15th April 2015
Sometime in the third week of March this year, we were driving from Hyderabad to Bhopal as part of our return journey from Chennai to Gurgaon. We left Hyderabad early not only to avoid the rush hour office traffic but also to reach Bhopal before it was too late in the night. The road between Betul and Hoshangabad is in bad shape, and we had to cross this stretch before it became dark.
Keeping all these factors in our mind, we had taken with us enough food for our brunch as well as an early dinner. We were very sure that we would be able to find places enroute that are convenient and comfortable for us to eat and relax. Unfortunately at around our brunch time we were between Adilabad and Hinganghat where we could not find the right place.
We then crossed the last toll plaza after Adilabad and stopped immediately to have our brunch. Although the road was wide enough to park, there was no shade, and it was very warm too. We then decided to just reverse the car and park at a location very close to the toll plaza gates. We were unsure whether we can park to have our food at such a place so close to the toll gates.
As we debated on the subject, we decided to ask for help – just explained to one of the guys at the toll our need to have our food in a place full of shade. The moment we asked the first guy, he spoke to his manager/supervisor who in turn came and spoke with us. The supervisor straight away offered us use of one of the lanes of the toll plaza itself that was blocked. We took up his offer and parked the Yeti to have our brunch. We were offered drinking water, garam coffee, use of their office washroom if required and about forty five minutes to have our food. We shared the sweets that we had with us with them and they were thrilled. The toll plaza staff were very helpful, kind and affectionate with us and gave us a nice send off too.
As we moved forward we realised that just asking for help can get help even in such mundane matters. So we decided that we would continue asking for help where needed and never hesitate to ask for help.
So here’s ShikshaDaan’s message to those worrying about funding their higher education or vocational training …. It’s ok to ask for help. One of our beneficiary, Devika, while speaking on the importance of education also says the same thing – don’t give up, if you really want to study, ask for help and help will come through.
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