Often we get so involved in leading our lives from one day to the next, the deadlines and the challenges that life throws at us that we become unaware of the everyday acts of kindness that we encounter. Who has time to look around and observe when you have an 8:30 metro train to catch to work!
Kindness is scattered all around us. We walk through it every day and yet ignore it. Sometimes it takes an out of the ordinary event, no matter how small it is to make us realize that there is no dearth of kindness in this world.
I shifted houses recently from one end of Delhi to the other. This being the first time that we were moving without the support provided by the government, gave us all sleepless nights. Apart from the shifting, the herculean task of getting the house renovated was huge.
I believe that things happen for the good when you least expect them. This is exactly what happened with us. We were dreading the task of renovation even though my mother had shouldered the entire responsibility. She had ideas, brilliant ideas, but lacked the experience and the know how to implement them. Out of nowhere came a family friend Deepika, whom we have known since the time she was 15 yrs old. (She now is 45). With her husband at work and her 18 year old son away in the UK for higher studies, she said she had ample time to help my mother. Together they went in search of markets which offered the cheapest yet quality material, haggled with the contractors and the labourers and talked endlessly about making the house aesthetically pleasing. Deepika was there at every step of the renovation, often giving up her social life. Two months down the line of hectic travel for both these gutsy women, what has emerged is a house that exudes the kind of care and attention that has been given to it. The lavish praise, the glint in the eyes that we counter when people talk about it would not have been possible if it wasn’t for Deepika and her dedication to something that did not belong to her.
We do not have a family car. Wherever we travel we use public transport. Not having a car became a bit of a challenge during the last days of shifting. It wasn’t possible to make multiple trips to the new house with the luggage. Once my father shared this with a friend and the next thing we know he has offered his car for a few days along with someone to drive us around! When a few other friends of my parents came to know about the numerous trips that my parents were making, the offers came pouring in and in the last two weeks we did not have to take public transport for the shifting of the luggage.
The last few days before the final shift was made, we were presently surprised to see an inflow of food items by neighbours and well meaning friends. When all your kitchen items are packed and the refrigerator has been plugged off, this inflow was God-sent. We hadn’t even thought about this “little” thing of sustaining ourselves in the bigger things of appointments with the contractor, the plumbing not functioning properly and getting the phone installed. Hence, we did not discuss it even among ourselves.
Apart from these “big” things, there have been numerous small acts of kindness. The last smile of a girl called Sudha (who came regularly to our house for the last three years to give my room- mate head and body massages. ) and her “ I will miss you didi” stole our hearts away. The “phir milenge” ( See you later) of Basant Bhai, the auto driver who ferried me to my work place every single day for the last two years brought tears to my eyes.
A smile from someone tells you that they are happy to see you. A tear speaks volumes about how much you’ll be missed. These are all acts of kindness which make us believe that goodness still exists, that fellow humans still care for each other without any ulterior motive. Let’s not ignore it. If we are more aware in our daily lives of these smallest of acts, life will appear much kinder.
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