Help the Aged!

I live less than a kilometer away from work and most days I prefer not to drive but I take a rikshaw. Today morning when I got out of the house, I saw a very old and weak man dozing on the rikshaw. The site of him pulling the rikshaw with me sitting on it seemed cruel. I had almost started to walk towards the next one when it struck me that for such a man to be here, by walking away I would be taking away from him a little money that he hopes to earn for that one square meal a day. I decided to wake him and to go with him to office.

It took me way longer than usual to reach office. The man was weak and frail, looked hungry and tired, abandoned and lonely. It was the longest and the most painful rikshaw ride of my life. I paid him a little extra money hoping that it helps him get a good meal for a day. But I can't help wonder if that is all I could have done for him.

What would be the reason for an old man of over 75 years of age to be pulling a rikshaw? Then again we are a country where 5 Indians die of hunger every minute. Here we are sitting in nice posh houses and offices and fighting over a x% pay hike on a 6-7 digit salary and talking about how we deserve to get that much more.

Sometimes life throws at you these interesting questions that make you question and ask yourself - is this what I am here to do?