In An Hour Of Need

A boy named Kamath was a genius but he didn’t have enough money to eat two square meals a day, let alone pay his school fees. He was an orphan who had been brought up in an orphanage that paid for his education upto Class X, but now there was no one to sponsor his higher education. As he sat on the roadside polishing the shoes of a customer, he looked disillusioned. The client handed him a Rs.100/- bill and was impressed by the swiftness with which the boy calculated and returned the balance to him.

Somehow, he liked the boy and after talking to him for a few minutes, decided to give him a loan of Rs.10,000. He said, “I am giving this to you on these conditions:

Firstly, this money is not a gift or charity, it is a loan, which you can pay back to me at any time in your life. Secondly, you must never tell anyone about this. Thirdly, if ever you are in the position, try to do this for someone else who needs it, as much as you need it today.”

Years passed, Kamath passed his MBA with flying colours. He got a good job with a multinational company and yes! he got a very good salary. He had maintained his contact with the ‘client’ and you guessed it! he repaid the loan of Rs.10,000 to him from the very first salary cheque that he got. So he was able to keep the first promise he had made. He also fulfilled the third promise, because later on in life he helped many ‘Kamaths’ because he understood the position and pain of an orphan who is in dearth of money and food.

But, he could not fulfill the second promise; because he told and retold this story to one and many. Good deeds can never be extolled enough. A helping hand in an hour of need is like the first brush of gentle breeze on a burning cheek; it is the touch of God!