I USED TO SING !!

It was a normal Sunday morning, like always I had to getup early, my Father has this thing to have breakfast together every Sunday and it's around 09:30Am. So no matter where I am or what I have been up to on Saturday nights, I had to getup early on Sunday.
So like all Sundays I got up and was asked to grab some eggs and cheese, for the cheese omlite which I always crave for in breakfast.... . So I went to the nearest market located in this small Society I live in. I paid the cash for the stuff i bought, left with some change in return, as I was moving out of the shop I saw this beggar coming towards me, he was holding a stick in one hand and his other hand had a bowl in it. His clothes were dirty and ripped from various places; I moved on and dropped off the change I had into the bowl.
As I was approaching my car, to leave back with the stuff I bought, suddenly this question came up in my mind.......; I have this really bad habit of getting my questions answered or else I keep regretting , why didn't I ask that question. Well I turned back towards the beggar, who was now sitting on the road side counting the collections ... I started off with Aslam-O-Alaekoum, saw his tired and wet eyes turing towards me, confused may be he did'nt even remember I dropped off few coins in that bowl he was holding, I asked him for his name he said it's "MEER ALI", I asked him if he wanted something to eat for breakfast, he was still confused he just could'nt figure out why would someone, just come up and ask him if he had anything to eat. Well I did'nt wait for his answer and got him few pieces of bread and butter. Than he started eating and I could see that he did'nt have anything like this to eat for a while now. So during the time he was eating I just saw him eat and, waited for him to finish. All that time "Meer Ali", did'nt look at anything or notice antyhing happeing around him, It was when he was finished he looked up, with thankful expression. Before he started off with something I could'nt keep my self waiting more, so just got my self to question him, I started off with, " Why do you beg, what did you do before you used to beg, and what happend that made you get into this ?
Maybe It was little too much for him, he did'nt expect so many questions at a sametime .... he gave me this gaze for a while and than looked up in the sky. He said I used to sing ....., suddenly the whole side shifted and now I was the confused one, Used to sing and now Begging, and in this situation, than he said I used to sing with Mehdi Hassan, Mehdi Hassan is one of the greatest singers of all times .. this comment made me fall into a deeper trench of utter confusion. Well I my self birng a musician valued other musicians no matter which situation they are in, So I requested him to sing something, he seemed a little hestitatent at first than I insisted him to sing, he took a short pause and started off. And to my great shock his voice was beautiful he sang this classical song which was very pleasent and a treat for ears. Suddenly he stopped and started to look down ... I asked him are you ok, he never replied than, looked at me and said that's why I don't sing... He started off that he had his brother who used to sing with him, he was murdered by someone, and next verse of the song was of his brother's .... and he said Singing was the only thing he did he never knew anything else he could our would do than singing. But since his brother passed away he is not been able to sing. And therefore he could'nt do anything else so he started to beg. Because he said though all my limbs are intact but I feel I have lost them since my brother passed away.
I got my answer .... I couldn't think of what to say, I gave a pat on his back, and thought to my self I am good with words I am good with talking why has this beggar left me speechless, I handed over some money to him and went back to my car. Still thinking about the incidence which took place and imagining the pain and sadness, which "Meer Ali", went through singing that song, imagining what thoughts would have come up in his mind, the memories, the snapshots ... That short trip of mine to the shop made me experience and value things around me, things which are always there, but you don't take them in consideration, like they say you don't know what lies under that rock..... I experienced it first hand.