Omshanti. I generally don't start a new topic because whatever I have to write is already covered in some thread or the other, but my experience in a bus yesterday has forced me to start a new topic after a long time, as I could not find any thread on this topic on this forum.
Like everyday, I was travelling home from my office by a city bus. Since all the seats were full I had to stand like many other passengers. Soon two elderly ladies (aged nearly 70 years) got into the bus and started searching for a seat. In our city the seats on the right side are occupied by men while some seats on the left side are reserved for ladies. One of the elderly ladies who was searching for a seat or something to hold on to stand comfortably was offered a seat by a kind hearted young lady. The elderly lady occupied the seat thanking the young lady. But the other elderly lady was not so lucky. She was searching for a seat on the side where men were sitting and standing. Finding all the seats occupied she tried to take the support of a seat to balance herself with her bag that she was carrying. I was standing two seats away from her. I could see that she was hardly able to stand.
I waited for a about a minute to see if anyone would offer her a seat. Nobody cared. So, I requested the young boy sitting next to her to vacate his seat for the elderly lady. The boy said he could not vacate the seat as he was not feeling well. I asked him to request the boy sitting next to him. I deliberately said it loudly so that the other boy and the slightly older men (in their 40s) sitting in the next seat could also hear me. But all the three were unmoved. They continued to sit with an insensitive heart ignoring the pains of the elderly lady. My co-passengers standing with me were seeing all this and I deliberately made general comments on the behaviour of the sitting passengers so that they would vacate their seat at least out of the fear of being insulted in front of everyone. But still they continued to sit like a stone.
When I was about to ask the elderly lady to hand over the bag to me, the lady herself requested the boy sitting next to her to lend some space so that she could sit with him. The heartless boy did not offer his seat to her even after that, but somehow the boy sitting next to him vacated his seat for the old lady. To my surprise, the boy who was giving excuses of his ill-health so far vacated his seat to get down from the bus after just five minutes. He could not vacate his seat for the old lady even for five minutes.
All this left me completely shattered and I am not yet able to forget the feeling of utter disgust at the attitude of the society towards the elders. I feel ashamed to be a part of the society that could be so insensitive. Those men were unable to think that they could face a similar situation in their old age. They could not think that their own parents could be in such a situation. They were unable to think what others would think of their behaviour.
I know everyone is not like them, but I find the number of such insensitive persons increasing by the day. Despite this forum being in existence for more than two years, not even a single thread dedicated to the plight of the elderly proves that we all are also insensitive to some extent. I feel that we are building our future through our present actions. Therefore, if we want our future to be dignified, we should change our present actions. Respecting and helping the elders is one such improvement that we can bring in our present to safeguard our future.
Thanks,
On Godly Service,
Arjun
Like everyday, I was travelling home from my office by a city bus. Since all the seats were full I had to stand like many other passengers. Soon two elderly ladies (aged nearly 70 years) got into the bus and started searching for a seat. In our city the seats on the right side are occupied by men while some seats on the left side are reserved for ladies. One of the elderly ladies who was searching for a seat or something to hold on to stand comfortably was offered a seat by a kind hearted young lady. The elderly lady occupied the seat thanking the young lady. But the other elderly lady was not so lucky. She was searching for a seat on the side where men were sitting and standing. Finding all the seats occupied she tried to take the support of a seat to balance herself with her bag that she was carrying. I was standing two seats away from her. I could see that she was hardly able to stand.
I waited for a about a minute to see if anyone would offer her a seat. Nobody cared. So, I requested the young boy sitting next to her to vacate his seat for the elderly lady. The boy said he could not vacate the seat as he was not feeling well. I asked him to request the boy sitting next to him. I deliberately said it loudly so that the other boy and the slightly older men (in their 40s) sitting in the next seat could also hear me. But all the three were unmoved. They continued to sit with an insensitive heart ignoring the pains of the elderly lady. My co-passengers standing with me were seeing all this and I deliberately made general comments on the behaviour of the sitting passengers so that they would vacate their seat at least out of the fear of being insulted in front of everyone. But still they continued to sit like a stone.
When I was about to ask the elderly lady to hand over the bag to me, the lady herself requested the boy sitting next to her to lend some space so that she could sit with him. The heartless boy did not offer his seat to her even after that, but somehow the boy sitting next to him vacated his seat for the old lady. To my surprise, the boy who was giving excuses of his ill-health so far vacated his seat to get down from the bus after just five minutes. He could not vacate his seat for the old lady even for five minutes.
All this left me completely shattered and I am not yet able to forget the feeling of utter disgust at the attitude of the society towards the elders. I feel ashamed to be a part of the society that could be so insensitive. Those men were unable to think that they could face a similar situation in their old age. They could not think that their own parents could be in such a situation. They were unable to think what others would think of their behaviour.
I know everyone is not like them, but I find the number of such insensitive persons increasing by the day. Despite this forum being in existence for more than two years, not even a single thread dedicated to the plight of the elderly proves that we all are also insensitive to some extent. I feel that we are building our future through our present actions. Therefore, if we want our future to be dignified, we should change our present actions. Respecting and helping the elders is one such improvement that we can bring in our present to safeguard our future.
Thanks,
On Godly Service,
Arjun