I was called to college on a Saturday for some extra work today. I didn’t really mind much, but I was tired from a trip yesterday and was grumbling to myself about having to be up and about today when I noticed two small girls in school uniforms.
You could easily tell that they were sisters by the way one of them was holding the other, littler one’s hand and leading her towards the escalator leading to the metro station. Both were wearing school uniforms that looked like it had seen better days. I got on behind them and the older girl turned and smiled at me. I smiled back.
Now, one major thing you will notice if you ever come to Mumbai is that, everyone is in a hurry to catch the next metro or train or bus. There was a man who had gotten on the escalator behind us and began walking up. He asked the girls to let him through and the older girl moved to the side.
But when this man, who was old but not terribly so, climbed to the top, I noticed the older girl’s expression was one of shock. The old man wasn’t wearing any shoes.
If you live in Mumbai, this doesn’t necessarily mean he has no money to buy shoes. It could simply mean the strap of his chappals came off, or that he has a mannat (in order to have a wish fulfilled you give up the comfort of walking with shoes for a certain period of time), but the girl was probably too young to have thought of that.
Catching her looking at me, I couldn’t help but steal a look at her feet. Her school shoes had huge holes in them where her toes peeked out.
Here was a girl who was so sad on seeing another person in a worse situation than what she was probably in. This poor girl, who had to go to school without a school bus that most enjoy and was called every weekend as well, not complaining about anything.
Suitably chastisised about having been called on a Saturday, I shot the girl a smile and helped her and her sister board the metro. Their smiles made my day today. I was reminded of Kimberly’s Earth Angels and I believe I met one today.
I’m not going to moan and groan but simply and happily going to do the work that I was called to do. Thank You Earth Angel 🙂
February 14, 2016 at 12:34 am
This is so beautiful!! I absolutely love it!! ❤ Thank you for sharing! It's so heartwarming and inspiring.
I live in Philadelphia, PA, USA and there are lots of friendly people here but it's not really part of our culture to approach strangers just to say hello or smile. This does happen but not too frequently that I know of. I try to do this often. I'm very shy and it takes courage but is always worth it. I'm so happy that the little girl cares so much about others and that you reached out to her and she warmly received your sweet gesture. ❤ Things like this make the world go round. What a beautiful story! It's also interesting reading about the place you live. I never been there but it seems interesting. 😀
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February 14, 2016 at 7:43 am
Thank You so much 😊
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February 14, 2016 at 7:59 am
I live in Mumbai, India and reaching out to other people is quite common here. Roadside hawkers are asked for directions while you drink fresh sugarcane juice that they have made, strangers advise you to move out of the rush in the train so you aren’t hurt, strangers wake you up before your stop on the bus if you’ve fallen asleep. Mumbai is a city of helpful people and I love my city. 😀
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February 15, 2016 at 1:16 am
This makes me so happy to read!! Thank you for sharing!! I would love to encourage people everywhere around the globe to be like this. ❤
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February 14, 2016 at 12:48 am
Reblogged this on A Dose of Inspiration and commented:
Beautiful story! ❤
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February 14, 2016 at 4:24 am
I can relate, I experienced that hole in my shoes when I was in grade school. Believe it or not, I haven’t felt any bit of insecurity with my fellow students because my determination in pursuit of my dreams is much bigger and I know that it is temporary. Nice one!
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February 14, 2016 at 7:45 am
I salute you my friend
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June 3, 2016 at 11:11 pm
So touching… There’s so much to learn from strangers, especially young ones. ❤
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June 3, 2016 at 11:32 pm
True! Everyone seems to have their own stories to tell!
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