Is He Handicapped?.....No.

As I have no cooking facility in my house, I depend upon the restaurants near my residence & office for my meals. In Bangalore, some of the restaurants have a typical way of operating. I don’t know whether it is same in other metropolitan cities in India. The customer has to first go to the payment-counter, pay the money for the item desired, take the token from the cashier, produce the token before the service-counter, and then wait at the counter to be served.

Last Sunday I had gone for breakfast to one such restaurant. As I waited for my turn to be served food, I noticed a handicapped person on the footpath just outside the restaurant. His legs were of no use, & he had to drag himself using his hands to move. He seemed to be a beggar looking forward to earn his daily bread. I watched him as he inched his way towards the people who were standing outside the eating area. They had either finished their breakfast or were deciding upon the menu. To my surprise, the beggar did not approach anybody. He seem to be waiting for something.

At that moment a two-wheeler arrived, carrying a person and two children. The beggar immediately went towards them. And instead of asking them to give something, he helped the children get down from the vehicle. The two kids seem to know him, as they smiled when they saw him. After the children were on their feet, their father spoke some words to this beggar. Even though I do not understand their language fully, I understood enough to make me feel proud of the beggar, or the person whom I assumed to be one. I realized that this person is a day-time care-taker for the children. His disability does not hamper him, and he is able to earn his living with dignity. It was a moment filled with joy for me to realize that we have one beggar less in our society.

I learned the lesson that it is our mind which hampers our progress & not our body. Had this person thought that he cannot earn his living once his legs were of no use, he would have been left to the mercy of others. But his confidence in himself, and his will-power had made him self-dependent.

My thought-process in this line was then disrupted as my breakfast was served by the man behind the counter...