recover from the shock. And the incident still lingers in my mind. Post that incident; I analyzed the qualities the kids had demonstrated.

1.    He told the genuine reason why he wanted money. Honesty.

2.    He did not ask for more money than he needed. No greed.

3.    He wanted help not for himself but for his brother. Selflessness.

4.    He told the truth to his mother. Courage.

5.    He returned my money immediately. Promptness.

6.    He accepted his mistake and was ready to face any punishment. Integrity.

I guess we all learn these qualities from our teachers, friends or family. If only with the growing years, we all (politicians, businessmen or common people) could stop these qualities from eroding. The incident gave me some assurance that not everything in this world is wrong. There are still good people and good things being taught. There are things happening in the world which are challenging the virtue that we ever knew. But it’s not really the end of the world.

As said in some movie, it’s only at the cusp of extinction that a civilization realizes its follies and begins a long journey back to sanity. I think we are not there yet.