"Cream Polish Sir"... came the voice as I was walking on my way to a coffee shop from Bandra station. As I ignored it, assuming it might be for someone else, it came again, "Cream Polish Sir, neutral colour". And then again "Will clean up the shoes Sir". That's when I realized the voice was actually following me.
As I looked back, I was surprised to see a man with a plastic bag in one hand and a shoe brush in the other. He was dressed in a check shirt and trousers and had a frail look about him. And he said again "Cream Polish Sir, neutral colour". I said no thank you and kept on walking. But he would follow me for a few seconds and again say "Please Sir, only 5 Rs". I stopped, though a while, looked at my shoes, and said, sorry, but these aren't leather shoes, so a polish would do them no good. He again said "Will still clean them sir". I just said no thanks, and walked away, into the coffee shop.
And this, is the moment, that still haunts me.
As I paid the bill in the coffee shop, close to Rs 500, it just stuck me, that Rs 5, was actually inconsequential to me as an amount. As I walked back to the station, I looked for the guy, hoping to find him. Alas, he wasn't there.
On the way back, all I could think of was what could drive a young educated man to request for shoe cleaning for a meager sum of Rs 5 in this city, where even the cheapest snack costs Rs 10. This megalopolis is famous for rewarding the hardworking, and yet, there was a young man, fighting to earn Rs 5 for polishing shoes. The worst part is that Rs 5 is not even a fair rate for what he was offering, cobblers generally charge Rs 10 at all the train stations for a cream polish.
On my trudge back to my flat from the station, all I could think of was all the countless people who beg for money on the roads, and probably earn something, and the young man who wanted to work, but alas, there was nothing for him to do. This is an image, which will probably stay with me for the rest of my life, with the regret of not being able to help a fellow human being. And as I wind down for the night, this has been a reminder, of the need to give back to the society - lucky as I have been to have received so much. Hopefully, I'll have enough opportunities to redeem myself on this journey of life.
