“Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.”― Roy T. Bennett
It is often believed that Christmas vibes and feelings are triggered by Christmas love and evergreen trees. The Christmas lights, decor, and jingling bells create warmth on cold wintry mornings and a sense of joy among fellow humans. We have none of these in the building society we live in but we watch the Christmas splendour and feel it in the air when we walk into the market square.
In our building society, plants are tended and watered regularly, and the building is swept and mopped frequently. I often wondered who sweeps the staircase. I leave home early and get back late in the afternoon. I am usually welcomed by a sense of stillness but a couple of months back I met a lady sweeping the stairs. She was young, clad in a sari and pretty looking. She carried a vibrant smile and was energetic. When asked who she was, she said she was ‘Prithuka’.
A few days later I saw her holding the broom and toying with it as she stood at the end of the corridor near our doorway. She did not speak but her eyes looked at me in askance. I felt she needed some help in the form of clothes or cash but she did not ask me. She started sweeping as soon as I turned to go. The coincidences kept popping up. I would definitely meet her on the stairs while returning. We would smile at each other and part.
I would often find Prithuka working in the far-end buildings while I would be parking my car in a remote corner behind one of the buildings. She would often wait and look at me as if there was something she wanted to speak of. My response would be to smile and walk away. One day I told my husband, ‘Why does she look at me like that? There’s something she wants to say, but she shrugs it off.’
‘Probably she wants to drive like you or work like you, he said
‘I didn’t see admiration for me, I said
The very next day Prithuka gave a shout as she saw me park the car. I had never heard her until then. I waited patiently as she rushed through the dingy nooks and corners.
She looked at me and gave a beaming smile and began talking to me. She spoke in Hindi with plenty of Marathi words. The way she spoke to me made me feel as though she was aware that I didn’t speak Marathi well.
She enquired, “Are you working for the junior college located in Laxminagar?”
I said, ‘not exactly, but I work at the nearby engineering college’
After breathing a sigh of relief, she said, “My son has been admitted to Tirupati college on the other side, which is quite expensive and far away. Could you help him get into the junior college near you at Laxminagar?”
Taking a deep breath, she said, ‘I am Ranjit, the gardener’s wife.’
I said, “I will meet with the authorities tomorrow and inform you.”
I made some time from my schedule and met the Principal of the Junior college who said that he would decide after meeting the parents. I conveyed the news to Prithuka who agreed immediately. She wrote down my name and a few details on a piece of paper.
The next day I found Prithuka with her daughter and her son waiting in the lounge in front of my cabin. She was neatly dressed in a festive saree and her daughter and son greeted me with a smile on their faces. Prithuka’s daughter looked like her while the son resembled Ranjit. The kids were well dressed too.
I said, ‘Prithuka you need to walk ahead to the Junior college’.
‘I was there, but no one was willing to attend, she said remorsefully.
In no time, I led them to the Junior College and introduced them to the Principal.
‘What do the parents do?’ he asked me in English. Is it possible for them to pay the fees?
I nodded and said they worked for our society building and were hardworking and sincere.
There was a look of expectancy on the boy’s and girl’s faces as if they saw me as the messiah who could save them.
I added saying, ‘I think the boy did well with the distinction, but the distance and fees bother them’
The Principal called the head clerk and had a discussion about the availability of seats. They asked Prithuka to come with an advance fee the next day. The admissions happened quickly the very next day. The head clerk got in touch with the clerk in the previous college and saw that Prithuka got a reimbursement of the fees she had paid with a loss of just rupees 200.
Thereafter, I was greeted by greater smiles from Ranjit and Prithuka. They now addressed me, ‘Madam’. While I would sweep our doorstep and keep it clean, Prithuka kept the corridor spotless. Near my doorway, I have two mud bricks on which I draw and colour rangolis, the traditional Indian decorations and patterns made with ground rice to beautify it. It is usually drawn on the floor but then Prithuka would have found it difficult to sweep around it. The bricks were perfect and I do it once or twice a week. One of the weeks was busier than usual, and I could not change the design and draw afresh. Usually, Fridays are auspicious, and I found the brick stones swept clean when I returned home. I knew it was time to decorate the bricks with colours before lighting the evening lamp.
Prithuka was around every afternoon. During Diwali, she noticed that I was working almost till the festival. ‘Don’t you have a vacation for Diwali,’ she asked me.
I said, ‘We do have a vacation of just a few days.’
She looked at me and said, ‘Please call me for any help, and I will do it for you’.
‘I will definitely call you if I need some assistance, I replied
One day, the car seemed to wobble a lot, however, I did not bother much. After I had parked it, Ranjit swept around the place. He noticed that one of the tyres was slowly losing air. He called a known person to remove the tyre after informing us. He went along and got the tyre repaired and brought it back. He looked into the whole process and told me, ‘Madam, you can drive safe tomorrow, the tyre is repaired.’
During Diwali, the kids would burn a lot of crackers and the premises would get strewn with paper pieces and unburnt crackers but Ranjit and his fellow employees would never show their resentment towards the job. Instead, they would pick the unburnt crackers and help little children learn to burst these crackers under his able guidance.
Life is difficult for Prithuka and Ranjit but they have always smiled away their worries. The children wake up at 4 am to study while Ranjit and Prithuka cook and keep things ready before reaching our building for work
The couple has been of great help to all of us, cleaning the drains, adding soil to the garden, spraying insecticides to keep germs and mosquitoes at bay, beautifying the building and many other tasks. There have been numerous times when this couple has helped me. The acts of kindness and love they show throughout the year are no less than a Christmas present.
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”― Desmond Tutu
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