A scene from a mall

A mall is not just a big setting where you shop. It is a zoo. A big stage where one can watch human behaviour in all its splendour and with all its misgivings. Last week i witnessed it, the low side of it.

A rich couple with four children having food & fun at one of the outlets in the food court. In a corner was an asian guy who was busy cleaning the floor. Aged around 40. Time was around 10 pm. In my home town, most children, like the ones who were there at that moment, would have been asleep by now. But i guess in metros, things are different. I have seen toddlers awake and having fun in fast food oulets along with parents as late as 1 am.

One of the kids, must be around 5 years old; was looking at the cleaner guy for a long time. He then started to tear some paper into small pieces. Finaly he had a hand full of that stuff. By that time, the guy who was cleaning, had almost finished his job. The kid ran up to him and threw the bits of paper right on to his face. The parents watching this from their dining table couldn't help laughing. Th cleaner guy wasn't laughing anyways. He stood frozen for a few seconds,looking back and forth between the kid and his parents. He shook off the bits of paper from his body and started to clean, again. The guy still looked calm. May be it wasn't the first time he had seen this happen to him. But Iam sure, he wasn't prepared for what happened next. The small kid this time came back with a pepsi can and hurled it right at him. The aim wasn't bad. This time, the kid's mother intervened and dragged the kid back.

The cleaner guy was still calm. There was even a faint smile on his lips. He was wiping the liquid from his face. I took a step forward from my table and offered him some paper napkins. He took them, thanked me and went back to his work. Only then I noticed the tears in his eyes.

The kid's father was still laughing. I wished HIS parents had never met...