"..because we ought to tell what we see and hear,"Holy Bible

Friday, October 28, 2011

Season Filler

This is not a regular post. This is a filler and this is not just another humorous post of ours. This is something that has made me thinking over the last couple of days. So here it goes.

Scenario 1: I travel daily to my office at 9:30 AM. I cross the same traffic light daily. I see the same small girl selling balloons at the signal. I notice her daily, waiting for the signal to be red, as she runs from one car to another trying to market her product. The same thing is done by many smart people in our company, for which they get paid tons. But what I failed to notice was the hope in her eyes every time I lowered my glass and the hopelessness in her eyes every time I lift my glass carelessly looking ahead as she keeps on trying till the last bit. And then the signal goes green as she tries to save herself from being run over by the zillions of speeding cars. How could I not notice these things?

Scenario 2: I am a business analyst, I calculate a lot of equity and derivatives. People say I am good at it. I travel by train very frequently. Almost every time I see an old man selling red and black candies in the train. I see such an old man every time. He comes and goes while I ruthlessly ignore him. What I couldn't calculate was this "If this man sells around 50 packets of candies a day (I am being optimistic) at Rs 2 each, making a profit of 50 paise on each. his everyday earning is Rs 10, an amount that I say is of no value today." How could I not calculate such a simple thing?

Scenario 3: Again I am travelling by train, cribbing that my company doesn't pay me as much as I work. I see an old lady selling cucumbers. She must be of my grandma's age or maybe more. I complain that I work so hard but I don't get paid enough. She passes by me and I continue with my cribbing. I don't know where she lives and I don't even care. How the hell does it matter to me! But again what I failed to notice was this. She works maybe 1000 times harder than me and earns maybe 1000 times less than me. At such an old age she carries a heavy basket and goes from compartment to compartment trying to sell those cucumbers. But I didn't notice. And even if I did, I didn't care.

I don't know how to end this post. Every story does not have a happy ending, and I am sure the above mentioned three stories also will not have a happy ending. And even if they will, I don't care.