We give long slogans on humanity but when it comes to implementation the true face of a human comes out.This story is about a old man in a reputed university's boy's hostel.

 

College life for a guy is one of the best moments in his life. Of all the beautiful moments life has given us ,not even a single person would disagree with the fact that he/she has enjoyed the most in his college life.

I am one of those lucky children who is currently studying in a reputed college in which not only my friends but also the staffs, teachers and everyone else are very cooperative as well as quite interesting.

We get up at around 7:00 ,7:30,……10:00 am as per our lecture timings, and rarely have our breakfast .I guess this happens only in the boy’s hostel that more than half of us miss our breakfast just for the reason that either we are getting late or we are simply too lazy to get up.

We finish our daily chores and every other activities in our hostels at a speed which is quite comparable to the speed of light. Trust me even the studies never last for more than 5, not hours but minutes actually to be precise.

It was a quite similar day but a Saturday. So almost all the guys got up at 11:00am. Half asleep I was dangling towards the bathroom to brush my teeth, suddenly I pounded with someone by mistake. ”Sorry”, came the spontaneous words from my mouth.”No problem, young boy”,came the shaky sounds from the old man whom I literally saw for the first time in 2 months of my college.

Torn pants and a generation old shirt defined the old man who had a bucket and broomstick in his hands.I went away to brush my teeth and wash my face. Basically it was lunch time when I and my friends were ready to start the day. Shouting around in the corridors we proceeded to have our lunch and in a corner was that same old guy sitting on the floor with his tiffin laid in front of him.His shivering hands not letting him to take that lump of rice into his mouth.

Just overlooking the scenario and leaving the man to himself we walked by to our mess. The day passed on with some new phases of joyous and bitter moments experienced by us.

Next day it was everyone’s favourite day Sunday, but unfortunately my eyes opened early in the morning because of a nightmare I had.So frightened by the dream I rushed towards the bathroom to wash my face . I was some steps away from the bathroom and I heard someone coughing in there. I went near and was shocked to see it was that same old man. But what was he doing there at this time???

He was cleaning our bathrooms ,washbasins and sanitary bins .

I was completely blank that the man who might be in his 60s and trembles while walking is the one who gives us a neat toilet.I was out from my trauma then , i slowly walked towards the man and asked him “What is your name Sir.”He looked at me and smiled but no reply came from his side. I smiled in return and asked again “Good morning. What is your name?” Again his only reply was his smile. I was really frustrated now and thought the man to be crazy so just went away from that annoying old man.

Life just rolled on with humps and greenery all in it. We all were knowing each other in great detail now. Slowly I the incidents with the old man were getting faded away from my memory when suddenly one day……..

There was a great crowd gathered in our corridor. Some of my friends saying “Let’s take him to the clinic asap”,”Lift him up carefully.” I was frightened by the murmurings and went ahead to see what exactly the matter was. As I neared the place there lied a broomstick on the floor and besides it laid the poor guy but out of his senses. He was unconscious .We took that man immediately to the hospital and informed the hostel warden about this incident.

What happened then was even more shocking. Believe me the warden didn’t even know that man’s name. The name registered in the hospital directory was “THE BATHROOM CLEANER.” Isn’t this ridiculous, that the man who did so much for literally everyone is anonymous to each one in the hostel.

Days became numbers and that man never returned anymore. That trembling body was never found cleaning the toilets again. Those shaky hands were no more found with lumps of rice. Nobody was even worried about what happened to the man who was admitted to the hospital. To get answers to all these questions I pushed myself towards the warden’s office.

Tearing the leg piece apart he was enjoying a sumptuous meal with other wardens.

I waited outside and after they were done I asked for their permission to go in. The first question I asked them was “Sir can you please inform me about that old man” ,” Which old man???” ,astonished with the reply I just said  “Sorry sir” and walked with a smile on my face.

A smile which came for the first time in my life. IT WAS A SMILE ON HUMANITY.

The whole day I was startled by the fact that someone who cared so much for all of us went away unnoticed. That day I could realize the fact that no one cares about you when you are fruitful to them and once you bid them adieu only a handful will be the ones caring for you. I came back to my room with a very disappointed face, drowned in the river of unjust done to that man. My friends asked me if anything was wrong. I just looked at them, smiled and said “A great loss, a great hero has passed away from our lives.” “Who?” came the reply.

I said “THE MAN WHO WAS NEVER KNOWN…..” and went to my bed to forget if possible what had happened.