Question

Write the above summary making Meena the narrator. Begin with ‘I worked in Bangalore in LIC. Sudha was my friend .....................

Answer 1

I worked in Bangalore as an officer in LIC. Sudha was my friend. She always tried to point out the good qualities in the people around us. At times, she would praise someone's academic success, while at other times she would admire a person's beauty. However, I always preferred to look at the negative side of every situation. I believed that every happy moment would eventually end in disappointment. People considered me a pessimist and a cynic, but I was convinced that my way of looking at life was correct. Since my parents lived in Delhi, I stayed alone in my apartment. Later, I was transferred to Bombay, where I began a new phase of my life.

A few years later, while I was waiting near Akbarally's at Bombay's Flora Fountain for the rain to stop, I unexpectedly met Sudha, who had come there on official work. I invited her to stay at my house for the night, but she politely declined because she had another engagement. I then requested her to join me for tea so that we could spend some time talking. She hesitated, saying that it would be difficult to get a taxi in the rain, so I suggested that we walk to the hotel instead. She was surprised by my cheerful behaviour and wanted to know what had brought about such a remarkable change. While walking through the rain, she jokingly asked whether a Prince Charming had changed my life. Smiling, I replied that it was actually a beggar who had transformed my outlook.

I explained that an old beggar and his granddaughter used to sit outside my house, and I often gave them my leftover food. One rainy day, I saw them happily playing on the road without worrying about their poverty. Their joy and contentment made me realise that, although I had every comfort, I had failed to appreciate my blessings. That incident inspired me to change my attitude towards life and accept the beggar as my role model. When Sudha asked whether I had offered my guru his 'gurudakshina', I told her that the beggar had passed away before I could do so. Therefore, I sponsored his granddaughter to a boarding school as my way of offering him 'gurudakshina' and expressing my gratitude.