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Learning Life's Lessons

I get very anxious whenever my relations do not return home at their usual time. This can easily be avoided if they chose to communicate, but rarely do they do so. Often you don’t visualize the anxious moments which your loved ones faces until you are older, a bit wiser.

I remember an incident which was of my own making. I appeared for an interview, in a transport company, at the instance of my friend who had worked their earlier. He had a good rapport with the Manager and had spoken about me. The interview was quick, as I often had one word answers for most of his questions. Anyway, he took a sympathetic view and asked me to report to work from next day. I was overjoyed and started working there immediately.

I had quite a different picture of office in my mind perhaps from movies where working was pleasant and enjoying. Here I found the atmosphere totally different. The office was in a crowded part of the town and the building housed many firms like the one I had joined. For the first few days, I could not sit through the long office hours, so the question of finishing the work allotted to me became a difficult task. I had no habit of sitting at one place for a long period of time doing the same routine work allotted to me.

It was my duty to match the consignor and consignee copy of one particular consignment from each bundle and mark off in a register that the consignment booked at one place had been delivered at other end. Most of these documents had six digit distinct numbers and memorizing those numbers and finding the relative copy from other bundle, proved a difficult task for me as I am not really capable of retaining in memory six digit numbers. This slowed down my work considerably! The Manager was not very pleased about my work, as I had not shown any significant improvement even after one week.

But the funny thing was that I was also not too eager to continue in the post, having come to know from my colleague that he gets paid an amount of Rs.98/- even after continuing little more than one year in the post. He said he got a starting pay of Rs.95/- and an increase of Rs.3/- after a year. He usually had to borrow a sum of Rs.2/- on the salary day to be in order to get a note of hundred rupee denomination. [Though I was lucky again as the Manager gave me a starting salary of Rs.100/- I worked for him for little over two months.]

Anyways, after I started going to work, my uncle allowed a pocket money of Re.l for two days. I used to take this money from one corner place in the kitchen where uncle used to leave his entire salary. I used to take lunch from home and this money was sufficient for two days' bus fare, and tea, having purchased a season ticket for the train journey.

But one day, I spent the balance amount during lunch break over fruits and peanuts, which I was fond of. I had just 15 paise left in my pocket, which I knew will be sufficient for next day's morning bus fare. I thought, evening I could take a walk home, instead of taking the bus.

Next day, towards evening Manager had a round and he pulled me up for being slow. He insisted that I finish the work allotted to me, before I leave. I could not to say no to him, and this made me late. I missed my usual train as I reached the station late. Next train was late and it was around 9.30 PM when I got down at my destination. My bus stop where I boarded the bus was next to a shop where only 'Karumurai' was sold. This shop was in the process of closing. I wanted to buy a packet of peanuts from the shop, but it struck me that I have no money, even to take a bus, let alone buy an occasional packet of peanuts, which I used to indulge. I started for the long brisk walk home.

Unknown to me, my uncle had come home early from work and seeing that I had not returned home even after 9.30 PM, he set out immediately on foot in the direction of railway station. He was very concerned as I was quite new in that big city and he knew that I had no extra money, in case some unexpected things happen. I met him almost at the mid point of distance between our home and station. I still remember the look of relief on his face when he saw me first. But at the very next moment, he scolded me for being so late. When I reluctantly explained the situation, he shouted at me in anger and then asked me to take enough money from the kitchen from now on, so that I never face a situation like this.

I had learnt a great lesson on that night and I still fondly remember my uncle for the concern and that extra care he had shown.