The Sour Curd

This girl, who is in her late teens, comes from a family with limited financial resources. She is good at studies, so she has been permitted by us to come to our place after her college and do some miscellaneous works while she also learns computers. My wife sometimes also takes her help to get some daily needs things from nearby shops. One day my wife asked this girl to bring curd from a specific shop. She quickly went and brought the curd. As we all ate that curd during the dinner, we felt that it was quite sour in taste, so we all dumped it. I asked my wife to enquire the matter from this girl. 

Next day, when the girl came again, the reason for the sour curd was asked from her. She replied that she always buys this sour curd for her home too, as this one is cheaper. My wife quickly realized that the curd quantity brought by him was almost double the expected quantity. At that point we did not say anything to the girl. Later, amongst ourselves, we analyzed the whole episode. We felt that around us there are many things we do not know. We ourselves have limited financial resources, but still we never thought that there could be things like sour curd or old-stock curd, which are sold for a 

different price slab and that too finds regular buyers from a section of people. At least I myself always thought that such old stocks will never find any buyer. 

We go to a shop and ask the shopkeeper to give us the freshest possible stock. The shopkeeper might try to adjust his old stock with the new one, but that care we have to take as a buyer. This episode looks simple, but somehow it touched me from inside. This is because I often think that I fully understand the plight of people with limited financial resources. Now I come to know that I have to learn even the basics again. Anyway friends, I shared my feelings with you, as I thought that you may have faced such situations yourself also.

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg