Raising the bar ...

Those who raise my bar ...

Eashwaramma, who with two dependent grandchildren, seats every mendicant who comes, and feeds them with respect our of her small stock of rice.

And when I asked her later which caste they were, she tells me, "Why will we ask that ? We only ask 'Where do you come from amma. Sit and eat'"

Naren, who after leaving by the 5 o clock bus in the morning to the various villages in the district on his painstakeing work of collecting land records of bhoodan lands to work towards land forthe landless, would return by the 9 o clock bus. 

An old lady would be waiting for him to ask for mangoes for her home. Without a break in his step, or a faltering of the smile, would go in, rummage for the best mangoes, put them in a bag and send her off with a smile. Seeing that day after day taught me what love meant.

Sasi , who despite his orphaned and poor status, gets me the only guava from his tree and insists I taste it.

And who when he came with us on a trip, ran across the road and gave the old begger across the street three rupees out of his spending money of ten ruppees.

People from a distant village came and requested contributions for annadaanam. Chinapaapakka gave rice, and said, 'One has to give. That is dharmam. If we eat a time less, thats OK'. 
She said that to give   is our dharmam, and whether the person misuses it of not is his karmam. 

One man conned the village people saying his daughter had delivered under a tree, and took the rice and money and went. But they  gave as generously to the next person who came and asked.