A HAPPY FAMILY

 A HAPPY FAMILY

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

20/IX/2022

 

            Let me narrate to you a story of an extremely rich at heart family. Their ‘mansion’ is adjacent to our colony. The family consists of a husband, wife and three children. The eldest daughter is about seven and the youngest son about three. They appear to be very simple and down to earth people. No airs, no show-sha, simple living kind of people.

 

            We have seen them build their house piece by piece. It was just a little makeshift shelter initially, now it is turning into a Villa. Their plot is massive, maybe a couple of acres.  Few Neem and Khejdi trees add greenery to the barren & sandy plot, where they stay temporarily. From a ‘Lean to’ they have moved to a tent under the biggest Neem tree. They plan to move to a new house once this one is finished.

 

            It was amazing to see them supervising construction with utmost professionalism. Not a labourer or dumper could go unaccounted for. The man is extremely alert. He receives & accounts for each load personally. His wife ensures that material is unloaded at the correct place.

 

            During one of the storms, their tent flew away. Before nightfall it was up again. This time they made sure the poles were dug in deep. The side flaps were anchored with stones. However, there was no electricity that evening. Hats off to this family, that didn’t bother them.

 

            The wife is a good home maker. She does all the shopping herself. Children sometimes accompany her. They haven’t installed a fridge, so they buy only that much which suffices for one day. The ‘sabzi-gari’ passes by twice daily, fresh vegetables are picked up as fresh as fresh can be.

 

            Their tent reminded me of my Army days when deployed for operations or training exercises. The biggest and most prominent tree used to be where the officer’s tent would be pitched. It would be deployed and ready before one returned from the round of the company. It also functioned as an office. A folding table, cot, chair, and a tarpaulin on the floor were good enough. A lantern or a petromax would be running till the electric line from the generator was pulled.

 

            Today, I saw a portable generator with them. Most important is charging the mobile to be in communication. So much coordination with suppliers etc has to be done. The labourers forgot to bring petrol, so they drained it from one of the motorcycles. Then there was light.

 

            They use designer furniture. Rustic and natural. Tables have been improvised from those longish ‘Cheen’ or stones used for construction of roofs, six to ten feet long. Under the neem tree a few ‘Bhatas’ (square stones) have been placed for sitting. Within minutes, benches and a dining table were created from the material at the site.

 

            Kids play all day. They don’t miss a chance to jump onto the piled sand. Parents don’t stop them and let them be. Sometimes friends of the kids come over. They improvise toys out of stuff available at the site. A small bamboo can become a gun or a dandiya, a stone can become a car or a truck. They smear each other with sand as if it's Holi. I have never seen the parents getting angry.

 

            I also noticed that they believe in cooking on a ‘choolha’. Three stones and a hearth is ready. A dry tree provides all the wood to stoke the fire. Before the sun went down and during our walks we found the husband with a ladle in his hand, helping the lady of the house. How sweet!

 

They have a 'charpoy' too. It is deployed for important guests to sit. Two small pitchers half buried in the ground provide chilled water. I remember burying beer bottles in the desert sand with a little sprinkle of water to chill overnight.

 

Kids frolic all day. Dad & Mom remain busy with the construction site. The way they care for their children is just amazing. I don’t know if the eldest goes to school but they surely would have plans.

 

Well, this is a ‘security guard’s’ family looking after a construction site here. They beat the heat, bear the storms & dance in the rain. They have a very big heart and tons of patience. Never have we found them sulking. They live in today and for today. May God bless them always.

 

On the other hand, people staying in villas made by them have long faces, are unhappy with what they have and keep cribbing about everything. The greed for more never ends.

 

 

एक हँसते गरीब को देखा, कितनी दौलत थी, उसके चेहरे पर...

 

Can we take a lesson or two from them? I wonder!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

© NOEL ELLIS