The moment of my life that changed everything

As I paced down the lane to the Brindavan garden, I looked around me. Wow, this place was so beautiful. Trees, flowers and every aspect of nature’s beauty surrounding me. It almost seemed perfect. There were even food and drink stalls here and there. Mysore was at its best that day. Then I saw a figure in the corner of my view and I swivelled my eyes.

There was a woman sitting on the rough concrete.

An old woman, whose eyes were crinkled in pain and whose trembling hands were weakly stretched out. Her clothes were dirty, ragged and old. She looked like she was made of ash like she would be grasped by the wind and be gone in an instant. I had never seen anyone look so delicate and fragile. I was transfixed. It was then that I had realised she was mumbling something; a language. A language I couldn’t understand. I didn’t know what to do, and as I was about to walk away, the lady caught a glimpse of me and was staring at me.

I gazed into her eyes and saw a flash of hope, longing and despair. She was moaning louder, this time, trying to move closer to where I was standing, her dirty hands outstretched even more. Moving towards her, I found myself taking a bank note out of my pocket and offering it to her. With a little hesitation at first, she accepted it with a gesture of gratitude and I beamed back. I walked off to the garden, feeling puzzled but happy. When I had returned, I spotted the lady again at the end of the sidewalk, next to a stall. But this time, there was something different.

There was a bottle of water in her hand.

I felt a burst of joy for the lady. After that, the thoughts were racing through my mind. How I had basically almost saved a life. What might have happened if I left that woman stranded there! How we shouldn’t take things for granted. It made me see life from a different point of view. That experience had changed everything for me.