Looks Can Be Deceiving...
Upon
checking out from my hotel in Aligarh
Now this waiter
was a Muslim, and judging by my beard that I was Muslim too, he asked me my
name. And that was how the conversation started.
He told me
that he worked the night shift at the hotel, and during the day he studied for High
School exams. I was touched by the thought that a person who craved education
was forced to work nights as a waiter at a hotel, and I felt a tinge of sadness
for the poor state of our country. Education is a prized possession, but the priorities
in our country are such that often what is worthy commands a lowly price. I felt
pity for the poor soul sitting beside me. And I felt sad for the misguided
system of ours that lets deserving people be disappointed.
I expressed
my sympathy and told him that he should be patient and that one day he would do
well. I don’t know if it was this unexpected sympathy or if he was bragging, but
even as I was wandering on my train of thoughts, the man beside me confessed
something that shattered my gullibility and to this day makes me roll on the
floor laughing.
He confessed
that he didn’t actually study to further his education. He had already passed
High School! He studied, so he could take money to sit for exams as another
person…
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