THE DUMB BOX

Pic.: Bhushan Thakkar

There are many people around us, who help the needy in small ways. They have been doing it for many, many years... and quietly!

Some young boys and girls become exam-writers for their less-fortunate counterparts. Some teachers teach poor children, without any fees, either going to their places or calling them home. I know a friend of mine, who takes care of the tuition-fees of a couple of deserving students, every year. He has been doing it quietly... and for years.

An elderly lady-doctor, who lives in our complex, treats, free of cost, the house-keeping ladies, whose job makes them prone to various diseases. Another elderly gentleman in our complex takes care of weekly groceries and school-fees plus uniform of a little girl of a family that lives in a roadside shanty. He has been, also, helping our watchmen in kind, for years... and quietly.

Many people give time to their community services... church, temple, gurudwara etc... and have been doing it quietly for years on. I know many young girls and boys, who visit old-age homes and children’s homes just to spend some time and make the inmates a little happier... They go and come quietly.

A friend of mine is a good artist. He goes to some local municipal-schools just to help some talented children out there to draw and paint well. Yes, he has been doing it all free and all quietly for years. Another chartered-accountant friend of mine, whenever dines in restaurants, makes it a point to pack whatever food is left on the table, and hand it to those who sleep on the roads, on his way home. I have been seeing him doing this for years... and all quietly!

Old clothes, old shoes, old newspapers, old whatever... what do we do with them? And, you know there are several Good Samaritans around us, who quietly put this old stuff to good use; and yes, they have been doing it quietly and happily for years.

Back home in Mangalore, when I was in high school, my grandma would ask me to read the letters my uncles and aunts (my dad’s brothers and sisters) would write to her in Konkani from Mumbai. She did not know how to read or write; but, I – her son’s sons – knew! I did it for years, till she passed way... Yes, I did it happily and proudly!

Another lady, who lived in our neighborhood, had a brother in Mumbai. He worked in Mumbai as a lift-man and sent money to her sister to bring up her two little-children. This lady would wait for me when I returned from college with a very humble request:  to read her brother’s latest letter and write a small reply to it in Konkani... I did it till I left Mangalore... Yes, I was fortunate to read and write, and she was not!

The interesting thing about all this was: I did not know, that, it was called ‘charity’ or ‘help’! I, and rest of us, just did it... There was no noise or ceremony about such things... and, that was it.

When I look back at all these things, I realize, that, this world has Good Samaritans – doing their good work – all round us, and they have been doing it quietly for years. That’s something very inspiring for us... something that instills hope and optimism in our hearts.

This is Lent, for us, the Christians. At each home, a small box is kept at the God’s altar. It is called ‘The Dumb Box’! Every time I look at it, I smile remembering what Jesus had told about charity, help or whatever you call it:

“When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know

what your right hand is doing.”

So, today, let’s drop our coins in this box – The Dumb Box – quietly and smile... Jesus is watching!

GERALD D’CUNHA