THAT FOOTBRIDGE... AND THIS PATIENCE







Two days ago, I had called up my bank (one of the leading private-sector banks in India) regarding certain issues relating to my existing loans with it. I was advised to visit the local branch (Loans division) to sort out those issues. So, yesterday, I landed up at our local branch at 12 noon and came out at 2:45!

Two hours and forty-five minutes was a huge time for such a small issue. But, I was not alone in this… There were so many waiting patiently just the way I did. Yes, I, too, was getting restless… But, I knew, that, by losing my patience, I would not gain anything… On the contrary, I would lose my poise, temper and health!

So, I chose to wait for my turn, very, very patiently! When my turn came, it only took about ten minutes to sort out my issues. “Thank you so much, madam,” I expressed my gratitude, and left that place gracefully…

On my way back, the autowala asked me if I was aware of the stampede at Elphinstone-road railway station… As I wasn’t, he went on to narrate the tragedy graphically… After reaching my office, I checked it online… and, I was left numb!

I don’t commute by the crowded Mumbai locals every day. But, lakhs of people do. The peak- hours commuting is literally a nightmare… Those who do, they know what a toll it takes on one’s emotional and physical health. Yes, many of us think, that the typical Mumbaikar becomes immune and tough through his daily train-grind…

Maybe true… Maybe not. But, I can really empathize with lakhs of daily commuters during the peak hours, particularly in the mornings. Every one of them sets his watch on the basis of Mumbai-local timings… If trains run in time, everything else does. A few minutes here and there, thus, derails the day for most office-goers…

I do not spend at my bank, waiting, the kind of time I spent yesterday. Perhaps, many do… I respect them for their patience. I do not commute by Mumbai locals every day, leave alone during the peak hours… For those who do, lakhs and lakhs of them, I really bow my head. Patience is a toughening device, a humbling one, too… That’s why, they say, “If you have patience, you have a lot with you.”






I haven’t got over the shock of yesterday’s tragic incident. My heart, like everyone else’s around me, goes to the families of the victims. May God grant them strength to bear the loss and move on with life…

Two hours and forty-five minutes inside the air-conditioned waiting-area of my bank… “Not a good-enough reason to revolt,” I keep reminding myself, today.


GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic's.:PTI/Internet

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