BEAUTIFUL GESTURES

Notice that woman? The one with specks! Yes, the one sitting on the edge of the seat? Notice her?Yes! I am talking about her. She must be in her late 50's, and couple of decades older than me. Perhaps her children would be around my age. Point is, she is much elder than me! So why am I talking about her?
What's my point!?
Well, in this day of selfishness and 'me first' attitude, this lady was a refreshing change. And mind you, not everyone is like her or can be like her ( and that includes me as well ).

So, it happens that I get up at Dadar station ( with a heavy box of CDs and equipments ), as the train heads towards the suburbs. And yea, I was hell tired as well, as I was travelling the whole day. I quickly booked my seat with a girl who would be getting down 4 stations after Dadar ( in the local trains its the usual way to book a seat with a fellow passenger if you are travelling long distance ). My destination was the last stop so it was going to be a long journey. I did not mind the wait, as the girl I had booked my seat with would get down soon. So, it had meant that for only 4 stations I had to stand as the train was packed.

As the trained moved away from a station, I saw a woman trying to get my attention. She was sitting in the window seat. A very comfortable position, I must say. When she got my attention, she asked where I was getting down by making a gesture with her hand. I told her my place.

She asked me to come over to her seat. I thought maybe she was getting down and that's why she was offering me her seat. Nonetheless, I went towards her dragging my huge box along with me. I asked her if she was getting down. She shook her head and indicated me to take her seat. As she got up, the girl sitting next to her tried to shift and occupy the window seat. However, the woman protected the seat till I reached and sat on it. I asked her again if she was getting down in the next stop.
But she shook her head again, and said that she saw me standing for quite some time, so she wanted me to relax and take her seat. I was so moved at this gesture.

Though, at the same moment, it made me feel extremely guilty that now she was left standing with no seat. I felt terrible because I was expecting her to get down. And that was why I had accepted it in the first place! The original seat which I had booked was now occupied by someone else as that girl had got down at her station.

4-5 more stations passed, and this woman who had sacrificed her window seat so generously remained standing. At last she got to sit at the edge of another seat ( as shown in the picture ), which was not at all comfortable. And what more, her destination was the same as mine!!!
I felt very uneasy throughout the journey as I rarely see this kind of generosity. People usually literally push one another to grab the best. And here was one lady who gave away the best to an unknown stranger, and settled for something far uncomfortable herself.
Some people may think or argue that what's the big deal in all these? That, its nothing great. She just gave up her seat, so what?

But I would say that it is definitely a big deal for me. Take a moment and think for once to yourself ~ would you have done it? A long journey ahead, a comfortable window seat, would you stand up and give it away that too to someone much younger? Also that too to someone you did not know at all?
How many people would do that what she did? Perhaps, even I would not do that. So, its quite heartening that someone much elder shows such beautiful gestures towards you. It makes you feel that not everyone is as greedy or selfish as you think them to be. And that there are still wonderful people like her who humbles you out with such selfless kindness.