Don't Judge

My friend, Pramod, does not get along well with his elder brother. The brother is six-seven years older than Pramod and expects him to be submissive and obedient all the time. Pramod, of course, hates all kinds of restrictions. He, therefore, avoids his elder brother and does not talk much with him.

I visited Pramod's home on a Sunday. As I opened the gate to enter the premises, I saw the elder brother turn on the pump to lift water to the overhead water tank. He hurried inside after switching on the pump without even glancing at me.The switch was fitted on the outer wall of the house.

I pressed the doorbell and Pramod came out. Meanwhile, water started flowing out of the overflow outlet, indicating that the water tank was full. Pramod's brother had switched on the pump without being aware that the tank was already full.

Pramod switched off the pump. The pump made much noise while running. When Pramod switched it off, the noise stopped. Pramod's brother came out to check why the pump had suddenly stopped working. When he found that Pramod had switched it off, he glared at him. I am sure he would have scolded and said some rude things to Pramod if I had not been around. He did not want to create a scene in front of an outsider. He satisfied himself by glaring at poor Pramod, who could not understand what the matter was. The brother then switched on the pump once again. But water began to flow out of the overflow outlet. The brother realized his mistake, switched off the pump, and went inside.

The elder brother had probably thought that Pramod had purposely switched off the pump to irritate him. Now, this was a typical example of jumping to conclusions without pausing to think about all facts.This incident did not lead to any harm, but we do get to read in newspapers about situations where a misunderstanding has caused violence.