As the last train of the day pulled out of the station, an elderly woman hurried towards it, hoping to catch it. However, by the time she reached the station, the train had already left. Exhausted, she sat on a bench, her face filled with worry. A porter noticed this and approached her.
- “Mother, where were you headed?”
- “I’m going to Delhi, to see my son.”
- “But there are no more trains today, Mother. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning.”
The woman looked helpless, so the porter kindly offered, “Mother, if your home is far, I can arrange for you to rest in the waiting room, and I’ll also ensure you get some food. Don’t worry. By the way, what does your son do in Delhi?”
The woman responded, “He works in the railways.”
The porter asked for her son’s name, thinking he could help her connect through a telegraph. The woman replied, “I call him ‘Lal,’ but everyone else calls him Lal Bahadur Shastri.”
Hearing the name, the porter was stunned. His legs felt weak as he rushed to the station master’s office and explained the situation. The station master sprang into action, immediately reaching out to others through the telegraph. Soon, he and his team hurried to the elderly woman, respectfully greeting her.
The station master asked, “Mother, did your son never tell you what he does in the railways?”
The woman replied, “He did tell me. He said, ‘Mother, I work as a small officer in the Delhi railway office.'”
The station master smiled and said, “Mother, your son’s education and values have made him great. Would you like to know exactly what your son does in the railways?”
The woman looked surprised. The station master continued, “Your son is the leader and head of all the railways across India, overseeing thousands of employees like me. He is the honorable Railway Minister of India.”
As this conversation unfolded, the atmosphere at the station completely changed. The district’s police chief, the collector, and railway officers arrived, and an ambassador car was brought in. The elderly mother was saluted and sent off to Delhi with full honors, escorted by railway security guards.
Unbeknownst to this “man of great stature in a small frame,” sitting in his office in Delhi, a significant event had occurred at a small station in Banaras. Such was the humility and greatness of Lal Bahadur Shastri, a true son of Mother India.
On his 120th birth anniversary, the grateful nation humbly pays tribute. This inspiring story was obtained from a literary magazine, presented by Madan Jain.
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