Gemini in the sky: Big hearts

Today is Day 5 ( OMG! how fast time flew) of the Write Tribe Festival of Words and Tribers are asked to write a story preferably drawn from their own experience which has stayed in their mind to inspire despite all the darkness around.

My servant D asked me to loan a certain amount against her salary and deduct the loan amount in subsequent months in installments. D, not a lady to ask for a loan nor splurge on anything frivolous , she carefully saved money for the education of her daughters, I , hence was tempted to question the reason for the urgency of the loan in the middle of the month.
She explained to me that she and her brother's wife were to shop for steel utensils as gifts for the wedding of a fatherless Hindu girl in her slum locality. I was a bit taken aback and surprised . She then narrated how the would-be-bride had lost her father in an accident and her mother worked as a maid to eke out a living and did not have any close relatives. The nubile girl received a good marriage proposal but their financial status did not permit them to have a proper wedding. The mother of the would-be-bride called a meeting of all the people in the area and requested to help and pay for the wedding expenses. The assembled people decided to help in their own capacity. My maid , her brother's wife and two of her neighbours decided to pay for the utensils, while others paid for the bride's clothes etc. This way all the expenses of the entire wedding was to be funded. My maid said that distributing the fairly gigantic cost among various families would not pinch their pockets.

I was amazed at how these poor slum-dwellers who lead a hand-to-mouth existence who do not have a dime saved for a rainy day acted with alacrity to go out of their way to help a girl of their neighbourhood while most of the residents belonged to another religion . There were past instances of communal tensions between the two camps but they decided to keep aside their animosities reserved for another day to display the true spirit of integration. The politicians who take a dig at each other's caste hierarchy and religion should learn a few lessons from the impoverished existing in the midst of squalor and inequalities. My maid's neighbours do not have deep pockets but their hearts are magnanimous.

When some members of charitable organisations ring the bell for donations , my housing society members do not loosen their purse-strings not because they are stingy but because of the lack of complete trust in the organisations. The watchman is sternly cautioned not to let such people inside the premises.

The head-honchos of corporate conglomerates regularly evade taxes , pile up unpaid salaries of their employees but lead a lavish life-style without an iota of thought for their Karma.

My maid ended her narration invoking Allah for the blessings to be bestowed upon the fatherless Hindu girl.