Stay connected - a short inspiring story

Once I accompanied a friend to the passport office to get his passport made in the Tatkal (urgent) category.

We stood in line and filled the passport form. We waited for long, and now we just had to deposit the passport fee. But as soon we reached the front of the waiting line, the clerk closed the window and said that time is over, now come tomorrow.
 
I begged & told him that we have spent the whole day and now it is only a matter of depositing the fee, please accept the fee.

But the clerk got upset at this.He started saying, "It is not my fault that you have spent the whole day..I’m not responsible for that. The government should employ more people. I have been doing my work since morning."
 
Well my friend was disappointed & said that let's come back tomorrow. I stopped him and said wait, let me try once more.

The clerk got up with his bag. I didn't say anything, just followed him silently. He went to a canteen, took out the lunch box from his bag & slowly started eating alone.
 
I went and sat on the bench in front of him. I said that you have a lot of work, you must be meeting many new people everyday?

He said that yes, I meet a lot of senior officials and dignitaries. Many IAS, IPS, MLAs come here everyday. So many people come and wait in front of my chair.
 
Then I asked him that can I have one roti from your plate? He said yes. I took a roti from his plate, and started eating it with the vegetable. I praised the food, and said that your wife cooks very tasty food.
 
I told him you are sitting on very important seat. So many great people have to come to you. So do you respect your chair? You are very lucky, you have such important responsibility, but you do not respect your position.

He replied, “how can you say that?”
 
I said that if you had respect for the work you have been given, you would not have behaved like this.

Look, you don't even have any friends. You eat alone in the office canteen, sit in despair even in your chair, trying to get people stuck instead of completing their work.

When people coming from out of town, waiting and struggling since morning, request you to help out, your reply is  "Ask the government to employ more people."
But just think, if more people are employed, then wouldn’t your importance reduce? Maybe this work can be taken from you.
 
God has given you a chance to build relationships. But look at your misfortune, instead of taking advantage of it, you are spoiling the relationships. It’s not about me, I will come back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow!

But you had a chance to oblige someone..and you missed it.

I said, you will earn a lot of money, but if you do not earn any relationships then everything is useless.
What will you do with the money? If you do not keep your behavior in check, then your family members will also be unhappy with you. And you don’t even have any friends.

He got teary-eyed on hearing all this. He said that you are right sir. I am all alone.
My wife has gone home after quarreling. Kids don't like me either. My Mother also does not talk much.
She makes four or five rotis in the morning, and I eat here alone. I don’t even feel like going home at night.
I don't understand where have I gone wrong?

I gently told him, “try to connect with people. If you can help someone, do it. Look I have come here for my friend's passport. I already have a passport. I begged you for a friend's sake. Selflessly. That's why I have friends, and you don't.”

He got up and asked me to reach his window. “I'll collect the form today itself”, and he did the work. Then he asked for my phone number, and I gave it.

Years passed.

I got a call on this Raksha Bhandan...
 

Ravindra Kumar Chowdhary speaking, sir. Many years ago you had come for the passport of a friend, and you had also eaten roti with me. You had said make relationships instead of money.

I suddenly recalled everything. I said “yes, how are you Choudhary sahib?”

He said happily, "Sir, after you left that day, I kept thinking for long. 

I thought that it’s true, a lot of people give money to get their work done, but there’s nobody who’ll sit and eat food with one. I went to my wife's maternal home the very next day, and after a lot of pleading, brought her home.

She was not agreeing, she sat down to eat, so I picked up a roti from her plate, and asked her, will you feed me? She was surprised and started crying.
She came home with me and the children also came along.

Sir, now I do not earn money. I earn relationships. Whoever comes to me, I do his work happily.
 
Sir I have called you today to say Happy Raksha Bandhan because you taught me how to connect with people, how to engage in relationships?

Next month is my daughter's wedding. You have to come and bless my daughter.
You have made a relationship.
 
He went on talking, and I went on listening. I hadn’t thought that it would impact his life so much..that he would value relationships over money so much.

Friends, people and relations are built on emotions, not on rules and reasoning. Rules are for operating machines.

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