Kids at the Bakery!

In Mumbai, whenever I used to pass through a lane nearby my place, the aroma of Mawa Cake of Iyengar Bakery would make me stop by and end up in buying few pieces of the same. In one of my visit to the bakery, I saw few kids looking at the glass shelf from outside, where the bakery items were placed. I saw them savoring it with their eyes. I could not stop ignoring the sight and went near them and asked why are they standing there and one of them replied-“Didi humare paas paise nahi hai khareed ne ke liye” (Didi,we don’t have money to buy food). I was thinking that they would ask me for money or tell me to buy food for them and I was glad their reply didn’t match my thought. That indicated that they were not beggars. I called them inside and asked them to choose anything from the shelf and I will pay for it. There was joy in their faces and the way they were choosing the food items were clearly saying how much they wanted to have it. When one of the kid asked me if he can take some for his brother ,I got moved by his selfless and caring attitude and nodded with a “yes”. I spent some time with them inquiring about their family background and found out that their parents work as a daily wage labourer in the nearby semi-constructed building. After spending some time with them I bid good bye with a wish that one day they would be able to pay for their own food and don’t have to end up in only staring at the food shelf.

Adieu Mumbai!

I saw the same sparkle, a bit of anxiety and lot of excitement in her face which I had seen in the mirror some five years back when I was new to this place. Those eyes with dreams, to learn something new and to experience something different. But this time, She and Me were on the opposite side where she was stepping in and I was going out from this place. The place that gave me more than I had expected and filled my life with so many wonderful memories. I learned the art of giving smiles to others including strangers, to help the unknown without any expectations, to meet people from different cultures, to gain knowledge from people from different walks of life and to finally start doing something which I had never thought I could do. To sum it up, I learned the art of Living.
-28/04/16

Connectivity!

Well if you are thinking that I have something to relate with our Mobile/Telecom towers then you are wrong. Here this word has something to do with People. Now some of you must have got what I mean. Ok let me elaborate and start with “no-connection” thing. Have you ever wondered why we meet so many people in our life but end up in making few good friends? The reason for this is we fail to make connection with all of them. To elaborate- when you don’t feel like sharing your hearts out, when your laughter becomes pretension or when you prefer solitude then being with somebody.
Now coming to the other side-when you talk for hours with somebody and still you don’t want the time to end and want to meet them again and again. If there is no conversation also, their presence is enough to make your day. When the heart fills with joy when you are with them, and the eyes become teary when the time comes to part and everything with them that makes you feel ALIVE! That’s what I meant by Connectivity aka Friendship.

A moment with a Kid....

I with my friends had just finished our activities and were wrapping up to leave when suddenly small fingers held my hand. I looked back and he asked- “Are you going to come to this place again?” I was glad to hear the question as that showed he liked my company but did not know what to answer. I did not want to say Yes as I had no idea when will I come here next and give him a false hope. Neither I wanted to say No as it would have saddened him. But from my heart I wanted to visit this place again and again so I gave him a hug and said-“Yes dear”. After he heard this, I could see the sparkle in his innocent eyes and then I bid goodbye to the 7 year old kid and his friends in the Orphanage