Atidhi devo bhava

One of my monthly payments, like rent and elec bill, is the "society charges". These are for maintenance work like painting the walls etc I suppose. The payments are made to a representative who lives in the complex itself, a certain Mr. Mehta. Mr. Mehta is an Marathi gentleman, who lives with this wife and two young kids, a daughter and a son.

Last month when I went to pay the charges, he wasn't home, but the rest of his family was. So I mentioned I was there to pay the charges and I could come back later. His wife was used to taking payments and giving out receipts, so she said she could do that for me. As this conversation was going on, I was standing at the door, I didn't step in yet. So she offered me a seat in the living room, where her kids were doing their homeworks. As she was preparing the receipt books, she asked me if I wanted coffee or tea or something. I politely refused. Then she asked if I wanted water. I refused again. Right then, her boy (who had to be about 5) jumped out of his seat and ran inside. I paid no attention to it. As she made small talk while writing up the receipt, the kid walked back into the living room with a glass of water! I was amazed at that kid's gesture. Regardless of whether he heard me right or not, for him to perform him host duties. And he's 5!

The next time I went to their home, Mr. Mehta himself was there and again, he did all the host duties in spite of the fact that basically I was there for a business transaction and not a social visit. It was nice.