One needs to go for that extra mile. Who can dispute that
fact?, If you are living in an urban area, whether you like it or not, you will
end up in walking that extra mile.
I also started doing that. Walk an extra mile in the morning
to fetch milk from the nearby booth. If I choose to take the shortest route, I
have to go through the garbage heap dumped by fellow citizens. The garbage
which has been lying for days in this rainy season. Anxiously waiting for to be
taken by the corporation workers and given a ceremonial burial in no man’s
land. So I take a roundabout route to reach the booth, which gives me an
opportunity to go for an extra mile.
Last evening, I found a co-axial cable hanging from a tree right
in the middle of the road. It is not something new, one always finds those data
cables, anywhere and everywhere. But this one was broken and it was partially blocking
the traffic as every driver was using all his manoeuvring skills to avoid that
cable. In all likelihood it could strangle a two wheeler rider as he would see
it in the last minute only that too while reading an important whatsApp message
on his mobile phone while riding.
A good hearted person coming opposite to me, decided to go
for an extra mile to help the commuters. He did manage to pull the cable down
and put it aside on one side of the road. Good luck for him, all went well.
Little did he know that the data cable was entangled and mixed well with the
power lines all the way. The insulation of the cable was good, he didn’t get
electrocuted. If the cable was live, probably I would have ended details of this incident differently. Else, in that fraction of a second, seeing him getting electrocuted,
who knows I also would have gone an extra mile to save him. Then I would not
have been able to start this blog at all, forget about the ending !!
This morning somebody not just walked, ran that extra mile.
Again, I was on the way to the milk booth. “sir, bath room kither hey ?” (
where is the bathroom ? ). When I heard this question I looked back. I noticed
an old man, unshaven, unkempt, wearing really shabby clothes, yet to get over
from previous day’s hang over. From his appearance and question, I could make
out that he was not searching for a place to take a bath. I couldn’t feel that
he ever had such bad habits. I could also make out that, he was not pressed to
pass urine, there are still so many places around with no warning signage stating
“do not urinate here”, where he could do that job easily. So, he was actually pressed
with the a very serious but fundamental need. I gave him directions to the
nearest public toilet, almost a mile away. I could see that poor man virtually
running that extra mile. I sincerely hoped he had that much little money with
him to pay to use the toilet.
It is indeed a virtue to live in an urban area, it gives a person ample opportunities to go for that extra mile. Only thing is that it is too frequent
with that mile getting longer and more painful !
