Saddam!
I met him in March 2007 … one evening after our tour of this world heritage monument.
It was 7 pm.. .. he wasn’t anything like the Saddam any of us knew at all..! His face was full of smiles and he was so cheerful!
Despite the cards life had dealt him…. I learnt a lot from him and remember him till today!
Before you wonder any further, this wasn’t Saddam Hussein - the Saddam most people in the world knew died in Dec 2006.
The Saddam I met was a little boy in class 3, selling incense sticks after school hours to make a living …..outside this monument!
"How much for one packet?" I asked him.
He smiled and replied.. "Rs. 5"
I bought one.. then I asked him.. "how many do you have in your bag".. He said "20 packets". I asked him, "When will you go home?" He replied.. "after I have sold all packets….. could be even 10pm". I felt sorry for him and told myself ‘child labor” .. so I said to him, “take Rs 100 and give them all to me so you can go home earlier today.. “
He smiled and refused .. he said “I enjoy this.. I’m having fun selling them ….” and went back to playing with his friends while waiting for the next prospective buyer ..
I learnt a lesson that day… happiness lies in enjoying whatever you do…. no matter what cards life deals you!
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