It was just another day for Dubai based engineer Akhilesh Kumar, who was at Malappuram, Kerala on work. Having wrapped up his work-day, he settled down to dinner at a hotel nearby. He was hungry, and ready to dig into the steaming plate of porotta and chicken curry that had been served, when he noticed a pair of eyes staring at him from outside. He saw a little boy standing outside with a sack, looking at all the food being served and eaten with eyes of longing. The eyes didn’t speak of greed – just a famished soul being eaten up by hunger, while food was being served by the plate one glass window away. The boy could have cried out loud, but nobody would have noticed – it was almost as if he knew it, and so remained silent.
He gestured for the boy to come in, and he walked in with a little girl in tow. They obviously needed food, and Kumar ordered some for them. Despite having been called in unexpectedly, neither of them seemed to be overwhelmed by the gesture. The little girl ensured that they washed their hands before they quitely ate, and left with a lingering glance in his direction. Everybody in the hotel was watching as they ate and then left. Nothing was said, nothing could be.
Making an effort to subdue swelling emotions, Kumar quickly ate his meal and got ready to pay and leave. The bill, when it came, did not have any figures on it. There was just a small note written on it – ‘We don’t have a billing machine that can bill humanity. May you be blessed with good!’
The bill with the note: ‘We do not have a machine that can bill humanity’ Image courtesy: facebook.com/akhilesh.kumar.90834776
Once again, he did not know what to say as he looked up at the cashier. Nothing needed to be. They exchanged a smile as he walked out of the hotel. Somewhere nearby, two little kids were not hungry anymore.
This is what the Facebook post extolling the virtuous act has to say. However, Akhilesh seems to have admitted that the bill that is being showcased now is one that he wrote up himself, having lost the original a few years ago. There are others however, who claim that the incident, which happened a few years ago, is not likely to have happened at all, given where the said hotel is situated, the presence of a security guard outside, and the absence of windows from where the said sequence of events could happen. Amidst all such claims and counter-claims, one thing thing we would like to think is that whether these events happened or not, it will definitely serve as inspiration for someone someplace. A good thought put out there will never go waste.
