980. Humanity at its best......When???

Last weekend we had been to Ooty and Coonoor. Loved the place very much, especially the toy train journey from Coonoor to Ooty was amazing. Though we had been in a Tempo Traveller we asked our driver sab to bring the vehicle to Ooty and we took the train from Coonoor to Ooty. It was an amazing journey of 20 kms which took almost 1 hour 20 min. On the way up we saw endless vegetable farming producing Lettuce, Beetroot, Radish, Turnip, Red Cabbage, Broccoli, Potato, Brussels Sprout and not to forget the famous Ooty carrots.

While coming back to Bangalore we decided to buy some veggies and asked our driver to stop near a roadside vendor. The lady selling them had kept her veggies for display on the concrete blocks at the roadside. The veggies were farm fresh and we brought some of them. As we had finished buying, the lady grabbed a small bag and started stuffing a few vegetables in it and walked up to the vehicle parked on the other side of the road and handed them over to the driver who was at the wheel. “He is sitting there with patience” she told us with a grin on her face. Some may feel it was a gesture to keep the drivers in good books so that they would bring in the travelers to her, but to me it was purely humanity at work there.     

Some years back we had been to Ahobilam in Kurnool district the hot Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh. Summer had just set in; the nine temples of Narasimhaswamy are on hill range of Nallamala. Jwala Narasimhaswamy temple is the topmost, requiring a trek of about 3-4 kms. It was past 11am when we began our trek. The scorching sun and difficult terrain was wearing us down. As it was marked reserve forest, understandably there were no stalls selling water or tender coconuts along the route. The water bottles we carried were already half empty as we climbed. We sparingly drank water we carried, so that we had something left for our trek downward.

At the top near the temple we were greeted by a few villagers standing with sweet and cool Panaka (Lime Jaggery squash). We drank to quench our thirst from one of them. When we asked the person, “How much we need to pay?” He was hesitant and softly replied, “How much ever you feel like.” He had to be remunerated so that he could continue to quench the thirst of the parched pilgrims like us in future. Though he never had a menu price list for the drink he served, we out of gratitude handed him two twenty rupee notes which he accepted by touching them to his eyes. We observed that he thanked those who gave him a rupee or two in the similar manner.

Looking at how we living in a civilised society are forced to buy water at hotels and malls, we lose faith in humanity. But it is overwhelming to find such selfless acts by simple, poor and unknown villagers in remote corners living in difficult terrain. They expect nothing but have never abstained from humanity, looking at their kind gestures I do have a little faith that this land has not gone from bad to worst.

Now the question is: - Why do we find such scarce exhibit of humanity only from simple, poor and unknown villagers in remote corners??? Is it necessary to relinquish humanity to live in cities??? What makes mankind forgo Humanity........is it yearn to make MONEY???