It was a sunny afternoon and some friends decided to take us to lunch at an ‘upmarket’ restaurant not far from pwhy HQ.. we were a motley crowd of six ladies and two lads ranging from age 54 to age 4.. some from France, some from planet why, and even our very own NRI.
The place was empty when we arrived and settled down to order our fare.. A while later a drove of high society ladies entered and we were assailed by whiffs of heady perfumes and dazzled by sparkles quite inapropriate for a weekday afternoon.. they soon setttled taking up two large tables..
We carried on our lunch a little suprised at the lack of noise and realised that the ladies were down to serious business: they were playing tombola, and enormous wads of currency notes lay across the tables..
S our die hard volunteer, and M an NRI student with a heart, decided against all counsel provided by now hardened yours truly, fished out some Pwhy pamphlets and decided to commit what I knew was nothing short of sacrilege.. interrupt the ongoing session to seek support..
My heart went out to them as they set out with their smiles and hopes riding high..
The conclusion was foregone: a score or more of angry eyes spoke volumes as one irritable voice conveyed the message. How had they dared interrupt their game…
In a way I smiled smugly, like the proverbial cheshire cat, as I knew that they had experienced in person what I had tried in vain to convey for so long…
If I ended this post here, it could pose as a poor copy of the famous portraits of La Bruyere.. but I have to take it further. Not as a reformist, as I am not here to chnage the world, but simply to say how tragic and sad it is that people with education and resources waste their golden years in such futile activities… They could so easily bring happiness to themselves and joy to others by indulging in some activity that could help tarnsform the world around them…
But let us not forget oh darling yeh hai dilli..
