The lesser Beings

Usually my mornings are spiced up with a heated argument with Magan bhai, the person who comes to collect the domestic trash and clean the parking place of our residential complex consisting of six flats.  The spats revolve around the record level of his absenteeism from work and abrupt services punctuated with unmistaken tardiness. 

Today, while I was in the parking place getting ready to zoom to office, I watched  Magan bhai who having collected the trash, had emptied the contents into a larger bin for further collection.  He dragged and hauled up the bin to an elevated place, away from the reach of the bovines and canines.

I was in my usual hurry to reach office before the extreme limit of the self extended ‘in’-timing.  Yet, I felt like chatting up and thus ended up complimenting him for his efforts to keep the campus clean and litter free.    

Magan bhai turned around with surprise writ large on his face.  He must have expected yet another confrontation with me for his indiscreet performance…and my uncanny words of appreciation seemed to have slapped him hard.

What ensued next was a purging of emotions.  He narrated his woes in managing his home front, taking care of an ailing wife and other dependent members in his family, completing the household chores before coming to work.  He commented on the difficulties faced in keeping the complex clean (that we have dirtied) and putting the kitchen waste out of the reach of the perpetually hunger stricken cows and dogs populating the streets. 

Today, I reached office beyond the permissible time limits.  And I do not regret it.

(We often tend to disrespect people on the basis of the work done by them.  That he/she can have a different or own way or compulsions of living life, is just not accepted by us, the pseudo literates. We conveniently ignore and forgive us for covering up our misdeeds…we take pride in innovating reasons for being late in reaching office or for not completing work in professional or personal arena, but we tend to be extremely strict and harsh while dealing with the mistakes of others and rebuking those who are less fortunate than us ….. the ‘lesser beings’).