The world is a cruel and unfair place; we know this and we accept our fate when it’s handed to us. However, there’s always some good hiding out somewhere and if you’re lucky enough, it might just cross paths with you.
Just like this old man’s story (Originally posted on Humans of Bombay) which will make your heart fill up with love and warmth.
Having run away at the age of 7 and losing a leg in a train accident, this man named Mr Sheikh has seen hardships of life ever since he was a child.
I’ve lived a very difficult life. I ran away from home when I was 7, because I didn’t want to be a burden on my poor father. I fell off from a running train and lost my leg. When the doctors asked me about my parents, I lied and said I was an orphan – that became my new reality.
Being put in an orphanage wasn’t his life’s destiny either so he ran away from there too and ended up being a beggar. But fate had other plans for him and the cops arrested him for begging and he was sent off to juvenile jail.
There, I met a boy who would sing beautiful qawwalis. I was so fascinated by his songs that I immersed myself into learning Urdu and Hindi.
But yet again, due to the chaos around him, he had to resort back to begging on the streets. Until one day, a girl who was distributing sweets to the beggars on her grandfather’s barsi bumped into him.
She ended up speaking to him for an hour and read all his poetry. In his words, it was like God had sent an angel for him.
She visited me frequently after and then managed to take me to the Spoken Word fest where I performed for the first time for 22 minutes! They were the best 22 minutes of my life.
For him, it’s like Allah himself sent an angel for him to prove to him that they do exist.
Not only did she introduce my words to the world, but she also raised enough money to help me to set up a book stall. I no longer have to beg and it’s all because she cared enough and because Allah wanted to prove to me that angels exist – especially in the darkest of times.
It is a wonderful feeling to see young people having this level of empathy, and understanding of things that actually matter in life. We should all try our best to give back, especially if we come from a privileged place.
You can see the entire post here.
