Ever since I Came to the US,I had been thinking if this place is all good..all riches with everyone having everything they wanted...if there were no poor/orphans in the city..and I never did actually see anyone in that category in our sweet and small place in Binghamton,NY..
But,a trip to Boston opened my eyes as I saw..Cobblers and Beggars do exist in the US too...Surprised...no am not surprised..I'm shocked...but even they have style here...beggars here do not beg they play different musical instruments at various places...metro stations...road sides...and cobblers charge $3 for polishing shoe.. wonder if an Indian cobbler makes that much thru the day!!
This city also showed the hard hearts of people living here.. no one cares for anyone here...yesterday at government center metro station, as everyone rushed to get into green line metro...an old lady fell off...no one bothered to give her a look or a helping hand to get up..I tried doing it...I gave her my hand once and pulled it back..2nd time and pulled it back again...3rd time and pulled it back yet again..didn't have the courage to give her that hand because at the back of my mind I had a thought running continuously...what if I give her a hand and am blamed to have pushed her from the back...
NO, I am not joking..am serious...for it's something we had learnt just this weekend when Sanju ran after a cart which went rolling down the parking and might have hit a parked car...when a friend said..good that you could get hold of it had you not and the cart would have hit a car in the parking you would have been in trap...responsible for any damage happening to it...Thus, even when I wanted to give that lady a hand..I thought it's better safe than sorry and just moved on like others..'With a hard heart'....The golden rule to live here probably is to ignore if you see someone in need... but then isn't that what we do in India also...we see someone in trouble and we try to evade as much as we can...until of course it's someone known & close to us...
I feel sorry for the oldies when I see them carrying oxygen cylinders on their wheel chairs when as they gather courage to go out for shopping all by themselves... but, ton a second thought I feel..good!at least they are self-dependent here...had it been our own country..they would have been totally dependent on someone...if lucky to afford maid..good for them...else being ridiculed and humiliated every now and then by the person(s) taking care (if, at all)...
I get confused if I like my place better or this...but then I certainly do appreciate the acceptance of special (they don't call them mentally or physically challenged here) people here....I really feel...if there is one thing we must copy from here..it is this value to human life in every possible way...
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