The Editor,
The article ‘Giving Lessons from Life’ in Namaskaar was very inspiring. I will like to add one incident, just to re-emphasise the beautiful message that you wanted to convey.
The piece of land on which our hostel for the tribal girls living in remote forest is now situated, is donated to us by one poor tribal. Before we shifted to this location, we were his neighbours, living in a modest house.
When we started considering setting up of the hostel, we could not find a suitable place. The neighbour guessed the problem and told us: “You can well build the hostel on our land, in the next village”. We visited that land immediately and started construction.
At long last we succeeded in getting the land transferred in the name of Vedchhi Pradesh Seva Samiti. The poor tribal did not take a Paisa, saying — ‘It is for our girls.’
Finally, we went to the Registrar for signing the papers. The old man was in his clumsy dress, without chappals, supported by his grandson. Our co-ordinator managed to take the chappals from that boy, to give it to the old man. He was very uncomfortable and could hardly walk, as that was the first time in his life that he had put on the chappals. After the formalities were over, the first thing the old man did was to take out the chappals and carried them in his hands, till we sat in the jeep.
I reached the hostel, contemplating over this unique donation.
—Bhikhubhai
