Yesterday started off like every other day. I took my usual bus to work and was sitting by the window seat. It was a bright day and the air was cool, in fact the air coming through the window of the moving bus seemed a bit chilly. However, that was compensated by the warm rays of the sun that filtered through the window. I was listening to something on my walkman and idly gazing outside. People driving, a lone boat in the murky river, dwellers of the roadside slum getting on with their daily chores, some simply chatting and watching life zoom past; these scenes seemed like a familiar movie trailer.
My bus slowed and paused briefly at a small stop on the way and that is when I saw HER! Dark, short and plump with short cropped hair she was sitting on the bench at the bus stop staring blankly into space. Clad in a dirty looking saree and a full sleeved sweater, she appeared middle aged. Suddenly I happened to notice her hands and what I saw made me freeze. They were thin and shapely but appeared to have warts all over them. My gaze shifted to her face and that was no different. Her nose appeared flattened like a knocked off sand dune. I wanted to turn away and shut my eyes, but I could not and ended up staring. My bus moved and I sat there numbed by what I had seen, thoughts swarming in and out of my brain.
“Uff what an ugly face!! She should probably be wearing a burkha than showing it off!”
“Tch......what must have happened? Was that the manifestation of some disease or an unfortunate accident?”
“What kind of life must she be leading? Is she poor and homeless or able to support herself?”
“Does she have anybody who loves her, takes care of her or is she alone?”
“Is she dragging her days or has she come to terms with her deformity and the way the world sees it and treats her?”
“Wow!.....brave is she to continue to live! I would have probably killed myself…”
What started as disgust quickly turned to sympathy and ended up in admiration for the woman. May God bless her!
My bus slowed and paused briefly at a small stop on the way and that is when I saw HER! Dark, short and plump with short cropped hair she was sitting on the bench at the bus stop staring blankly into space. Clad in a dirty looking saree and a full sleeved sweater, she appeared middle aged. Suddenly I happened to notice her hands and what I saw made me freeze. They were thin and shapely but appeared to have warts all over them. My gaze shifted to her face and that was no different. Her nose appeared flattened like a knocked off sand dune. I wanted to turn away and shut my eyes, but I could not and ended up staring. My bus moved and I sat there numbed by what I had seen, thoughts swarming in and out of my brain.
“Uff what an ugly face!! She should probably be wearing a burkha than showing it off!”
“Tch......what must have happened? Was that the manifestation of some disease or an unfortunate accident?”
“What kind of life must she be leading? Is she poor and homeless or able to support herself?”
“Does she have anybody who loves her, takes care of her or is she alone?”
“Is she dragging her days or has she come to terms with her deformity and the way the world sees it and treats her?”
“Wow!.....brave is she to continue to live! I would have probably killed myself…”
What started as disgust quickly turned to sympathy and ended up in admiration for the woman. May God bless her!
1 comment:
Very few people think so much after they see/come across such a thing.
Many of them simply choose to ignore and continue to be in their own sweet world! People seem to have lost their sensitivity.
Good to know that you are of the first kind. I feel that this very thought process is an initial stage of recognizing ones individual social responsibility!
I am no authority to say "keep up the good work"; I would only say that I appreciate all this.
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