She opens her small shop by 7:00 in the morning
Settles down and looks around
Picks up the cold milk pack and tears its corner
Pours the milk in the Tea pan
And heats it till it's a little warmer
Calls out names of the street dogs she feeds
Lapping it all they come wagging their tails one by one
She refills it till all her babies are done
For the ones sitting below the cars
She sits on her knees and passes the blue bowl
Talks to them in Malayalam
I tell you she is a special soul
For the language of love is felt rather than spoken
She spreads kindness even though her own heart is broken
Getting back to her shop counter
Waiting for the customers with her biscuit, bread, milk, and what not!
She is very giving - has always been I know
Not just dogs, for all the animals she does a lot
Caw! Caw! goes the crow sitting on her black tarpaulin over the roof
This time it is the small 'Aalu bhujia' pack that she sprinkles in front of the shop
The first time that I saw a crow enjoying the savoury snack
Illiterate she may be but knows what educated hearts lack
Out of the little that she earns
She spends a big part on dogs, cats, and birds
Sometimes feeding them, sometimes taking them to a Doc
Places water-filled clay pots on the roadside
Brings chicken or mutton rice for the dogs and cats as a weekly treat
"You are an unsung hero, many more like you we need" - I always repeat
I feel so 'small' in front of her
She does so much with so little
The lesson of 'illiterate kindness' that her acts teach
I just wish that one day to all the 'educated hearts' it may finally reach.
Tripti Bisht
