toddler teacher

Been a while since blogging, but some things are worth being penned and shared... here's one such experience...

 

the last day of our trek to Roopkund, and at shouting distance is Ran-ka-dhar. I'm among the last people (Shreyas and Sidd being the others) walking in our trek group, along with Manoj who was the rear-guard of our trek. I find a chocolate bar in my pocket, but I'm not interested to eat at that moment. Just then, I see a kid, about a year-and-half old, standing in the courtyard of his house, blissfully playing. I tell Manoj, "Manoj bhai, ye chocolate bacche ko de kar aa jaunga, ruko." He takes it from me, and goes himself, since the kid seems not to understand other languages yet, when I call him. The little one happily takes the chocolate and safely puts it into the tiny pocket of his shorts. Just as Manoj bids a farewell, his mother calls out (translating to) "uncle ko pranam karo.". Without a moment's hesitation or second thoughts, the kid bends down to touch the feet of Manoj seeking his blessings.

It is the pure and unscathed humility of childhood, I figure out, that let the kid be so deft in listening to his mother. He doesn't spare time to thoughts of knowing (or not) whose blessings he was seeking, whether the elder is worthy of the respect, or any of those things that go through our minds when we're asked of an act of reverence. It is this toddler teacher that taught me, reverence to people doesn't involve answers to questions of the sort.

That moment is fresh into my thoughts even after a whole month since we trekked. And here it goes, lest I forget it over time, serving a reminder for later..