Respect

A man was talking on his phone standing on the sidewalk. A young boy of about 12-13 years approached him and stood silently watching from approx 2 feet. He had some books in his right hand and was carrying a plastic sack in his left, which seemed to contain more books.

The man got irritated and asked angrily "What do you want ?Go away, I don't want anything". The boy stepped back 2 steps but continued to stand.

The man after couple of minutes took a 10 rupee note and offered to the boy "Take it and scram"

The boy said in a definite tone "I am not a beggar sir, so can't take your money for free"

The man got a jolt, speechless for 2 seconds. He told his contact on the other side of the phone that something urgent had come and he'll call him back, and disconnected the phone"

Man: "Then why are you standing here"

Boy: "To sell books to you"

M:"How dare you talk to me like that. I don't want your books"

B: "Sir please don't get angry, can I ask you a question"?

M:"What"

B:"What do you do for a living?"

M:"I work for an IT company, Do you know what that is"

B:"Not much sir, but I know that you make something good for computers which people can use"

Man was least expecting this; got impressed
B:"Sir I am sure you must be selling your work to other people as what ever is made has to be consumed by someone else it is of no value"

Man got more impressed
B:"How do you sell"

M:"I make an presentation, meet people and try to tell them what is good in the software"

B:"Do they listen to you and treat you with respect?"

M:"Yes off course"

B:"Then why do you treat me like this"

The man stunned, and he was loosing the conversation "I don't have time for such crap, I am a busy man. I don;t want your books and you don;t want my money so get going"
B:"Ok, but there is no need to talk to me with disrespect"

Man shocked, angry and speechless
B:"Me and you both sell things, what if someone spoke like this to you when you tried to sell something?If you do not have a need you can tell me politely and I will go away"

M:"You mad, trying to compare me with yourself"

B:"Why? what is wrong? I look similar to you, my body has same structure as you"

B:"I inhale oxygen and so you do"

B:"I eat things grown from soil and so do you"

B:"I sleep and so do you"

M:"I did not want to say this but you asked for it, I live in big house, which has AC, I eat in restaurants and sleep on a comfortable bed" The man shocked at his outburst, but he did not feel out of sorts as he actually felt proud of these comforts just that he had said it openly the first time.

The boy calm as ever "Still the oxygen, grains, vegetables and sleep remains the same, the packaging changes"
B:"And whatever you said is because of the family you were born to. Just think if you were born in place of me would you still be having the big house, car and ac?"

Man silent
B:"Did you choose your family?"

Slowly "No"

B:"Neither did I. Someone else did for us and that is called luck - good and bad is a perspective"

B:"Imagine if your customers stop buying from you then your income will go down and so will the comforts. I am sure if the misbehave then also you will not like that"

B:"If you purchase from me or not, like me or not, think me as poor and dirty but you should respect me. "

B:"I also sell and earn a living and so do you"

The boy smiled "Food, air and sleep are the only basic things, now who gets it in what package is matter of luck beyond control of mortals"

With this the boy quickly walked towards the red light where cars had halted to woo prospective customers.

The man dumbstruck! He understood the meaning of respect - in love or hatred, help or no help, business or no business the respect for a fellow human beings cannot be compromised.

Banglore will come through this.

Such great talent going to waste! That was my reaction to the Bangalore blasts. What if they had used this planning and execution to setup and run a business. They could have generated direct/indirect employment for a lot many people. Bangalore could have got one more entrepreneur. But alas it had its 1st ever serial bombings. Welcome to the terrorist map Mr. Bangalore!

It never ceases to amaze me as how people carry out these activities. I believe conscience of men differentiates right from wrong. So all kudos to the motivational gurus who can inspires souls to carry out these ghastly activities. Again it makes me think what they could have done in the fields of management and leadership.

Every action has repercussions. Only thing which is not certain is the time. History has told us this time and again. If evidence is found against people of certain sects or believes it will surely grip the nations psyche. Those who have been directly/indirectly affected will definitely have some bitterness in them. This when mixed with motivational gurus will manifest again in a ghastly act. If something was done wrong this was because of certain other people and not the ones hurt.This is something these people do not realize. Or maybe they deny to accept it.

Responsibility in ones action ensures that the actions being carried out are in line with ones conscience . Sometimes I wish that I could have the ability to read the mindsets of the terror kings. I have never yet understood what goes in their heads and makes them do what they have done. For I can not believe that ones conscience can allow one to kill innocent people. Resposibility halts the cycle and helps to criticize constructively.

Constructive criticism is something which we need to incorporate. It makes a poor start a business and eradicate poverty from the lives of millions. It makes somebody pledge that he would assist all road accident victims because no one had helped him. It makes somebody believe in India in spite of feeling vulnerable in our homes.

I am not in Bangalore, not from Bangalore rather I am sitting in the comfort of my home far form Bangalore. Still I have been compelled to pen this down for I am an Indian. My heart reaches out to those in pain. And I am sure all Indians would feel the same.

Jai Hind!

Life is full of surprises...heard that before and often, I suppose!! Well how many have you heard of Accra? Its the capital of Ghana. Did this kindle rememberance of Geography? Forgive me for doubting your knowledge(for those who answered correctly). Well I was one of those...who didnt get it right. All I could recollect was that Ghana is a country located in Africa...I had absolutely no clue to which part of Africa. As usual I reffered to google(did i hear somebdy say what we would have done without google).

Well all's well and google was there and their was the criteria "Ghana"...bingo!!...Lemme cut down on the intro and come down to reality...

I've just completed 5th month of my stay in Accra. The day I 1st set my foot on this soil, was 18 OCT 2006. This was my first independent visit to foreign soil. And to add to the woes I had travelled alone (software can land u anywhere mate...) Fortunetly everything went well at clearance and I found the hotel driver holding my nametag. I cudnt resist...why does everyone smile so much?... popped the question! Is it because at a de-embargation port, to show hospitality? His smile vanished!! I was cursing my IF Else habbit(adding a answer to a question). I repeated the question...the smile was back...on both our faces). He replied, we .........Ghanians are....... we.......outsiders.....

To be continued...