Meaning of Money

The Bangkok group left last night (ref previous post) and attendance in the Garden dropped to single digit today. Significantly, Arun ‘Disciplinarian’ Patil also took off -- for Goa.

Garden wears a barren look

That, more than anything else, changed the atmosphere in the morning. With nobody to pick on anybody, everybody could let their hair down and have a ball through the exercises.
The chatter and bonhomie spilled over after the prayers as Shekhawat turned suddenly emotional and held us spellbound with a discourse on the transient nature of money. “It could be there with you today and gone tomorrow. Few people have experienced both extremes the way I did,” he said. Nobody interrupted him.
It is a tale that bears retelling.
Shekhawat is a school dropout. He lost his father when studying in Class 7 and had to take up menial jobs to support his family. He was paid a pittance, in food grain (not cash), just enough for all at home to have a frugal meal once a day. After working for six-and-half years as daily wage labourer for a village contractor, he learnt one day that a recruitment drive was on for the military at Alwar. Shekhawat did not even have the bus fare of Rs10 to go there. He pawned the family gold and somehow

Shekhawat narrates his story

managed to reach the recruitment camp in time.
To cut a long story short, this was the turning point of his life. A man who did not know what “navy” meant, went on make a mark for himself and made his family (and village) proud. He narrated interesting anecdotes on how he passed the entrance tests, why the examiner helped him qualify, how he upgraded himself from a Mira Road service quarter to Colaba Navy Nagar...
But the more important thing is that through his career he put his money to good use. He never blew up cash or indulged in luxury. Today, he is the proud owner of property across seven cities in Rajasthan, besides one farmhouse plot in Lonavala and three premium apartments in Mumbai. He donates liberally to temple charities, supports needy children with school fees and text books and pays handsomely (often in lakhs) at weddings in his village. “I have not forgotten the day when I literally begged for 10 rupees and nobody in the village gave me that bus fare to Alwar,” Shekhawat mused. “I don't want that to happen to anybody. Today, the village people treat me as a VIP. They know that anybody in need will not return from my doorstep empty-handed.”
Moral of the story: Money begets respect.

Dilip Babani:
Money is very important. If you have money, everybody is yours. People will respect you, listen to you and even relatives will look after you. Money has a lot of power. If you have money power, you should take care of needy people. Respect all people, rich and poor.