A Chicken Burger

I don't like eating burgers. Although as far as I can remember I have always eaten burgers- chicken burgers of course, although I don't remember when I had my first burger. For me chicken burgers is distasteful. The buns mitigate the taste of the chicken, and all I get is a mouthful of bread. The McMaharaja is even more hateful, because I can't seem to fit the whole height of the burger in my mouth in one bite. I never visit a McDonalds to have a burger. 

One uneventful day when I was caught in my dilemma of what to eat, two shabbily dressed boys around the age of eight, with a handful of coins walked inside the confectionery shop I also happened to be in. The two boys wanted to eat a burger- a chicken burger, but didn't have enough money.

The older of the two boys asked the man standing behind the counter, "Do you have burger? How much is the chicken burger?" He gets a disappointed look on his face when he realizes the coins he holds clutched in his hands are not enough to pay for a chicken burger, he can only buy a veg burger in that amount. 

I stood before the counter unable to decide which pastry to buy, for I have tasted all their pastries, and as usual I don't even consider getting a burger. I almost felt like coming out of the shop, as I didn't feel like eating any of their pastries, all of which I have eaten countless times before, since my childhood. That shop was one of the oldest confectionery shops in my hometown. Since my childhood all my birthday cakes have always been ordered from there. 

As I stood watching the little kid's dilemma as to whether to buy a veg burger or not, I had my own dilemma, whether to buy a pastry or go to another place which would have varieties that I haven't tasted before. 

I remember a lady in the shop who was standing beside the boys. The boys told her, "This time I will get the veg burger, next time when we would have money, we would get a chicken burger." I remember her asking them that if she adds the money which they don't have for a chicken burger, would they accept her money. The kids accepted her money and bought the chicken burger. They would share that one burger between themselves. While I watched this I thought to myself- I had never really ever stepped up in this sort of a situation. I had never rolled down the window and bought a pen or a rose while my Uber had stopped at the traffic light. I had never decided to give a coin to the old lady begging in the local trains. For I have a pessimistic view on life. But in that moment the lady adding a few more coins to a saved amount would make a difference to the two children who tasted their first chicken burger that day. Probably the two boys have been saving that amount for a long time now, eagerly waiting for the day when they would have saved up enough to be able to taste a chicken burger. Maybe next time rather than being a passive observer I would actually act out.

Kadam Chhota, Change Bada!

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