Pinch of the Purse

As I awaited my turn at the dental clinic, I could see before me a simple-looking gentleman, turning the pages of a sophisticated magazine ‘People’, and from the way he was turning the pages, it was quite obvious that he didn’t know how to read English. After a little while, it was his turn, and the dentist did a quick check on his teeth, and told him that one of his teeth needs to be extracted, and the gentleman asked her quite casually how much it would cost, and she replied in a matter of fact tone, rupees twelve hundred. Probably the amount was far beyond his imagination, and he asked her if it could be less, and the young lady dentist retorted that she could not reduce the amount, since the extraction involved a lot of work.

But the man could not take her words as final, and went on arguing with her that the amount was far too much for him to bear, since he was poor. The dentist would not listen to his pleas: ‘If you want to get it done, you are welcome’. She was obviously getting annoyed with him, but looking at the situation, I felt sad for this gentleman. She had prescribed some antibiotics to be taken three days before he wishes the extraction to be done. He had given her hints that he had to first of all collect the money, then only could he visit the clinic. This gentleman might be earning some three thousand rupees per month, and if he has to cough out one third of his livelihood to pull out a tooth is too much for him.

The same is true for most of the people around us, and I most often take it for granted that most people around me cannot afford to avail the sophisticated clinical facilities, and super speciality health care facilities available today. It seldom occurs me to bargain the rates when I feel that I am being charged far more than the just charges; I take it for granted that the charges, especially consultation fees with physicians, are non-negotiable. The fact is there are very few physicians and health care assistants, who decide to demand only a just fees from the patients; human greed knows no bounds, and if the doctors don’t have any shame to demand as much as they want, why can’t I tell them how much I can really pay.

In a cultured society such as ours (was there ever an uncultured society in the world?), to bargain is considered a mean job; gentlemen and ladies of decent origin are not expected to bargain, however high the charges are; it is considered impolite among the affluent, and that is the reason why some of the sophisticated shops and eateries would not mind putting the prices of things ten times more, and would be sure that no one would challenge the price. But to bargain and pay only what is due is the birth right of not only every poor, but also of every individual. It is painful for those who had to sweat out to earn a living, to pour out the fruits of their sweat and blood in the hands of some greedy men and women.

When I accompany some of my friends for shopping or some purchase, I feel it annoying if they do not even make an effort to bargain the prices, at least wherever it is possible. There are many who do not mind paying whatever they are asked, because we have not earned the money, or that someone else had laboured to earn the money. Our purses do not pinch us, and unfortunately most of the people around us have a hole in their pockets, and money does not stay with them. I would like to see my purse always pinching me, because that is how I can truly stand in the company of the millions of other men and women around me, and experience solidarity with them.

Showers of Blessing

It is quite interesting to observe how it rains in some places and not in some other; a few minutes before we began our journey, the sky was dark, and we were sure it would pour quite heavily. Therefore we preponed our journey, so that we might not be caught by the rain. But some half an hour later, the rain was nowhere to be seen. As we got out of the city, we came across dry ground, and not a drop of water was there. Where has the rain gone, and why did it not rain here? I was asking myself. How is it nature is so insensitive to the suffering and pain of the people? We cannot force the rain to come down on a particular place and not another. Maybe that is a grace in disguise.

Fortunately rain is something that one cannot make claim over, and no one can hoard it in the godowns, storerooms and warehouses. Luckily rain cannot be bought and sold in the open market; it is not yet a commodity which can be auctioned, and handed over to the highest bidder. Is it not something beautiful that some of the most beautiful things on earth are beyond the reach and control of the human beings – the rain, the shine, the moonlight, the movement of the winds and pressures, the movement of the sun and the moon, the growth of plants, the inner dynamics of the human body and mind. Thank God, no one can put a copyright to the monsoon rains.

Though much of the natural resources had been at the disposal of humanity, God had not given control over these resources, which are far more significant and noteworthy, than the minerals, water, and the natural resources, such as the flora and fauna. I cannot imagine what the situation on earth would be if someone had a copyright over rain and the air we breathe, and we would have been paying through our nose to even to breathe and to get wet in the first rains of the season. Now we know that God is a wise person, who knew that if the human beings were to have control over these, they would have made a mess of them, and therefore he decided not to let them mess with his great gifts.

The many attempts of scientists and technicians to bring down artificial rain have met with utter failure; human beings have learned that there are at least a few things in the universe, where they do not have the last word, and have to turn to the great power. Sometimes it may appear that the poor peasants and farmers get far too little rain than the people who are responsible for desertification and deforestation; but if we look at the phenomenon carefully, we would realize that it is not the case always. There might be rare exceptions, but by and large, nature is far more generous to the poor than to those who can afford to go without it.

Rain has been one of the signs of God’s blessing from time immemorial, and even today simple people consider it a special blessing of God, and without his mercy, we may not have rain for months and even years. This is one of the prerogatives of God, and we can get it only from him, and there is no shortcut to receiving this gift. The first drops of rain are considered to contain the sweetness of the heavens, and they are believed to contain healing power – scientifically, the first rains contain minerals which have the capacity to bring healing and wholeness to persons. Today I pray for this rain to the Lord of the rains, to shower his blessings on the people who yearn for it.

The Road not Taken

There is a sense of guilt as I pass by dozens of cars stopping by a prestigious convent school close to our house, to drop girls attending this school. Looking at the cars, one cannot be mistaken that most of the girls of this school come from the “top cream” of the society, and the people who manage the school are proud to educate these students, who might in future take leadership roles in the country! But I would be blatantly wrong if I were to brand only this nuns-run school and spare the schools run by our own congregation in the city! There is an unprecedented rush to admit boys into our school; and the first choice of any well-off parents, business persons, government servants, and political leaders is to seek admission in our school for boys and of counterpart Sisters’ school for girls.

Sometimes I ask myself, is this for which we have been specially called – to educate the rich and the powerful in society, who have all the money and influence to buy the best of education in the country? Where is our preferential option for the poor? I understand we console ourselves saying that we have certain per centage of the seats each year reserved for the economically backward, and certain number of seats for dalits and tribals. But can we justify running school for the most moneyed people in the city, while our special call to be prophetic voices might imply we do something else? I feel deep within, we forget our prophetic voices, or carpet them, and continue to run schools which may bring us both money and good results.

Very few religious congregations dared to close down their first class English medium schools and start vernacular language schools for the children of lower income groups, and for the socially neglected and marginalized groups. There are a hundred and one problems in running schools for the poor, especially in a metropolitan city; the students are sure to become a liability, and the school is bound to incur heavy loss and may even face bankruptcy; there will be uproar among the people who had been availing our generous service all these years; we might get miserable results, and the discipline may be at stake, and the school may become quite unmanageable! These are the fears which inhibit us from taking a positive step forward to look beyond our noses.

It is unfortunate that we do not look at the education of many neglected sectors of the society; say for instance, have we ever thought out the education of the thousands of children living on the roads and slums? The children of rickshaw pullers, the domestic workers, the manual laborers of the corporation who clean our streets, even before we wake up from sleep; the vegetable vendors, the hawkers! If we care for these neglected groups of people, who may never taste the kind of education we impart in our schools. I appreciate the efforts of the convent school closeby, which has given shelter to street children to reside on the terrace of their school, and have made them avail the English medium education to them.

It is a challenging task to close down the top schools that we are running in the heart of the city, but can we not think of opening some other schools where we would reverse the admission criteria? Here are some of the criteria that I would think would make a difference : the parents do not have a house of their own (i.e. living in a one room rented house), the parents have no job security, their combined income is below rupees 5,000 per month (needs to be verified physically), daily laborers, people who do not have an almirah to keep their clothes, and no bank accounts, who do not possess any vehicles, not even a two-wheeler, who go to work even on Sundays, who do not have any savings for future… It is a challenge, but if we cannot accept the challenge, then who will?