This happened on a visit to one of the many malls in Banglore. It was afternoon and I was standing bored in a queue to be served by a very famous restaurant chain. I overheard a lady ordering a full course meal for her kid. I looked at the kid. By no means would he have finished that amount of food. I wondered if she did it out of ignorance or apathy. Ironically, just outside the mall there was this huge settlement of people who probably lived a hand to mouth existence and would have been surprised at our lack of discipline while ordering and throwing away food.
As I stood with these thoughts and disillusioned in general, there came a family which asked the attendant to pack their remaining food in a container. The attendant frowned at having to do something out of his way, for he was better off serving people rather than packing left overs for some nutty customer. The man(probably the father) politely requested him to pack it so that they could go back home and finish the meal later, rather than throwing it in the dump which would have been sheer wastage. The stern and confident request made the attendant do as was asked. I smiled and so did many others. I could sense the man was probably a high flying executive by his mannerisms but what was more endearing was that he had his basics right.
It reimposed my faith in the belief that charity begins at home. To change the world you need to first change yourself. That man, who, inspite of his economic stature knew the value of food, would leave a rich legacy for his kids. A legacy that is not materialistic but yet far more treasurable! People like this remind me of the inherent capabilities of the brash and the insensitive generation …yeah that's us :)
