Morning unordinary!

Amazing what you can notice on a given morning! I’m attempting to write down my small but good experiences this morning.

I reach office normally by 9 AM. This morning, I had to drop a cheque for my Credit Card payment. The destination: a Citibank ATM located about half a kilometer from my office. So, I wrote the cheque at my desk, pocketed it carefully, and set off for the short 1km round-trip. The morning was pleasant in Bangalore with a clear, sunny sky and 21 degrees Celsius on the temperature scale.

I don’t know why but children always manage to bring a smile to my face with their innocent activities. I was fortunate to witness two quiet ones on my way to the ATM that made me smile really broadly.

The first child was coming in the opposite direction with a lady, presumably his mother. He was radiating infectious, innocent smiles all around him – each smile was akin to Cupid’s arrow fired unknowingly by that little boy, making all those watching him smile. I was one among his many unknown targets. As I watched, the boy climbed a very short flight of stairs on to the footpath. He used not just his feet but also his hands to clamber up, then broke into a full throated laughter as he ran with open arms to the man walking behind me. I turned around, and saw the boy hug the man, his father, lovingly. I watched as the lady too joined this little family union. Still smiling to myself, I turned and walked on.

As I was about to reach the ATM, I encountered the second child. He was dressed in rags, standing alone, and in stark contrast to the earlier child, he looked lonely and sad. He held on to the footpath railing and watched the road with his big eyes full of sorrow. I felt pain watching him, and so did a few other people walking there. I said a silent prayer for the kid as I walked on leaving the child still gazing at the road.

On reaching the ATM, I completed my task of dropping the cheque, took a U-turn, and headed back to office. And that was when the second child brought the second smile to my face this morning. He was no longer lonely, and his wait had finally ended as his father was by his side now. His father was pushing a cart full of trash with one hand as was required of a trash collector working for the municipal corporation of Bangalore. In his other hand, the father had the little boy’s hand. The boy was now smiling with his broken teeth on display, enjoying his time as he swung his father’s hand back and forth. I crossed them with a big smile on my face.

I had planned on smoking a cigarette before heading back to my desk, but after having encountered these incidents, I skipped the idea and instead headed straight to my desk. I was still smiling.