Small moments, big insights

Often small things get ignored in life and we miss to see the inherent beauty of it. As Tagore once wrote,"I traveled miles, spent riches. I have gone to see the mountains and oceans. But I have not seen just two steps from my home, there upon a grain of corn, the glistening drop of dew". Passing through life, we all come across many such moments that usually go unnoticed. But they have the capacity to fill the mind with joy. Once when I went went to Jodhpur with my husband to have a glimpse of magnificent view of Thar desert. I never experienced such breathtaking beauty of a desert before. Where ever I looked, I saw only waves of sand dunes, which were glittering in the sun light. There was not a blade of grass in our vicinity. We came to know that, poor villagers stayed in far away scattered villages, devoid of all modern facilities and without eveb basic education.Young boys earned sustenance by driving camel carts for tourists. It was here that I met a simple village boy whose generosity and jolly nature has stayed vivid in my memory. After reaching there we also selected a camel cart for a ride. The driver was a young boy with chiseled features and a smiling face. While driving his car he was humming a folk tune. He seemed to be a very good natured person. While passing through the sand dunes I wanted to gather some informations about their lifestyle and so asked him some questions - "how far do you stay, how many family members, what is the source of income etc." But he was especially surprised when I asked him about his morning breakfast before leaving the house for the whole day. He answered, "Why? Roti and fried chillies of course". This innocent boy blissfully living in utter poverty had no idea of any other choice of breakfast. So again when I asked him about his dinner menu after whole day's work, his answer was the same, "roti and fried chillies". I realized that in that desert, where no vegetation can grow and far from the towns, there was literally nothing to eat other than bread and spices. The poor villagers had no options and this boy accepted this destiny with a smiling face. As I was thinking of this great disparity between the most fertile regions in the country just a few hundred kilometers from the arid lives of these camel drivers, all in the same country, his cheerful voice broke in - "Madam , will you please to my home and have a meal with us? We will be very happy". I was deeply touched by his loving invitation, and had no heart to say no. So I said ,"surely son, I will come next time around. He was happy to hear my answer and continued to drive his camel cart joyfully, while humming his favorite folk tune all the way back through our journey.