Our Security Guard

At times we can see some things happening in front of our eyes but can’t, or don’t react much. Story of an old security guard at our society is one such. When we arrived here some years back, we found him working as a security guard. After a while his wife started working as housemaid in the flats starting first from our flat. She was around our mother’s age and surprisingly she took up the role too by behaving somewhat like a mother-in-law to my wife :) Without being asked she would do help her and also gave corrective suggestions on things. We got annoyed at times but also liked her for that. Gradually we got to know that they had many sons and the last one got married sometime back; but they expected their old parents to bear substantial financial burden of running the household. In due course we could see the old man regularly doing overtime and night duties while his wife also worked hard.

A few months ago, the couple also took up the contract of weekly cleaning in the society campus. Every Sunday both husband & wife cleaned up all the stairs, flower plants and lawn, and they did their work seriously. As if even this additional work was not enough – he started cleaning motorbikes and cars in the mornings, which appeared harsh during the winter. Once while entering the society my heart sank at the scene – the security guard was not on duty but he must have finished his vehicle-cleaning work by that time. Hiding himself in the midst of cars in a dark corner, sitting on the ground wearing old rugged clothes, he was eating from the lunchbox he had carried from his home… It was morning so the food must be cold from the previous day. How life had changed for him! Till last year he appeared respectful wearing security guard’s uniform and now he appeared just like any poor servant!

I have been giving him some bucks every once in a while but I didn’t want to get involved in his troubles by being too personal. It is wishful to think his sons and daughters-in-law should have made their life easier and more dignified but I don’t know what challenges they face in their lives! But I can see through that he is in trouble…