Lifetime validity on shoe-polishing service - what an !dea, sirjee!

I usually get my shoes polished by a professional (a cobbler, as most people call) once in a week before reaching office. It's been around a year now that I've been availing the services of the same guy (who sits on a footpath opposite to Citibank, BKC).

This story actually started around 2 weeks ago when I was getting my shoes polished by this same man (appears to be over 50). In a grim disposition, he sought my help. He was unwell and wanted to see a doctor but had no money since it was just the beginning of the day. He requested me to give Rs.20 which he would adjust towards future services and I acceded to his request.

Thanks to the Mumbai rains, today I went for getting my shoes polished after two weeks. The guy greeted me and I asked him about his health. He said that all his earnings have been expensed towards his medical treatment (madicines and pathological tests) and that now he has also run out of all materials (polish, cream, nails, threads, etc. ) which he requires to carry on his profession. He showed me the empty containers and said that there hasn't been much business because of the rains and that one day he got drenched in the rains and that had made his condition worse.

I asked him - "why do you consume alcohol when you are unwell?" He replied that it's been 3 months that he has quit drinking and he doesn't even have money to eat and feed his family. Not that I believed his story and was moved by it, but his voice definitely evidenced some pain. He said that he was thankful for the Rs.20 I had given him earlier but asked me to advance him a further Rs.50. I inquisitively asked, "And how and by when do you intend to repay that to me?" He said that he would provide me his services for a lifetime without any charge! It actually takes either a lot of guts or complete insanity, to make such a statement! I am yet to figure out the reason in the instant case but the statement indeed impressed me and I paid him Rs.50/-

I really do not know whether he would keep his words or not and whether I would ever pay him again for his services or not but the idea of having a lifetime validity on shoe-polishing services (or any other service for that matter) was worth exploring at a cost of Rs.50!

Not just that, but the other day I was watching a soap on TV. A lady and her daughter were being eve-teased and they were so helpless since no one around bothered what was happening. The husband attributed this to his own behaviour - "I have also been such a silent spectator whenever I encountered such situations. How can I do that and expect people to help my wife and daughter now?"

Certainly, there is some reality in the man's statement. Why do we expect others to help us when by ourselves we shirk away from people who need our help? Something definitely worth pondering!

Aptly, today's incident made me recollect the metaphor by Shakespeare - "not on thy SOLE, but on thy SOUL"!