That small tax

I do believe in god and so does in fairies, maybe I am little immature or simply gone nuts but I know a guy who is not a saint or a traditional religious person but I am damn sure he is the man of god. Three days back I was about to leave for my office when I noticed Daler Singh, he is an aged man must be in his late fifties or early sixties, I greeted him and he smiled back and as I was about to ask him about his health he caught hold of a little kid who was carrying some candies.

That kid was new in our block and his young parents just shifted in a flat adjacent to my home. Then he said “give me two candies or two kisses” the kid was looking at his candies and he must have counted them in his mind. There were four candies, the clever smile on Daler Singh’s face made him insecure. The thought of sharing those wonderful sweets was too terrible for that kid and kissing Daler Singh was not that good either.

He was about to cry and his expression were about to change and exactly at that time Daler left that kid. That kid was feeling numb, I am damn sure about that but the chance of getting freedom without sharing sweet experience was definitely a blessing. He sprinted and Daler had that typical clever smile on his face.

Then he said I am feeling much better now after a brief time in hospital. I knew that he was suffering from high blood pressure and severe back pain. He said my health does not allow me these precious moments any more maybe it’s a month or more after my medication that I caught hold of this sweet little kid. I wished him best for his health and left for my office.

As I drove towards my office I was pushed back to my childhood, the year was 1986 or 87 when Daler caught hold of me, when I was returning from a candy store and the option was same either gave him kisses or share your candies. At that time I feared him and so does every kid of my age. But today I know he is a saint, without any rosary in his hands, a successful businessman a loving father and a great human being. He loves kids and he loves to play with them.

Daler was very young with two small kids when his wife died due to some incurable disease. His family members and friends suggested him to get married again but he declined. He dedicated his life to his young kids, raising them in loving environment became his only priority. He succeeded on that but some where the loss of companion left him with a deep wound.

Maybe that was the reason he not only loved and played with his kids but every little one in the neighborhood. I remember, kids use to hide in whatever place they could find to save themselves. Many of them understood his psyche and they lovingly kissed him but few never kissed him but they offered him candies with broken heart. He took those sweets and tried to negotiate with little chaps. Many times kids kissed him and got their candies back and many tried to escape while fetching those sweets from his hands. He loved to chase them and many times few little kids complained to their mothers about that candy bandit.

Many times kids use to pass through the small park and preferred to take a longer route instead of negotiating with Daler. I still remember a day when he got hold of me and I declined to kiss him he chased me and my candies scattered on the road. That day I complained to my father he laughed because he knew the games of Daler and he assured me to get him fixed as well. But he was a great charmer he came to our home with a huge pack of candies and chocolates as well. Every week at least he went to one of the homes with a pack of sweets simply to ask for forgiveness from little angels.

Today he still loves kids but his health does not allow him to play his favorite game. I named him a gentle bandit, who charged the tax of love from kids.

Today our society doesn’t need any Temple or Mosque we have abundance of that, but still we don’t see humility or love, we don’t trust our family members, forget about neighbors and trusting the stranger is totally out of scene. Maybe our society needs more people like Daler Singh.