It is hot nowadays, even at 7 in the morning, if you are out on a walk. By the time you reach home, you are sweating from every pore. Not very pleasant, but think of it this way: you get a free sauna and the more you sweat, the better it is for your body. After the walk, it would be a good idea to go and fill yourself up with your day's supply of potassium....the water from a tender coconut. It would be an even better idea not to bargain and wheedle with the coconut seller to sell his wares for 1 or 2 Rs. less. Try and remember that he is working honestly, that he is standing near the cart practically for the whole day, that he uses the money that he gets to buy food for himself and probably his family and that he will probably never have the good fortune of getting any kind of education, and improving his lot in life. The young coconut seller we go to is called Rakhim, (no, it didn't sound like Rahim) and he is at his spot from 6.30 am. Two days ago, I noticed that one of his fingers was wrapped in a dirty cloth, so I asked him what had happened. He looked at me dolefully and said that it had just got cut, 10 minutes prior to our meeting him. It bled a lot, he told me. The knife they use is so sharp that it is terrifying. The finger almost got dismembered, he told me. We paid him more money than required and asked him to go and see a doctor. Yesterday he was sporting a new bandage on the injured finger; yes, he said, he had gone to see a doctor. Yes, he said proudly, there were lots of stitches. Then he said, diffidently, can I give you back the extra money that you gave me, yesterday? No, we told him, that was for you. Can I buy you sweet mangoes and give those to you, he asked. We refused, with a smile and went away, our hearts full of warmth. Said I not, that there are good people in the world, and that life is beautiful?
Have a blessed day.
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