Random Acts of Kindness!

Random Acts of Kindness – RAK is English for “neki kar dariya mein daal”.

It means getting 2 cups of coffee from the vending machine and handing one to the first colleague at his/her desk who looks like they could use one, without their asking.

It also means throwing an impromtu invitation to watch the kids for a friend while the couple get an evening out.

It can also mean baking a cake that says “I love you” and cutting it, just like that, to celebrate love…

It also means giving your help a day off, or promising to double up for a colleague at work. A Colleague who has never been nice to you.. no wait, the last one, would not be a RAK. That would be Gandhi-giri.. :-)

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PS: For those outside India, we have a new film here (in India) that shows us how to apply the principles of Gandhi to our everyday life. The movie is a huge commercial success and is actually changing the face of public protests in this country. More and more TV channels report how people use the Gandhian means of protest to try and change the larger system that they are a part of.

Nearly 60 years after the Mahatma was killed by a bullet, a simple comedy movie is teaching us how those principles still ring true, because they do not come from Gandhi, they also come form someplace within us! :-)

To Happy Posts!

Just finished reading a book “It was on fire when I lay down on it” by Robert Fulghum. Honestly, feels like someone’s blog – a very well written blog.. personal narrative.

Each piece in the book is a little drop of positive energy – and feels like nectar. I like people who write small positive notes on their blog. It makes them happy, and makes the reader feel better!

This post, and the 7 posts that will come after this, are dedicated to being happy, to seeing the sea and ignoring the stench.

To Happy Posts!

Post 1:
I like it when anyone goes to the mountains in the season of blossoms. The hills are green just after the rains, and the flowers make it look as if the fairies came down in the night and painted a lovely picture for everyone to see at dawn…

Splinters

Splinters

Tears.
Smiles.
The Zoo
The Park
The Swings
The popcorn
And the dolls
we couldn't afford.

The dresses
The shoes
The Cards
The gifts
The movies
And the comparisons
we couldn't draw.

The gowns
The recipes
The children
The homework
The parties
And the picnic
we could never go to.

Splinters All
And Life,
A Collage of Splinters.

M Back!!

In Class 7, the kid moved to a new school. And hated Physics. And Chemistry. The Physics and Chemistry teacher would ask the kid a question in class. The kid would stand up and say “I don’t know.” The teacher would not punish or shout, or ask why. The teacher would ask her to sit down, and then say loudly, to no one in particular, but with total conviction in her voice: “She knows, she is just not able to say the answer right now.”

The teacher did that for 3 years. Then, it was Class X. The kid finally opened her books to read Physics and Chemistry. The kid studied, made notes, and kept at it till the subject was friends with her and vice versa.

On the day of the annual(board) exam, the kid had a fight with her brother, and the brother hid her Physics and Chemistry textbook so she would fail. The kid went to her exam with only as much as she had read upto the fight. She passed with 75% marks in the subject, way more than the 40 % that she had scored consistently for 3 years.

Thank you, Mrs. Manickam, for the silent faith that lasted 3 years. Happy Teachers' Day!!

PS: In India, September 5 is Teachers' Day.

First, I’m sorry for the last 2 posts(they’re no longer visible). They were valid ideas, but empty.

I have an actionable in mind because of those posts(and the comments on them). However, at the moment, there is no courage to take it forward. Hence the thread of thought is aborted.

And we try another track.

Silence.

Will come back when there is something to say.