Having gone through enough depression since the last couple of months I decided to extend help to others who are equally in a soup.. I write this post today having met my first save during my bus journey today... Around 3.30 PM to be precise!
Life is so funny and ironic that i sometimes sit back and think whether it plays us or we play by what it has to lay out in front of us. I might never know the answer to that...Nevertheless here goes my first experience of helping someone stay with us than leave, with their permission of course and the person would like to remain anonymous... So that is how it would remain.
We met on the bus, exchanged glances and stared out of the window for a while. About five minutes later she had tears rolling down her eyes. I think if anything life has taught me through my experiences is that when someone is in pain its better to comfort them than sit like a stone statue... I watched her for a minute or two. Thankfully I had kept my dad's handkerchief in my purse the last time he had extended it to me. So i just pulled it out of my purse and gave it to her.
She refused and I persisted... She wiped her tears and then i somehow cleared my throat and said " I know we all have bad moments, do you wanna talk to me ?" She cried some more... I let her gather her composure, i put my hand on her shoulder and held her snugly... It made her cry a lot more. All i could tell her was not to bother about people around. A little over 18 she looked young and innocent and lonely.
It was almost ten minutes past our journey together, so i asked her what was the problem... She hesitated and then said she would love to talk to me but she needs to get down at the next stop... I offered to get down with her and listen and strangely enough she agreed as well. I do not know what made her trust me or what made me offer her the help. All i know is that we both had an equation now. So we walk up to a park. We sit and I offer her my water bottle. And from there starts her gory account...
Born and brought up in North India, she is the fifth and the last child of her parents. Her father is the soul breadwinner of the family. She has four brothers. Life was good until she was 12 and she was the pampered child until then as she was the only girl child of the family, a fact that sometimes is a sin in India. And she was oblivious to all the struggles in her life as she was given the first priority over everything. "I was spoilt silly" is what she says next. She had to come down to Bangalore for her higher studies last year and this year she went back for celebrating holi and attend her brother's wedding back home. But what i hear after that for the next one hour just made my heart go out for her...
This Holi she was raped.. Not only was she raped but she was told to keep it quiet or else.... I do not know that pain. I cannot understand how can someone do that to someone as delicate and young as her. All i could do was hold her hand and hug her and shed tears along with her while i listened to her narration. I offered her to take her to the police, she refused.
So i kept quiet and asked how is she managing her stay here. To which she told me that she works part time and attends her college as well. Something that is not new to me. But i wasn't ever this depressed to go through all this while i was in college. I listened and gave her solace and told her not to go back home if she fears embarrassment, although the right thing to do was to report the person. But i know what this society is like... For her it will really end a lot of things in life.... Right things in life are really hard to do in a country like ours!! Not many Indian men are broad minded, in fact they would wish you dead than be alive after such incidences rather than give you a new lease of life with their kind acceptance. It is good to talk and look great in front of ten people around us and give out these great thoughts as if we are the next reformers of this world, we all love to do it, but when it comes to acceptance i gotta say its next to nil in this country! At least that is my personal experience. people kill you with taunts and more often than not it is the same people who have to look out for you that do it all.
From 3.30 to 7.30 she opened up her heart to me and in the end asked me why did i wanna listen to her. I told her my reasons and she said that she wished that people of this world learn from their bad experiences. Because everyone becomes more selfish as a result of their bad experiences. After all the talking she just looked at me kindly and thanked me for saving her. I asked her why was she thanking me and it wasn't needed And then she said the unsaid "Because i wanted to end it all today" and that is when it struck me that maybe i did the right thing. I told her god loved her a lot, because he sent me to listen to her. I did not have anyone and that is why she is god's child and she deserves to live and show everyone how strong she is. We made a deal today... To not give up and help those who wanna. One loss less and one life saved! I feel contented.
While i walked back home today and crossed the railway tracks I couldn't help but reflect on the track that just seemed to go on endlessly and blended with the horizon. Many a times our lives are like those tracks... We see what lies ahead, we dont know if the track has cracks or is smooth and we dont know what that journey to the horizon holds... Often times we get disheartened by seeing what lies ahead of us, probably we fear the turns and yet we fail to see the rest of the track which does exist till the final destination but is out of our visible horizon.
That is how life is, that is how any temporary setback is and that is how most of our problems are like! I would sign off by saying that when you are unable to see anything good during your bad days, just gather enough strength to walk a few more steps so that the horizon you see expands and eventually you would see the good coming. Someday it has to!
Life is so funny and ironic that i sometimes sit back and think whether it plays us or we play by what it has to lay out in front of us. I might never know the answer to that...Nevertheless here goes my first experience of helping someone stay with us than leave, with their permission of course and the person would like to remain anonymous... So that is how it would remain.
We met on the bus, exchanged glances and stared out of the window for a while. About five minutes later she had tears rolling down her eyes. I think if anything life has taught me through my experiences is that when someone is in pain its better to comfort them than sit like a stone statue... I watched her for a minute or two. Thankfully I had kept my dad's handkerchief in my purse the last time he had extended it to me. So i just pulled it out of my purse and gave it to her.
She refused and I persisted... She wiped her tears and then i somehow cleared my throat and said " I know we all have bad moments, do you wanna talk to me ?" She cried some more... I let her gather her composure, i put my hand on her shoulder and held her snugly... It made her cry a lot more. All i could tell her was not to bother about people around. A little over 18 she looked young and innocent and lonely.
It was almost ten minutes past our journey together, so i asked her what was the problem... She hesitated and then said she would love to talk to me but she needs to get down at the next stop... I offered to get down with her and listen and strangely enough she agreed as well. I do not know what made her trust me or what made me offer her the help. All i know is that we both had an equation now. So we walk up to a park. We sit and I offer her my water bottle. And from there starts her gory account...
Born and brought up in North India, she is the fifth and the last child of her parents. Her father is the soul breadwinner of the family. She has four brothers. Life was good until she was 12 and she was the pampered child until then as she was the only girl child of the family, a fact that sometimes is a sin in India. And she was oblivious to all the struggles in her life as she was given the first priority over everything. "I was spoilt silly" is what she says next. She had to come down to Bangalore for her higher studies last year and this year she went back for celebrating holi and attend her brother's wedding back home. But what i hear after that for the next one hour just made my heart go out for her...
This Holi she was raped.. Not only was she raped but she was told to keep it quiet or else.... I do not know that pain. I cannot understand how can someone do that to someone as delicate and young as her. All i could do was hold her hand and hug her and shed tears along with her while i listened to her narration. I offered her to take her to the police, she refused.
So i kept quiet and asked how is she managing her stay here. To which she told me that she works part time and attends her college as well. Something that is not new to me. But i wasn't ever this depressed to go through all this while i was in college. I listened and gave her solace and told her not to go back home if she fears embarrassment, although the right thing to do was to report the person. But i know what this society is like... For her it will really end a lot of things in life.... Right things in life are really hard to do in a country like ours!! Not many Indian men are broad minded, in fact they would wish you dead than be alive after such incidences rather than give you a new lease of life with their kind acceptance. It is good to talk and look great in front of ten people around us and give out these great thoughts as if we are the next reformers of this world, we all love to do it, but when it comes to acceptance i gotta say its next to nil in this country! At least that is my personal experience. people kill you with taunts and more often than not it is the same people who have to look out for you that do it all.
From 3.30 to 7.30 she opened up her heart to me and in the end asked me why did i wanna listen to her. I told her my reasons and she said that she wished that people of this world learn from their bad experiences. Because everyone becomes more selfish as a result of their bad experiences. After all the talking she just looked at me kindly and thanked me for saving her. I asked her why was she thanking me and it wasn't needed And then she said the unsaid "Because i wanted to end it all today" and that is when it struck me that maybe i did the right thing. I told her god loved her a lot, because he sent me to listen to her. I did not have anyone and that is why she is god's child and she deserves to live and show everyone how strong she is. We made a deal today... To not give up and help those who wanna. One loss less and one life saved! I feel contented.
While i walked back home today and crossed the railway tracks I couldn't help but reflect on the track that just seemed to go on endlessly and blended with the horizon. Many a times our lives are like those tracks... We see what lies ahead, we dont know if the track has cracks or is smooth and we dont know what that journey to the horizon holds... Often times we get disheartened by seeing what lies ahead of us, probably we fear the turns and yet we fail to see the rest of the track which does exist till the final destination but is out of our visible horizon.
That is how life is, that is how any temporary setback is and that is how most of our problems are like! I would sign off by saying that when you are unable to see anything good during your bad days, just gather enough strength to walk a few more steps so that the horizon you see expands and eventually you would see the good coming. Someday it has to!
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