For those of you who read my blogpost titled "Lost for Words", I have a sad ending to the story. I was able to get the lady customer, I spoke about, speak to her son, which her daughter (the one who used to beat her up) wouldn't allow her to do. And to my great relief she left to be with her son who is settled abroad.
The daughter, who was also a customer of the branch, was seen at times therafter, when she would come to withdraw money. A pretty looking girl, delicate of structure and very soft spoken ; one would think she suffered from a split personality syndrome, if one were to know the extent of her cruelty. I almost felt sorry for her at times, knowing that the victim of a mental disorder cannot be blamed as a culprit of wrongs done in fits of insanity. But I had been witness to the helplessness of a frail old lady and the pain wrought upon her by the merciless, mindless acts of this person and could never forget that on seeing her.
And then yesterday when I read the morning newspaper, I was aghast. This very girl had moved in with one of her relatives, an old lady who was a retired school teacher, who was known for the kindness of her heart and the generosity of her spirit. On finding this girl, alone and bereft, not mentally stable too, she took her into her home and nurtured her like a daughter, after her own mother had left India.
And then two days back, in a fit of insane rage, this poor woman was butchered to death, with a knife, by this girl, who later admitted to her crime. The shock of seeing her picture in the newspaper was accompanied by a silent prayer for the poor kind soul who had given her a home and also a thought that the poor old lady who had left before it was too late, was safe and sound. My heart was filled with pity for the girl though, who maybe did not even realise what madness drove her to do. I wondered how her mother would react to to the news and i was overwhelmed with sadness for this lady who would have to suffer all over again, knowing that her child was found guilty of such a heinous crime.
In office today then, I was surprised to see the old lady enter the branch, all full of good cheer. While earlier she would always seek me out for any assistance, today she avoided meeting me and went to another staff member and cheerfully said that her birthday was coming up and her daughter wanted to gift her some money and she had come to find out the balance in her daughter's account. Since I had already forewarned the concerned staff member of any such possibility, she was not told the balance though she tried to approach several other people and had to eventually leave.
Today, I have again realised that the motivations of human minds are sometimes beyond comprehension. I do not seek to proclaim this as right or wrong but will simply classify it as incomprehensible, perhaps there is a bigger picture somewhere but right now the pettiness of people's actions and thoughts clouds it and I am just numbed, again...
The daughter, who was also a customer of the branch, was seen at times therafter, when she would come to withdraw money. A pretty looking girl, delicate of structure and very soft spoken ; one would think she suffered from a split personality syndrome, if one were to know the extent of her cruelty. I almost felt sorry for her at times, knowing that the victim of a mental disorder cannot be blamed as a culprit of wrongs done in fits of insanity. But I had been witness to the helplessness of a frail old lady and the pain wrought upon her by the merciless, mindless acts of this person and could never forget that on seeing her.
And then yesterday when I read the morning newspaper, I was aghast. This very girl had moved in with one of her relatives, an old lady who was a retired school teacher, who was known for the kindness of her heart and the generosity of her spirit. On finding this girl, alone and bereft, not mentally stable too, she took her into her home and nurtured her like a daughter, after her own mother had left India.
And then two days back, in a fit of insane rage, this poor woman was butchered to death, with a knife, by this girl, who later admitted to her crime. The shock of seeing her picture in the newspaper was accompanied by a silent prayer for the poor kind soul who had given her a home and also a thought that the poor old lady who had left before it was too late, was safe and sound. My heart was filled with pity for the girl though, who maybe did not even realise what madness drove her to do. I wondered how her mother would react to to the news and i was overwhelmed with sadness for this lady who would have to suffer all over again, knowing that her child was found guilty of such a heinous crime.
In office today then, I was surprised to see the old lady enter the branch, all full of good cheer. While earlier she would always seek me out for any assistance, today she avoided meeting me and went to another staff member and cheerfully said that her birthday was coming up and her daughter wanted to gift her some money and she had come to find out the balance in her daughter's account. Since I had already forewarned the concerned staff member of any such possibility, she was not told the balance though she tried to approach several other people and had to eventually leave.
Today, I have again realised that the motivations of human minds are sometimes beyond comprehension. I do not seek to proclaim this as right or wrong but will simply classify it as incomprehensible, perhaps there is a bigger picture somewhere but right now the pettiness of people's actions and thoughts clouds it and I am just numbed, again...
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