Grandpa’s Lesson

This morning, while standing on my balcony in D2 Block, Kendriya Vihar (Greater Noida), I witnessed a small scene that left a deep impression on me.

A beautiful little girl came running toward a flowering bush in the common area below. Just as she reached out to pluck a bloom, I called out gently from my balcony, explaining that she shouldn't do it. She listened obediently, nodded, and skipped away, leaving the flowers intact. I felt a small sense of satisfaction, thinking I had managed to impart a tiny lesson on the value of community spaces and protecting our local ecosystem. 

However, the "lesson" was short-lived. 

A few minutes later, the girl returned with her grandfather. Without a second thought, he reached into the bush, plucked a few flowers, and handed them to her, saying, "Lo beti, khelo" (Here, daughter, play).

The little girl looked up at my balcony with a triumphant "winner’s" gaze. As they walked away, she carelessly dropped one of the blossoms on the pavement—a discarded remnant of a lesson undone. It made me wonder: in that one simple gesture, what exactly did the grandfather teach his granddaughter about respect for nature and the rules of the world we share?