Eyes wide open

Today has opened my eyes to many things.

1. It's extremely hot at one in the afternoon in Delhi.
2. A Maruti Zen is an extremely stubborn car.
3. It is very difficult to push a stubborn car almost two kilometres in aforementioned heat.
4. There are nice people left in the world.

As you might've guessed, our Zen broke down about two kilometres from home at one in the afternoon. If a Delhiite's reading, it broke down near the embassy of Qatar and we live in SP Marg (near the Taj Palace, incidentally). Since it was too close to home to abandon it there and too far away from a garage to call for help, in a moment of madness, we decided to push it as far as we could.

So began the first effort. We went probably 700 metres, looking into each passing automobile with pleading eyes, but to no avail. The next stretch was a climb up and we were bracing ourselves for a heculean effort when my eyes were opened.

A man in a scooter appeared out of nowhere and offered to help us. So there it was, my dad steering the car, the guy in the scooter riding behind us with a foot pushing the car forward and me trying to keep up with them on foot. I gave up the chase after a while, opting to walk home, rather than amusing passers by with my catching up act.

So I had to cover about a kilometre and a half on foot, in the sweltering heat. I consoled myself- hey it's better than pushing a car the same distance. Still, it was demanding work, and in seconds I was dripping with sweat. And then my eyes were reopened.

Out of nowhere came two men with plastic tumblers and buckets of cool sherbet. They walked straight towards me. One handed me a tumbler and the other poured sherbet into it.

My initial impulse was to tell them that I had no money (it was all in the car). But as though they understood my expression, one of them said.

"Pi lijiye bhaiya, garmi mein aa rahe ho."(Drink up, brother, you've been walking in the heat.)

"Thankyou ji," I said and gratefully drank up what was offered.

"Thoda aur piyenge aap?"(Will you drink some more?)

"Nahi Bhaiya, Thank you."

And I walked away, homewards, with my eyes opened twice by complete strangers, who, on first sight, we would have dismissed as inconsequential, even petty. I know I would've, and I've been proved wrong.

Thank God for the good people left on earth. But for them, I might've been too weak to type.

Ironically, I don't even know their names.