Of late, there has been talk of who can go to heaven, who will be allowed inside prayer houses, why global warming is irrelevant in the big picture, why progressives are not true followers of faith, why adulterers should be punished by death etc.
Against that backdrop, the class shown by 2 poor boys in India merits special attention. ( may have related this earlier).
On a visit few yrs ago we were in a taxi. I heard a banging on my side of the car door. It was a poor kid running to keep pace and banging. I paid no attention. He did this couple more times. The traffic eased up. The taxi started pulling away from the kid. Then suddenly I hear a loud bang. And his shout: door khula hai. The car door was not fully shut. And the kid busted his chops to get the attention of this A_hol in the car. Cant forget that kid.
Re: The classy kids
We were walking. A kid abt 5 yrs old approaches us muttering something. We assumed he was asking for money. I pulled some money out and offered it to him.
He looked at the bottle of water in my hand and said with dignity "paisa nahin chahiye. Pani".
I gave him the water bottle. He took the water bottle and ran away.
What a sweet boy.
Re: The classy kids
We were walking. A kid abt 5 yrs old approaches us muttering something. We assumed he was asking for money. I pulled some money out and offered it to him.
He looked at the bottle of water in my hand and said with dignity "paisa nahin chahiye. Pani".
I gave him the water bottle. He took the water bottle and ran away.
What a sweet boy.
I really like this one..it is very rare tht a kid on the road would say that!!!
Re: The classy kids
There was this kid that came up when we went to this mountain shrine in Islamabad called Lohay Dandi (Metal Dentures) and this kid wanted me to give him some money so he could get the spicy channa dal mix. I told him he should be eating vegetables and started walking away. He threw a rock at me which missed me by couple of inches otherwise I would've had a huge wound there. I don't trust these street slum dog kids.
Re: The classy kids
I guess if one treats another kindly, one receives it in kind. Who among us hasn't indulged ourselves with a spicy Channa dal mix ( or something equivalent). Painting poor street kids with such a broad negative brush....
Re: The classy kids
awww sweet.
That reminds me of something similar.
once in a shopping area in pakistan a kid came to me....he was about 8/9 yrs old....i was in a hurry or wasnot paying attention (actually my ignorance)......so i refused him the money thinking he was a beggar....to which he said 'main faqeer nahi hoon main yeh cheezain bech raha hoon'....i was embarrassed and said sorry.
Re: The classy kids
I guess if one treats another kindly, one receives it in kind. Who among us hasn't indulged ourselves with a spicy Channa dal mix ( or something equivalent). Painting poor street kids with such a broad negative brush....
Yeah and have my head knocked out cause of the Spicy Channa Dal mix? Knocking someones head out because of channa dal mix is out right criminal. Most of these kids are slum dog type hooligans and steal and smoke and god knows what kind of nefarious activities they get in to.
Re: The classy kids
It is always good to put ourselves in the other persons shoes. What happened to you was unfortunate. It appears to be the exception. In Pakistan assuming there are 15 million children living below poverty line. Or say in India say 100 million children below poverty line.
They did not choose to be born in a state of poverty. Let us just list the hurdles they face. The minute they are born, they are way behind their counterparts. If life was a 400 m race they are born with a 400 m deficit. And as they grow, they don't have access to things we take for granted- roti kapada makaan. Every day is stressful. From finding a place to do bodily functions to getting clean water to getting a meal. On top of it I have seen them slapped by police in a crowd - just for being there. Most adults are rude to them. Some get sexually abused by grown men.
It is a wonder that out of 115 million poor kids in Indo-pak a very very small minority is violent. And the 2 kids I came across- I have yet to come across a person with more grace and dignity under such circumstances.
The classy kids
When I was in India last year with my husband I was coming out of a mall with his sister when a group of boys approached us, 3 of them probably 7-8 in age. They were asking for money but my husbands sister asked if they were hungry and bought them food instead and they were really happy. I've never thought about it that way whenever I was in pak with my mum and a child used to approach us we used to ignore them because my masi's used to tell us 'inke moonh nai lagte'
So life gave me an unexpected lesson last year, they are only children I totally agree with the thread starter they haven't chosen to be born in those conditions.
Re: The classy kids
Two kids in Meknes, both about 7 or 8 year old, I smiled at them and they said something in Moroccan language to me in a mocking manner (probably swore at me).
Re: The classy kids
Chaliye - hum maafi mangthe hain unki tharaf se.
Re: The classy kids
I remember when I was in khi some years ago and a child knocked on the our car. he wanted $ but my mum refused and gave him some ice cream. He took the ice cream cone, walked ahead and disposed of it. i was shocked. can never forget that. sigh.