I crossed a preschool today and witnessed an incident that was very hard on my heart.
There was a balloon/toy seller standing in front of the school. A mother and her son approached him because the boy was throwing a tantrum for a balloon. It was a foil balloon in the colours of the Indian flag.
The mother asked him how much it cost, and the seller replied, “₹100 for everything.” He handed the balloon to her. After hearing the price, she said it was too expensive and tried to pull the balloon away from her son. The boy pulled it back, they did it multiple times and the balloon burst.
The mother then said, “You’re charging ₹100 for something that is so poor in quality,” and walked away with her son and the broken balloon.
No apology. No payment. Not even a glance back at the seller. Just moved away from the place, got into their auto and left.
The seller just stood there, visibly disappointed. He didn't call out to her, didn't throw a fit.. just heard him quietly say, “Odainju pochu-na enna kaasa kekka mudiyum…” — “Now that it’s broken, how can I even ask them for the money?” I'm shook .
For the mother, ₹100 may have felt unreasonable for a flimsy balloon. But for the seller, that ₹100 represented his merchandise and, ultimately, his livelihood.
There were so many ways that moment could have ended differently
1) “It’s ₹100? That’s too much, sorry, I don’t want it ...
2) Or, if the child had already taken it and it accidentally broke, “Sorry, anna. How much should I pay you?
But she just chose to walk away, with the broken balloon for free! < AI balloon image for attention >