The blind old man
I was sitting on the last seat of the bus, near the window. The driver was swerving the bus at the frequent road corners very smoothly. Sitting by the window, you can see the half-closed shutters of the shops and the tired people walking on the road loaded with shopped items. It was like one of the fine rides in the bus through a market..with shops decorated with various types of lights.
On the other end of the last seat there were two people, a young fellow at the window, probably a bit elder than me, and a poor blind old man sitting next to him. Though he was blind and old, i found a passion in him. The first thing i noticed about him was the dholak which he was carrying...with its belt around his neck while he was sitting...he was wearing dark glasses..and was clothed in a dhoti and a kurta. It looked as if that tabla was his life and the best friend....and a means of retreat from this world where a handicapped man has no value. As, a person who can be of no use to us has no value in our eyes.
I still had around half-an-hour in the bus and enjoy the ride. It was around 10:30 in the night.
It would not have been long when i saw this old man standing near the door...probably he was getting down on the next stop. As he was blind he again asked one of the persons as which place is it, before he was getting down. The person sitting near the window said he should not get down at this stop, but the next one...and so the blind man waited.
Soon it was evident that this young fellow gave the old man a wrong advice..as the old man was getting down at the right stop, but this fellow stopped him. All the people started scolding this young man for doing so....and causing so much trouble for a blind old man...as the next stop is around 5 kms away...and the old man has to walk all the way back. There started arguements..and people also asked the bus conductor to staop the bus for a second....but the conductor was not listening and said the bus cant be stopped other than where it is supposed to....and why should he stop the bus for others mistakes. Soon, the young man, fellow passangers and the conductor were arguinig with each other.
The bus stopped on at the next stop..and i felt sorry for this blind man. As the blind man was getting down the young fellow went to him and gave him 10 rupee note for the expenses the old man has to bear and said sorry to him. He even got down with the old man and the last thing i saw from the rear glass of the moving bus was that the young man was helping the old man cross the road to the bus stop on the other side.
Throughout my way back the memories of that blind old man was in my mind...and was thinking why such things happen at all. Was it the fault of the young man?...but he had told later that he thought the bus will take the other turn and it will stop exactly near the place where this old man wants to go..Was it the fault of the blind old man?...may be he should not have listened to his advice. Are not the other fellow passengers responsible?..as they should have corrected the young man to avoid the trouble. Was the bus conductor responsible?..he should have shown a bit of humanity and stopped the bus for a second...Was i also responsible in some way? Was it possible for me to avoid this trouble to the blind old man?
On the other end of the last seat there were two people, a young fellow at the window, probably a bit elder than me, and a poor blind old man sitting next to him. Though he was blind and old, i found a passion in him. The first thing i noticed about him was the dholak which he was carrying...with its belt around his neck while he was sitting...he was wearing dark glasses..and was clothed in a dhoti and a kurta. It looked as if that tabla was his life and the best friend....and a means of retreat from this world where a handicapped man has no value. As, a person who can be of no use to us has no value in our eyes.
I still had around half-an-hour in the bus and enjoy the ride. It was around 10:30 in the night.
It would not have been long when i saw this old man standing near the door...probably he was getting down on the next stop. As he was blind he again asked one of the persons as which place is it, before he was getting down. The person sitting near the window said he should not get down at this stop, but the next one...and so the blind man waited.
Soon it was evident that this young fellow gave the old man a wrong advice..as the old man was getting down at the right stop, but this fellow stopped him. All the people started scolding this young man for doing so....and causing so much trouble for a blind old man...as the next stop is around 5 kms away...and the old man has to walk all the way back. There started arguements..and people also asked the bus conductor to staop the bus for a second....but the conductor was not listening and said the bus cant be stopped other than where it is supposed to....and why should he stop the bus for others mistakes. Soon, the young man, fellow passangers and the conductor were arguinig with each other.
The bus stopped on at the next stop..and i felt sorry for this blind man. As the blind man was getting down the young fellow went to him and gave him 10 rupee note for the expenses the old man has to bear and said sorry to him. He even got down with the old man and the last thing i saw from the rear glass of the moving bus was that the young man was helping the old man cross the road to the bus stop on the other side.
Throughout my way back the memories of that blind old man was in my mind...and was thinking why such things happen at all. Was it the fault of the young man?...but he had told later that he thought the bus will take the other turn and it will stop exactly near the place where this old man wants to go..Was it the fault of the blind old man?...may be he should not have listened to his advice. Are not the other fellow passengers responsible?..as they should have corrected the young man to avoid the trouble. Was the bus conductor responsible?..he should have shown a bit of humanity and stopped the bus for a second...Was i also responsible in some way? Was it possible for me to avoid this trouble to the blind old man?
posted by prem at 1:38 AM
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