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Guest column | Don’t be on fence, cross it to meet neighbours
The smartphone, our portal to the virtual world, has taken a back seat, to our friends, neighbours and children. Life can be simple and beautiful, if we make it so.
The other day, I went to enquire after an army officer’s widow in our colony, but was greeted by a locked door. I asked her neighbours about her whereabouts and whether could she be expected to return soon, but found them to be rather indifferent. They shrugged the query off with a laconic, “Hame patta nahi” (We do not know).
Their response was hardly surprising as these days most people are indifferent to the plight of their neighbours. They are loath to talk to their next-door neighbour, let alone help them in their hour of need. Those living in high-rise towers and apartments do not bother to acquaint themselves with those living merely a stone’s throw away. However, it was not so in the village I was born and brought up in. Neighbours looked out for each other and shared each others’ joys and sorrows.
The army, too, is a well-knit organisation with the unit substituting for one’s family. When I hung up my army boots, my wife and I decided not to retire from life. We moved to our house in Defence Colony, Ambala Cantt, and fostered a good relationship with our neighbours.
We share our home-grown vegetables and fruits with them, and send home-made sweets such as halwa and kheer during festivals. Pleasantries or waves are exchanged whenever we cross each other. After all, most of us are in our second innings, and have left the rat race behind.
On our 41st anniversary, my wife and I decided to include our neighbours in the celebration. We sent a small gift, a healthy breakfast cereal, to each neighbour’s house with a personal hand-written note. We hand-delivered the gifts ourselves to 15 neighbours. This was done with no expectation, but the love we received on the day of our anniversary overwhelmed us. Everybody rang up to wish us and several veterans came to our house with thoughtfully chosen gifts. A retired brigadier also sent us home-cooked dinner! Our daughter sent us a cake, while our son sent us a bouquet with chocolates.
Our staff and service providers were not forgotten, they too received gifts. One of them went above and beyond and participated in a chabeel on the occasion, serving sweetened milk and roohafza to weary travellers in the sweltering heat. Our wedding anniversary became a humbling experience, surrounded by the people who live around us.
Thanks to our neighbours, we veterans do not feel lonely, or bitter, as we live in an atmosphere of bonhomie. The smartphone, our portal to the virtual world, has taken a back seat, to our friends, neighbours and children. Life can be simple and beautiful, if we make it so.
ripu_d2003@yahoo.co.in
(The writer is an Ambala-based freelance contributor.Views expressed are personal.)
