Even if you just change one life, you’ve changed the world forever.
– Mike Satterfield
N.U. ABDUL RAZZAK UDAYAR
“Beggars cannot be choosers.” This axiom is perfectly true as far as Kosala, a permanent cobbler who has been permanently rooted at the corner point of the under pass of the heart of the city of Kandy for over three years. Practically, he is confined to this spot for ages since his hips are a hurdle for his free movement. He has been living the just at the edge of the main branch of the Bank of Ceylon located at Dalada Veediya in this Hill City that is famous for philanthropists and donors. Nevertheless, 43 year old Ravindra Kumar Silva of Dangolla widely known as Kosala has been lying at this spot leading a pathetic life just for his mere survival. He talks in Sinhala and Tamil fluently and says he is a Sinhalese and he got fluency in Tamil as he had been working for a shop in Kandy for many years though he is professionally a cobbler. The saddest part of his life story is that he cannot move as he broke part of his hips in an accident that occurred nearly 4 years ago. He has been a cobbler in the pavement of Dalada Veediya, just close to the Clock Tower in Kandy and one day he fell from the top of this passage (bridge). Although he underwent an operation he cannot move as something has gone wrong. Fortunately, today, the same under pass that was cruel to him 4 years ago has readily accommodated him the shelter. He is settled in the corner point of the newly built bridge at the boundary of the Main Branch of Bank of Ceylon of Kandy.
Frankly, there isn’t any roof for him in his shelter. All his untidy clothes and pile of old shoes and slippers are surrounded by him as he mends the footwear of customers but he cannot do any heavy stitching or any other tasks related to repairing shoes and sandals as he cannot comfortably sit due to his broken hip. He tries to earn his livelihood by accepting the shoes, slippers and umbrellas of some unknown customers and often end up not in completing the tasks as he cannot move his body or hands properly. His living area is dirty unhealthy and unhygienic. Nobody is there to change his state of affairs though everybody in Kandy pass this busy spot. Where is the milk of human kindness! It is high time that something is urgently done to change his destiny.
Can anyone of you believe that he has been in the same spot all 24 hours of the day for months if not over two or three years? Answering the call of nature is a problem for him as he cannot walk or move freely. Don’t ask how he relieves himself. Fortunately, one of his friends and a relative helps him in changing his clothes though they are dirty. There are a few other beggars who too give him a helping hand to get his basic things done. Some people who pass along this busy way gives him a little money and sometimes some kind hearted people offer him a lunch a packet etc. but he never begs.
The gravest suffering that he undergoes is the lack of cleanliness as he cannot clean himself like us since he is an invalid who cannot freely move. Then he badly needs a neat place for sleeping. A human being has go many basic needs such as taking good food, having a bath at least twice a week, frequently taking a wash, walking, changing clothes every day etc. Unluckily, Kosala cannot enjoy any of these basic needs as he is ruefully rooted in his un/comfort zone close to the Bank of Ceylon. I am sure the Mayor of Kandy will urgently look at his pathetic condition and talk to the Kandy Hospital and other relevant authorities to give him a life, taking him out of the hell that he has fallen into. The management of the Kandy Branch of BOC too may strongly consider this case to help their neighbour in a possible way to change his fate for the better. In fact, there are lot of organizations and Charities that readily wipe the tears of the destitute and the needy. Will such an organization, sympathetically divert their attention to do something to give him a decent life? Even if you just change one life, you’ve changed the world forever. Any kind person or organization that wants to help him should first get this details checked via a nearby shop owner or the Kandy Police Station as this story is heard from this poor horse’s mouth.
