In our uphill battle to “look” ahead for a bright future, we often do not “see” the things that really matter…

This is the story of 50 year old Dilip Jain. Dilip is a cripple, he can barely talk, but he is far from being disable. In a society where the lesser fortunate resort to begging, Dilip fends for himself by selling everyday items that he carries in a briefcase. He refuses to accept your money unless you buy something from him and will return the last penny of your change that you try to hand him as “tip”.

I have walked passed him for an entire year thinking to myself “Tomorrow; I’m late for work today,  I’ll definitely buy something from him tomorrow” but I never did. Then one flustered day when I was not “looking” forward to a pending task at work, I “saw” Dilip looking around in the heat for someone to buy his merchandise with a smile that never left his face! How I regretted not stopping by earlier!

My first instinct was to buy everything he had to offer, but that would just kill his purpose in life and I’m sure that being the self made man that he is, Dilip would simply refuse. Instead, I want to encourage him to carry on with his battle to live his life like any other normal hard working person. So this is what I want to request all of you:

Dilip sits at the new crossover at Goregaon railway station everyday from morning till evening. He sells pens, handkerchiefs, combs, pass holders etc. that range from Rs. 5 to Rs. 20. If you ever pass by him, please uplift his efforts by buying something even if it is the least expensive item. I would like to bring to your attention that Dilip not only works to support himself but also has a sister to look after! (The respect just keeps growing!)

There are millions of Dilip Jains out there who have chosen to fight rather than resort to begging. Our small contribution towards helping them fight might change a life and make us a better person. I sincerely urge you all to spend a minute or two of your lives to make somebody else’s life better especially when they’re doing everything they can to make it better for themselves.