The weekend approached with lots of plans to spend it merrily. Our family of four was trying to select the best location for a relaxing and fun filled picnic. The hectic weekdays swept out with ease only on the lookout for a weekend getaway.
As the kids packed their badminton rackets, frisbie and skipping ropes, my husband got us some hot coffee before we set off for the ride. We had finished our breakfast and I had made some extra poori and aloo bhujiya which lay on the dining table to be wrapped in aluminium foil. We packed the food, filled the water bottles and rolled a mat, all to be loaded in the car. As Jharkhand is bountiful with natural beauty, we chose one of the waterfalls as our picnic site.
Just when we were almost ready to move, the door-bell rang. I hastily walked up to the door to see who had come on a Sunday afternoon. “Good morning Aunty”, chirped my niece who was a student at the law college. I was her local guardian. “Hello Nikita, how are you, hope all is well”. Nikita seemed a little disturbed and requested me to take her to the doctor. Her left arm had developed blisters with puss. “Aunty, I could not give you a call before coming as it got worse just this morning so I decided to just rush to you”. We were concerned as the blisters looked red and swollen. Alas, the picnic had to be cancelled. The kids were quite disgruntled. So were we.
I quickly collected my purse and rushed with her to the doctor’s clinic. There was a long queue of patients. We had to wait for an hour before Nikita’s appointment. We sat down on the benches that were placed in the clinic’s lobby. A TV there was tuned in to the News Channel which showed ‘breaking news’ every 5 minutes. Just then a Sister from a local orphanage entered with a one-year old child in her lap. The baby was wailing with pain as she had rashes all over the body. The Sister patted and rocked the baby with affection to allay the pain. The baby got some relief and took a break from crying. Every eye turned away from the TV to watch this beautiful display of love between the Sister and the baby. There was more than a motherly touch in the Sister’s fondness for the baby as the tie between the two was beyond the umbilical connection. The Sister seemed like an angel caring for the small child. The Sister requested the reception staff to register her name a little early. The staff asked her to enter the doctor’s cabin right after the patient inside leaves. Every few seconds the Sister arranged the thin linen covering the body of the baby so that he was comfortable. Her loving glances was enough to cajole the baby as she had stopped crying.
All this while I was quite sullen due to the cancellation of the picnic. But witnessing the selfless service of the Sister, my guilt conscience pricked me. It was my duty as a local guardian to attend to the problems of my niece. I realized that to serve the self is what every living being does, but to selflessly serve others is the only humane thing to do. The Sister was truly an enlightened soul for she had generated ties of love with someone who had otherwise no connection with her.
I drove back home from the clinic with my niece and shared the experience of the Sister and the baby with my family. We enjoyed the poori and aloo bhujiya at home along with Nikita and it was the best picnic ever.
Resonance 