BEHIND THE GOOD SAMARITANS
“You
never know where a blessing can come from.”
Teena
Marie
This
morning, I met a young lady (let me call her Vishakha), after a very long time…
She was on way to her office. During the brief course of our discussion, I
learnt, that she was presently working for a reputed CA firm after completing
her CA exam some years ago. She seemed very happy about the progress she had
made. “Thank you Sir, for the help you had offered when I needed it the most,”
the girl said. “I can’t help enough Nilesh Sir, too,” she added, “It was
because of his financial help, that I could venture into doing Chartered
Accountancy.”
Years ago, when she
was doing her B.Com, Vishakha had come to see me, along with her mother. I
learnt, that the mother was raising Vishakha all alone as her husband had
deserted them. They lived in a small, rented house and faced a lot of financial
problems. But, Vishakha was not only a bright student, she was, also, a
confident and articulate girl. I had immediately agreed to help her with her B.Com
studies without charging her any fees.
But, was it
true, that I had taught Vishakha free of any charges?
Not really.
Nilesh, whom
Vishakha had mentioned in the conversation, was one of my earliest students.
When I was teaching him in his final-year B.Com, I was a bachelor and worked
till late in the nights. Nilesh, who worked as a mechanic at a workshop of one
of his relatives, attended my last batch (at 9.30) every night. His clothes and
hands, often, were greasy. But, Nilesh’s enthusiasm and energy were never low. After
completing his graduation, Nilesh started his own business and did well for
himself. What impressed me the most was this: One day he had come to see me to
share with me his desire to financially help some deserving students. Over the
years that followed, I would connect many deserving students to Nilesh and he
would quietly help them. Since he had seen me working late into nights, he had told
me one more thing: “Sir, whenever you forego some deserving students’ fees,
please let me know, I will pay you on their behalf and that would remain only between
us.” It’s, at this suggestion, that he had mentioned about another Good
Samaritan – a successful businessman in the locality. “Sir, this generous man quietly
hands me over the aid amount, which I would be passing on to you, so that the
deserving young kids can complete their studies and do well in life.”
Nilesh had reached
out to Vishakha during her CA studies, with the Good Samaritan, always,
remaining anonymous… The young lady was now a young accounting professional…
“Send a ‘Thank-you’ message to Nilesh Sir, today,” I prodded Vaisakha, this morning, “Tell him about your progress… He will be delighted.”
And, what about
the Good Samaritan, who helped all of us anonymously… Who will send a ‘Thank-you’
message to him, today? Vishakha doesn’t know about him and I haven’t ever met
him…
Maybe, you and I
will never be able to know or meet every Good Samaritan in our lives…
You see, behind every Good Samaritan, there
is another Good Samaritan… Yes, we will never know where a blessing can come from.
*All names changed
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: Pixabay
Video: Dare to do Motivation
Comments