Once upon a time ;)..i went to BSNL's office with my cousin to get the landline connection. I was shocked to hear that now the complete connection with telephone set and wire is available for Rs.100 (last time we paid Rs.2000 including chai pani of atleast 3 people + our own wire and waited for 2 months but thats a different story.) Unfortunately i wasnt ready for this sudden burst of happiness and was carrying a 500 rupee note (one of the few left from my very very hard earned money :P.) As we know that biggest problem which we Indians are facing (behind Dengue, Inflation, Corruption, Maoist Attack, Commonwealth games .........) is change and as expected i had to borrow 100 rupees from my cousin.
When we were on our way back home, my cousin asked me to stop by a pan shop to satisfy his urge of national pastime of India...Smoking. So i stopped at a pan shop near my home. I decided to buy everything myself so that i can get a change of my 500 rupee note and pay back my cousin's money. Whole shopping was worth Rs.25 and shopkeeper said it loudly that that he wont give us change as soon as i took out my note. I was actually expecting that and i took some soft drinks to make it Rs.75. He didnt say a word and gave me back a whole lot of change.
After some days we had some puja at home and mom asked me to bring some pan leaves for that. I went to same pan shop and asked the shopkeeper for leaves. I told him i want leaves for Puja so they shouldnt be damaged from anywhere. He gave me and asked for 10 bucks. Unfortunately again i had a 500 rupee note and although unwilling to, he asked me to pay back later since i was taking them for puja.
Then i never got chance to go back to his shop and i thought he must be cursing me for not showing up. Finally after almost 20 days, which is average time we Indians take to forget about any money we owe to someone, i went back to buy something. After the deal was done and i showed my back to him, my subconscious gave me a jerk. I immediately took out 10 bucks and handed it over to him saying that they were due on me. Both of us were having two things in common. Both of us were surprised and for same reason.
He: Becoz he didnt remember (maybe it was too small amount to remember to him.)
Me: Becoz he didnt remember (I thought that heartless guy would have cursed me a thousand times for 10 bucks. )
Nonetheless i left with satisfaction in my heart and thought may be i was a bit harsh. But destiny had more for me and today i was there again, buying something. As i reached he very warmly pointed out that both of us were having 'Goti' (which i tried for the first time today ;)). I smiled and asked for 2 things. One of the thing was not present at his shop so he grabbed the money from my hand and rushed to the nearby shop. He came back and gave me both the things. I was pleasantly surprised. When he was looking for the balance, i thought something and decided to take a test. I asked "hey man, can you give me change for this?" and handed the same old big 500 rupee note :P. He looked at me, smiled and handed the change with the balance.
Point which i got and want to make here (apart from, i am a frequent borrower and you might want to think about it before taking a chance as soon as i show up on your door ;)) is that, Trust among humans is at such a low level, that if you can stretch yourself from meanness to normal humanness, you can bring a lot of goodness out of others.
Be good, Do Good!!
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