That was really a hectic
day for me as I had a meeting with my directors in the early hours, had to meet
all my deadlines, submit my report and then rush back home as my most awaited
vacation was about to begin. I was so excited to take up the travel and
experience the climate in north-east on my birthday.
I reported to office at my
regular work hours and rushed to complete my work as planned. Mr. Aslam Khan
then arrived at office for the meeting. “Mr. Khan is the kind of person you would love to
hear and learn from. He is always a high energy person and has something
positive to say all the time”. He greeted me with advance wishes on my birthday
and till the other directors arrived, we both started talking about many things
like daily commute, people, life and living.
Mr. Khan from his
observations & memories filled college days, picked up the experience and wisdom he
acquired from the commute to Byculla, Saboo Sidddique College by train to share
with me what he intended me to understand was how to live and grow up in life. He
said, “Over the period of nine years of travelling, I could categorize the
people commuting from the train in three different Categories. The first category
of people were the ones who would just rush to get into the train pushing &
pulling others to get seats or appropriate places to stand .The second category
were those better travellers who would first board the train and then assist
others on the platform to get in. There were some other people who would let
others get in first, help college students, co-commuters with children to board
& then themselves would board, these formed the third category”.
He further explained me what exactly he wanted to
convey. Life is a journey and we can make the best out of it, if we inculcate
the values like empathy, sacrifice, helpfulness, being optimistic & patience
in ourselves. Being helpful not only makes another person feel better but also
makes us feel better from inside and also about ourselves. May be we ourselves
must be going through tough time but being there for someone at his time of
need will give us an eternal peace ,solace and contentment in a long run. Mr.
Khan advised me to strive to be among the third category in life.
I then
kept pondering over this thought of his .And I really felt we can flourish with
love and care in life only if we allow and help others to grow in life. The Chinese
proverb “A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that distributes roses” rightly describes
this.
