Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
my home, and yet be willing to question it. Be willing to always question my own comfort,
my own happiness. It was in that questioning, that I might not feel complacent.
I explained to Dilip about the other part of my trip, the part about giving back.
I took in a deep breath before I continued, “You see, to me, education isn't just about
learning things in school. It is about learning about life. It is about learning to reach bey-
ond what our parents have and, and . . . it's about learning how to dream. So what I would
like to do, if you agree, is to pay for the education of both your sons until they are eighteen
years old.”
Dilip's smile disappeared. “Eighteen years old?” he mumbled.
At first, I worried he might be upset, so I tried to explain it a different way, “Yes, I will
pay for the education of both your sons for the next fifteen years.”
“It's hard to take in,” Dilip began to rock back and forth slowly staring out at the water.
Suddenly, I found myself trying to convince him, as though he might not understand
why I offered the gift, “You told me that you don't want your children to do what you do.
You told me that you were kind because you never knew what would happen if you were
kind to someone. You say you pray every day to God to change your life. So now your
children will have the opportunity to live an educated life.”
I kept talking until I saw a slow smile begin to wash over his face, tears circling his eyes
as he nodded his head, taking it all in. He looked me deep in the eyes, and he began to
laugh, “You help my children? You take care of my sons' future and their education? I'm
very happy! I feel very happy. I tell my wife, she'll be so happy . . . so happy.”
His excitement was contagious. He knew even more than I did what that gift could offer,
because it wasn't just about giving a gift to one person. Like the energy of the village, the
gifts were music that many might share. Just as Dilip had broken the mold and became a
riverboat driver, so his sons would break the mold and go to school. Who knew how many
times that torch would light another torch? How one decision might affect the next? All I
could hope for, as I saw the love in Dilip's eyes that he had for his children, was that I had
offered a little spark for their fire.
I hugged Dilip and his two sons, and asked Amrit to send me a card every year telling
me how school is going. And that's how I ended up giving the one thing I always hated and
for which I am begrudgingly grateful: school.
