-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
KINDNESS UNLIMITED: This is a small incident that happened in the summer of 2004, something that had an impact on my actions till today atleast. I have always been wanting to write about this one and here it comes.
I was returning to Chennai from Kottayam (a small town in Kerala) after attending my best friends, Ranjay and Shema's wedding. It was a 14 hour train journey starting early evening from Kottayam, so I had to figure out means to kill time. Worst was, I didn't have any planned source of music or reading. I saw an Indian edition of Reader's Digest in the hands of a lady next to my berth, and since she was not reading it, requested for it and she didn't hesitate. There were some interesting articles but what interested me most was an article on "Kindness Unlimited" movement initiated by Mr. Kalbag - a Mumbai wala.
The article quoted a lot of examples of kindness towards fellow humans, kindness towards other creatures, and on how the movement kickstarted in India because of Mr. Kalbag's thoughts and initiatives. This article somehow interested me and I jotted down the URL's and related email ids. However, it was not long before I witnessed a real account of what Kindness (or selflessness to be accurate) meant.
It was getting late in the night, must have been around 10 and most of them around my berth sleeping, not to mention the snores. I did notice movement of a few women in their mid-twenties in the subsequent slots (any guys' travel fantasy ). There was one particular woman among them who did not seem to belong to any of the berths, just strolling along the compartment like any non-reserved traveller would . Seeing me awake she came to me and requested if she could sit in my place till I was awake. "Of course" was my reply, a little hostility in my tone.
Further conversations revealed that she was travelling to Chennai with her other friends to take up an entrance test to pursue a nursing course. I suddenly popped up the question, "How did you think you could manage to complete a 14 hour night journey without a reserved ticket?" for which her reply surprised me. She said that she had a reserved ticket and pointed her finger at a berth occupied by a lady and baby barely a few months old. This girl told me that she saw the mother and baby sleeping on the train floor since they did not have reserved tickets and she sacrificed her berth and consequently her nights' sleep. On asking how she would manage the entire night, she gave an immediate modest reply "I am a young girl and strong enough to stay one night with no sleep". This comment of hers made me feel very small in front of her. I wanted to accompany this girl in her sleepless venture , but she insisted that I catch some sleep and that she will manage with her friends, she was young and strong after all ! She rejected my request with a smile and went ahead to where her other friends were.
I still remained seated, staring straight into the night trying to overcome this hair raising experience...
I had just witnessed KINDNESS UNLIMITED ...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p.s. for those interested in this movement, do visit http://kindnessunlimited.tripod.com/)
