Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Humanity... of the Literate and Iliterate...

I entered the ladies compartment that day only to find a fourth seat which had a tiny space to sit. I asked the three ladies who were sitting comfortably to shift a bit so that I could at least manage to sit in that space. But they seemed to be least bothered. I had no option but to adjust myself and sit in that small place or stand all the way for 2 hours. I chose the first option.

It would be possible for me to sit properly if the three ladies had shifted a little but they were not willing to listen so I pushed the lady next to me and made place for myself. The lady started shouting at me and I simply ignored her. I sat comfortably on the fourth seat. The lady had no choice and asked the other two to shift and we all sat comfortably. The lady still continued shouting and I shouted back at her and asked her to behave herself. I asked her why did you adjust yourself now when you felt uncomfortable? Why didn't you do so when I asked you to do it politely? They had no answer and then started talking about how today's youth have become undisciplined and lacked decency... "Is ignoring polite request a sign of decency?" I asked myself. "The world has really become a bad place to live in..." I thought.

I took the BEST bus to reach office and as usual it was crowded. With a bag in one hand and my purse in another hand it was very difficult for me to stand in the crowd. I stood beside a lady who asked me to give my bag to her. I told her that my bag was a bit heavy but still she took it from my hand and kept it on her lap. The lady wasn't much educated and from her appearance wasn't from a well to do family. But still she had something that was valuable... humanity... which made her much more greater than the so called educated decent lady I had met in the train.