Being nice vs. Education

This article appeared in Bangalore Mirror paper dated 16th October 2009. Here is the link :
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=others&do=/blogs/post/Being-nice-vs-vice.aspx

She did not study.. She is a maid servant in three houses.. She is very prayerful.. She loves to talk.. She is always on time.. She takes her time to do the work, but does a spic and span job..
That was all I had known about this maid servant.

Late afternoon today, when she walked in briskly as if it was just dawn, I was deciding whether or not to take a nap. I was trying to fight a headache. She asked me how I was doing and that its been a long time since we met. She asked about my folks back home, my work, and my plans for the evening. I gave her all the answers and returned the courtesy with enquiries from my side. I was getting ready to take that most-important late afternoon nap, when she suddenly remarked: You look very tired, I guess all of you girls with so much of education are only tiring yourself out. I guess my life is better, because, I do not have to tax my mind as much as you do, at my work place. [ And I am not doing any work that is as tiresome as hers... ]

When I explained that education is important for today's woman, she said promptly: A woman is any day capable of handling a lot of things better than a man. A man needs to know to earn money and a woman should know to keep it. Whether educated or uneducated, she must know to take care of her husband/in-laws/children/parents/herself. I am sure that is why God has made a woman; She can stand it all and handle it all.

I was completely in agreement with what she said( naturally!!!!), but countered it with a "Men also have to watch their ways, to keep the family happy". Her response was very quick: "These days all the boys are educated and they surely know to behave well".

How nice of her, to have this thought about educated folks. She doesn't have the education that is believed to be required to be nice to others, but she is nicer than most of us educated folks. She has the primary education that most of us lost somewhere in our busy lives: The belief that the next person you meet on the road has a purpose in life as much as you do, and is nice, or probably nicer than you.

Comments

Musing Gal said…
The busy lives change us so much that we forget the very purpose and also become judgemental of others. She seems to be pretty nice, hard to see such people nowadays.
yezdi3736 said…
She defi has more to her than being nice. She is much more sensible than many of the 'educated folks.' Good one again Deeps, keep 'em cmin :)
Anonymous said…
Wonderful... and its nice that you noted her niceness.....
we usually tend to oversee the good people around us owing it to ur business
Manjunath Raj said…
Wonderful :) Educated people often tend to think gr8 of 'emselves! This is the reality and practicality of life my friend :) People fail to realise (and sometimes do not want to realise) these things.

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