He is 80. A retired police (forestry) officer. He was a sergeant major in PPH. He came to this town a few decades ago and settled here. He never got married and he lives all alone in his humble hut. He eats only strict vegetarian diet, mainly juices. He cooks his own food. He also meditates and prays. He says he is from a Brahmin family.
In his younger days, he taught devotional songs and prayers to neighbourhood children including my aunts. After his retirement, he did little odd jobs e.g. grass-cutting even at midnight. On these grass cutting nights, he would cover his body and face with a few layers of old clothing, fix a head-torch on his head and go about his business.
He used to cycle 20 miles daily to and fro to Baling to buy fresh milk and supply to the locals. This is not an easy task even for a professional cyclist as the journey is downhill and uphill with lonely stretches of road. After many years, he became too frail to cycle.
So now, he drags this little ice-box with him 6.30am to the local bus station and catches the first bus to a town half an hour away. From the main road, he walks 3 miles in to a Pejabat Pertanian to buy the milk. Then he walks another 3 miles back to the main road and waits at the bus stop to catch the bus back home. If he misses the bus, he has to wait another 2 hours. Back home, he loads the ice box on his old bicycle and pushes the bicycle around town to distribute to his loyal, old time customers. Hot sun or rain doesn't stop him.
By the time he is finished, it is around 10pm. Nearly fifteen hours of work, all for a mere $15 profit a day. This may seem senseless to some people but for him, it is like a service to the community while keeping himself fit. It definitely takes a lot of discipline, passion and determination to do this. This makes him an inspiration to the local town folks who fondly call him Uncle Karuna.
In his younger days, he taught devotional songs and prayers to neighbourhood children including my aunts. After his retirement, he did little odd jobs e.g. grass-cutting even at midnight. On these grass cutting nights, he would cover his body and face with a few layers of old clothing, fix a head-torch on his head and go about his business.
He used to cycle 20 miles daily to and fro to Baling to buy fresh milk and supply to the locals. This is not an easy task even for a professional cyclist as the journey is downhill and uphill with lonely stretches of road. After many years, he became too frail to cycle.
So now, he drags this little ice-box with him 6.30am to the local bus station and catches the first bus to a town half an hour away. From the main road, he walks 3 miles in to a Pejabat Pertanian to buy the milk. Then he walks another 3 miles back to the main road and waits at the bus stop to catch the bus back home. If he misses the bus, he has to wait another 2 hours. Back home, he loads the ice box on his old bicycle and pushes the bicycle around town to distribute to his loyal, old time customers. Hot sun or rain doesn't stop him.
By the time he is finished, it is around 10pm. Nearly fifteen hours of work, all for a mere $15 profit a day. This may seem senseless to some people but for him, it is like a service to the community while keeping himself fit. It definitely takes a lot of discipline, passion and determination to do this. This makes him an inspiration to the local town folks who fondly call him Uncle Karuna.
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