Help!

  I was about to decide to travel back home in an auto which I generally avoid. Suddenly an auto stopped next to me. "I have dropped you earlier, too" he asserted. The moment I was a bit comfortable in his auto, began his tirade, his rant, his whine, call it what you will. In no time, I got acquainted with his entire family, its grudges, et al.  Why so? Well, he is father to an autistic son!

His argument was that I should give him quite some amount as I appeared well-off to him. He kept on informing me about the fees charged by the different centers the moment I suggested these. He himself began with Prasanna Autistic center near Deccan. So I suggested Kamayani to which we have given a handsome donation in Papa's name. He said that they are bad people.

I just kept quiet. He decided to pick up a lady near Sahitya Parishad. Apparently they both knew each other as he told me later that she was Mrs. Abnave, the Principal of Adarsh High School who refused to help him and got off the auto! He would not stop talking at all. He told me how every MLA, how each MP in the city would not help him because in his opinion autism is a permanent but non-invasive condition.

So I asked him to meet the CM who sure helps. He talked of the difficulty of getting an appointment. At every signal, he would show me the pictures of the boy of about twelve. He even showed me the huge file of communication when it was time for me to get down.

Of course, I did decide to help Mr. Ekbote (he told me stories about everybody possible) out of compassion. My head told me that I should not. But my heart and my soul would not listen to me. Anyways, we always give donations to the needy on the occasion of the death anniversaries of our parents.

What do you think though? Is it right on his part to threaten an absolute stranger that his family would have to commit suicide if not helped? Is it right to take advantage of straightforward decent human beings? The way there was gossiping around in our lane, I wondered if it was a set-up,  planned in advance!

I did help him, and quite handsomely,  thinking that his could be a genuine case. My gut response, however, is that I have decided to hereafter avoid hiring autos as far as possible!

Pratima@ Such are the times these days that one can never know who is a crook out to dupe!