Few among us!

I had Wonder Woman poster stuck on my wall, Batman sticker on my laptop, Spiderman quotes as my Whatsapp status and I tried to tackle every situation with Iron man’s mindset until it hit me like a truck that life is much more than admiring superheroes with capes and supernatural powers.

During my 20 days long vacation, while heading towards the next destination, I stood at the station, happy as ever, cherishing the much-needed break. Heart skipping a beat, perhaps, still in awe with the amazing adventures of the previous stop. Mind enjoying the peace. And just then, my eyes witnessed a coolie scene, a real superhero indeed.

His skin was tanned probably due to working under the hot sun. The white hair falling on his forehead made me wonder his age. He looked strong, as strong as a gym freak. He wasn’t wearing any cape, neither did he possess any supernatural powers; he simply wore a red faded shirt and a cloth wrapped around his head to carry the load. He hung a few backpacks on his arms and placed few on his head and walked dexterously, making everything look so simple and effortless.

I always felt so burdened with the plans for the future, worries of the present and the mistakes of the past. It’s like being trapped in a maze without any way out. Little did I know that this maze is just an illusion. It is now  I realize that standing still is harder and pointless, the best solution is taking steps and just get going like the coolie did.

Walking past the streets, escaping the street dogs, one day at dusk I witnessed a scene which melted my heart. An old uncle passed by, stopped near the dog and offered biscuits and milk to the helpless soul. I stood there stunned, afraid of the dogs while the old uncle kept on feeding them one by one.

It wasn’t just once but every single day, be it dusk or dawn, that uncle never failed to serve the homeless creatures. His brave efforts to bring about a change deceived his delicate health. I was so ashamed of myself. All my plans to make a change remained just plans at the end of the day, as it is said, “Vision without action is just a daydream.” His charismatic personality taught me that a golden heart and a never-giving-up will is all it takes to make a change.

Be it a cancer patient struggling for life or be it a maid working hard to make two ends meet, be it a footballer aiming for the winning goal or be it a child learning to ride the cycle, be it our mothers taking care of every member of the family or be it us striving hard to achieve our goals, we need no capes to fly high, no superpowers to undo the wrong, we can do anything we want to, provided we are willing to do it and work hard for it. We are all superheroes.