From Martha .. with love

Its very peculiar - how the most trivial of things can affect your life in a way that leaves a lasting impression and makes you realise things never thought of before. This time, for me it was a very sweet old lady, and I'd call her a lady not a woman because of the grace and dignity I saw in the twinkle of her eye that was far more precious than the depth and beauty of even the most famous work of art.

Friday evening was the usual boring simulation stuff and upon that I had a very fruitful meeting with my prof. A very simple craving popped up inside me to have ice-cream, sounds kinda silly though :P So I set off on foot to the ice-cream parlour in the city centre and on my way I bumped into a puny little figure, frail and tender as if the wind could blow it away with a single whisp. Was reading a document which is why didn't notice what had happened. But I guess the slight knock in the knee brought me back to the present. I turned and saw the tiny figure again trying to balance a bicycle and 2 bags of groceries. 'Twas an old lady, I felt bad, and offered her help. I really envy the German language as it makes even the hardest of sentiment seem polite and well-intended let alone the general stuff. Well having asked her if I could help in German, I got a German reply that was even more polite as she wilfully accepted. As we walked, she talked a bit about stuff - general enquiry about my purpose of stay, etc. - things you generally ask strangers if you happen to get along with one :-) I couldn't help but wonder why would she walk a bicycle if she knew she was going to buy so much stuff. Well the halogen lamp finally glew in my brain and I realised that there's something wrong with the bicycle - the chain had slipped off the gear system. One good thing about us Indians is that whatever can be handled on our own, we master that craft - and one of them is bicycle maintenance ;-) So after asking her politely if I could have a look at it .... got down on both knees and wrapped it right up and woala !! the bicycle was cured ;-) Wondering what was so special about that ?! Hang on .... now the really special moments unfold :-) As I got up, something clasped my head and God was it a firm grip and before I knew it, got a peck on the forehead. I distinctly remember having blanked out at the moment :P It was all so sudden and unexpected that someone could be so thankful for a mere fixing of a bicycle; that they could be so affectionate and full of gratitude for something I never considered a big deal - a triviality that filled me with joy as it made someone else's day too.

Well if you think the story ends here, just hold on it gets more interesting :-) What I just wrote in is a one-off stranger helps stranger account but what I am going to tell you now is something that I wouldn't even have given a probability of one in a billion of ever happening. Saturday - a holiday and time for grocery shopping for me, I went down to Penny Markt (supermarket) to grab stuff for the entire week. As I came out of the supermarket, guess whom I bumped into .. AGAIN !! Yup, same ol' lady ;-) She asked me to wait up for 5 minutes if I could do so, and I still don't know why I agreed to that. At least she was true to her word has she came out after approx. 5 minutes carrying with her a bag full of candies, chocolates, chips etc. - kinda weird for an old lady don't you think? I thought so too, but I let it pass for the time being. Well I told you na German is a very polite language and its this very quality that forced me into complying with her request to walk her home :P We got into talking about a lot of subjects actually and was a very enticing conversation as a matter of fact, where, for the very first time I got views on things from an elderly person. She told me about her past - a half Brit and haf German, her visit to India in the 1950s, her appreciation for Indian culture, hospitality etc. The conversation became so informal that I drew up the courage to ask her about the chocolates, to which she gave me a fair enough response - her grandson was visiting her that day :-) Time passed by and I didn't realise that I had actually walked her to the Bahnhof (train station). It was time for lunch and she invited me over, but my hunger gave way to politeness and I declined :( She insisted once or twice and gave up. As I bid adieu and turned away to walk back to my hostel, she lay her hand on my shoulder - the warmth was soothing - inexplicable !! I turned back around and she handed me a pack of 3 Mars bars. I refused instantaneously saying that it was for her grandson and he'd be happy to have 'em. The reply I got shall remain in my memory forever - it meant a lot - the words shall echo as a reminiscence of the day I walked her home - "In the past 2 days sonny, you have been more than a grandson to me and if anything, I wish you were my grandson in reality" , followed by a very petit smile, a Mona Lisa I daresay. A sudden rush of emotion took the form of a large wave inside me and instinctively I bent down to touch her feet. She caressed my hair and uttered again in her very feeble yet sweet voice "God bless you my child, you are very special, shall never forget the 'Junge aus Indien' ". With these words she turned around and walked slowly towards the pavement leading up the other side of the Bahnhof. Absolutely dumbstruck, I stood there for at least a minute wondering at what had just passed.

People crib about stuff all life long and forget that the very special moments in life are to be treasured and that these small instances can change your life forever and make you realise the purpose of being what you are - a facet you never knew, a feeling you never acknowledged was inside you. Of all the things I missed the most at the Bahnhof, my camera tops the list, coz it was something in that very special moment that I wanted to capture on film and treasure it for all my life. Yet the more I think about those days, the more the impression deepens and the clearer everything gets in my memory - a very sweet lady came along and without any effort did the most simplest things and brought a smile to my face. To some of you this may sound a load of crap and nothing special, but I totally understand, you would have to live that moment to realise how it affected me - it sannot be described in words - but whatever be the case - will cherish these 3 Mars bars for a very long time :-)