A breezy evening on the shores of the Marina in Chennai. I just love this place. A place of huge significance to me because everytime i go there, it takes me back to those beautiful memories that i cherish. Its famous for all the right reasons and of course for all the wrong reasons too..But atleas to some people those wrong reasons wer right. :-) But this time the trip to Marina was different. Always knew it was going to be different right from the time i stepped my foot outa my house. But never knew that when i head back home , it would leave me with so big an impact that i would sit down the very next day and let my xperience gain a textual form.
As soon as i got down frm my bus near the Gandhi statue, me and my frend walkd towards the shore to find more frends of ours waiting there. Heaps of "hi's" were thrown around. Sometimes ending up saying it to the same person once again. Heads turned to look at the newly born source of noise. A few unfamiliar faces were introduced to me. I nodded assuringly when their names were told only to find myself scratching my head thinking of their names when i looked at them again. The gathering had everyone expected to be present there, all except one. And tat one was a very special person indeed. But soon did we realise she was present there too. Not among us , but at a distance looking at us .but even if one of us looked back at her she would sheepishly look away from us. Understandable embarassement i thought. This person that i am talkin about is special for the very reason that she was a girl. Born in an under-privileged family , where every day poses a new challenge, the way she has managed to wriggle out of the discomforts around her and achieve somethin is admirable. Admirable, a serious understatement , i should say.
Andru:
A month or so ago, Times of India had a cover up on a young girl stricken with poverty, to toil hard and top her school board exams. The article even pointed out to she using the street lights for her studying purposes. And i can guarantee you that anyone reading that article will be moved. And some go an extra step in taking some initiatives to help and encourage the girl. A few of my friends did take that extra step. And i volunteered to be a part of it too. So a few of us pooled in money and got some basic amenities for her. Amenities which, though would get exhausted in the longer run, can serve her short term requirements atleast. Above all we hoped that this would give her atleast a small part of the large dosage of happiness and encouragement that she deserves.
Indru:
And the occasion was to give those things that v got, to her, in person. Her parents were present too.She stood there with her dad and mom and two more small kids beside. Another person had come along with her too . Her uncle i presumed. She looked beautiful to me. Beautiful when i say, i dont mean the physical aspect of it. There was this happiness on her face. A kiddish smile accompanied tat face. I believe a smile is the best make up tat can be worn ever. And tat made her look beautiful to me. She was understandably over-awed by the occasion. A group of 10 to 15 engineering students, around her , and all of sudden she is put into a different world altogether. She was wearing a multi colored salwar kameez , a pretty old one too. She had her nose pierced and had her hair plaited. Her dad and mom stood side by side looking at us , their faces had the word 'Thanks' written all over it. She greeted us with "anna's and akka's" . We gave her the things we got for her. She would have uttered the thanks word a million times. She tried avoding that shy expression on her face but she miserably failed in doing so. I whispered to my friend asking what her name was and my friend replied. Powerful name. A name on the lines of Shakthi in Alaipayuthey , i thought. Then all of us got together and a click sound followed. If u weren’t able to guess what I just tried to explain, I meant the photograph. Her mom was egging her on to come to each of us and thank us personally...She tried doing it but her shyness got over her.. Her dad and mom were narrating their day to day xperiences and their fight with life everyday. But i wasnt listening. The only thing that i kept striking me was tat how did she manage to pull it off.
And finally the time to leave had come.....Her dad and mom had put the word "romba nandri sir" in an 'infinite for' loop. But i am sure that they meant it every time they uttered it. I saw her for one last time before i turned the other way and started to walk. Walked slowly towards bus stop ,but my mind was racing. I was thinking of many things at the same time..This journey back home was one of the most thought provoking i ever had...The first one was how did she crack it...from where did she get the inspiration to do something which is gettin me inspired. How did she get the motivation to slog so much. Especially when the evironment around is so intimidating. I even remembered her fatther tellin that there was not a main line electricity connection to her home. They lived in a thatched hut. Will all this not bog her down. But as a matter of fact they dint.. They infact kindled the fire in her..,the urge in her to study. She was great. ,Probably am blowing this out of proportion but i dont care..To me this is a herculean task . Many brave hearted kids do this .There are loads of articles on these people who use the horrifying circumstances around them intelligently.But this was the first time that i met one. A real achiever. And to see her happy was happier indeed.
As i returned , signboards of Adidas flashing a 40% off sale whizzed past me. And thats when it struck me . How many time have I used a lot more than i used now and stayed a lot less content .. Money isnt it.. Its money that is making the world dance to its tunes .Its money which makes people decide whether they would like to come back to this world a second time or not. Its money that makes life very cruel to some people. Life's irony i thought... A few hundred bucks out of our pockets and we managed to shape smiles on the face of a wonderful deserving girl. And guess wat , it made me happier too.. These few bucks easily are the best investment I have ever made . Forgive me for analysing this beautiful experience from a financial consultant's perspective,. Talking in terms of investments.. Some may even argue that its love which matters and not money. I can firmly say no. Atleast in her case, no. She has wonderful parents by her side doing their best to get her educated. And love can never be scarce there. The only constraint they have , the only luxury that is eluding them is money. Thats wy i say so.....Or probably i really am a money minded guy who propogates the fact that money is everything in life........ Doesnt matter. The bottom line is that a small step from our side made a soul feel better . And am very very happy because of that.
I jus finished reading the above paragraphs myself . Apart from evoking a sympathy in me for those who have endured torture in reading what ever i hav written, I also realised that i somehow managed to not mention the name of the girl throughout. To do so , I ll hav to take you guys two paragraphs upwards. Thats when i started to leave from the beach. Thats when i saw her the last time. And thats when i heard her mom call out "SATYA".
I reached home ... Settled on the chair .... a book, "Circuit theory" written on her head (im sure students confined 2 electrical sciences ll know abt it better).. lyin on the near by table was threatenin me 2 the core...i was staring at the book 4 a while, she had all creepy pictures on her outer jacket .....E p l was on tv ...man united vs chelsea. nO guesses as to what was more inviting. I switched on the tv..I had jus met one of the most inspiring persons i can think of. Her story was so motivating. And my adrenalin overflowed when i heard t too. But now as many of the inspring stories' do ,this story's effect too started fading away. I can only be myself i thought. And satya and only be satya. But u know wat . The inspiration faded. The happiness and satisfaction of helping someone still lingered, and i had a strong feeling that it will continue to do so.
As soon as i got down frm my bus near the Gandhi statue, me and my frend walkd towards the shore to find more frends of ours waiting there. Heaps of "hi's" were thrown around. Sometimes ending up saying it to the same person once again. Heads turned to look at the newly born source of noise. A few unfamiliar faces were introduced to me. I nodded assuringly when their names were told only to find myself scratching my head thinking of their names when i looked at them again. The gathering had everyone expected to be present there, all except one. And tat one was a very special person indeed. But soon did we realise she was present there too. Not among us , but at a distance looking at us .but even if one of us looked back at her she would sheepishly look away from us. Understandable embarassement i thought. This person that i am talkin about is special for the very reason that she was a girl. Born in an under-privileged family , where every day poses a new challenge, the way she has managed to wriggle out of the discomforts around her and achieve somethin is admirable. Admirable, a serious understatement , i should say.
Andru:
A month or so ago, Times of India had a cover up on a young girl stricken with poverty, to toil hard and top her school board exams. The article even pointed out to she using the street lights for her studying purposes. And i can guarantee you that anyone reading that article will be moved. And some go an extra step in taking some initiatives to help and encourage the girl. A few of my friends did take that extra step. And i volunteered to be a part of it too. So a few of us pooled in money and got some basic amenities for her. Amenities which, though would get exhausted in the longer run, can serve her short term requirements atleast. Above all we hoped that this would give her atleast a small part of the large dosage of happiness and encouragement that she deserves.
Indru:
And the occasion was to give those things that v got, to her, in person. Her parents were present too.She stood there with her dad and mom and two more small kids beside. Another person had come along with her too . Her uncle i presumed. She looked beautiful to me. Beautiful when i say, i dont mean the physical aspect of it. There was this happiness on her face. A kiddish smile accompanied tat face. I believe a smile is the best make up tat can be worn ever. And tat made her look beautiful to me. She was understandably over-awed by the occasion. A group of 10 to 15 engineering students, around her , and all of sudden she is put into a different world altogether. She was wearing a multi colored salwar kameez , a pretty old one too. She had her nose pierced and had her hair plaited. Her dad and mom stood side by side looking at us , their faces had the word 'Thanks' written all over it. She greeted us with "anna's and akka's" . We gave her the things we got for her. She would have uttered the thanks word a million times. She tried avoding that shy expression on her face but she miserably failed in doing so. I whispered to my friend asking what her name was and my friend replied. Powerful name. A name on the lines of Shakthi in Alaipayuthey , i thought. Then all of us got together and a click sound followed. If u weren’t able to guess what I just tried to explain, I meant the photograph. Her mom was egging her on to come to each of us and thank us personally...She tried doing it but her shyness got over her.. Her dad and mom were narrating their day to day xperiences and their fight with life everyday. But i wasnt listening. The only thing that i kept striking me was tat how did she manage to pull it off.
And finally the time to leave had come.....Her dad and mom had put the word "romba nandri sir" in an 'infinite for' loop. But i am sure that they meant it every time they uttered it. I saw her for one last time before i turned the other way and started to walk. Walked slowly towards bus stop ,but my mind was racing. I was thinking of many things at the same time..This journey back home was one of the most thought provoking i ever had...The first one was how did she crack it...from where did she get the inspiration to do something which is gettin me inspired. How did she get the motivation to slog so much. Especially when the evironment around is so intimidating. I even remembered her fatther tellin that there was not a main line electricity connection to her home. They lived in a thatched hut. Will all this not bog her down. But as a matter of fact they dint.. They infact kindled the fire in her..,the urge in her to study. She was great. ,Probably am blowing this out of proportion but i dont care..To me this is a herculean task . Many brave hearted kids do this .There are loads of articles on these people who use the horrifying circumstances around them intelligently.But this was the first time that i met one. A real achiever. And to see her happy was happier indeed.
As i returned , signboards of Adidas flashing a 40% off sale whizzed past me. And thats when it struck me . How many time have I used a lot more than i used now and stayed a lot less content .. Money isnt it.. Its money that is making the world dance to its tunes .Its money which makes people decide whether they would like to come back to this world a second time or not. Its money that makes life very cruel to some people. Life's irony i thought... A few hundred bucks out of our pockets and we managed to shape smiles on the face of a wonderful deserving girl. And guess wat , it made me happier too.. These few bucks easily are the best investment I have ever made . Forgive me for analysing this beautiful experience from a financial consultant's perspective,. Talking in terms of investments.. Some may even argue that its love which matters and not money. I can firmly say no. Atleast in her case, no. She has wonderful parents by her side doing their best to get her educated. And love can never be scarce there. The only constraint they have , the only luxury that is eluding them is money. Thats wy i say so.....Or probably i really am a money minded guy who propogates the fact that money is everything in life........ Doesnt matter. The bottom line is that a small step from our side made a soul feel better . And am very very happy because of that.
I jus finished reading the above paragraphs myself . Apart from evoking a sympathy in me for those who have endured torture in reading what ever i hav written, I also realised that i somehow managed to not mention the name of the girl throughout. To do so , I ll hav to take you guys two paragraphs upwards. Thats when i started to leave from the beach. Thats when i saw her the last time. And thats when i heard her mom call out "SATYA".
I reached home ... Settled on the chair .... a book, "Circuit theory" written on her head (im sure students confined 2 electrical sciences ll know abt it better).. lyin on the near by table was threatenin me 2 the core...i was staring at the book 4 a while, she had all creepy pictures on her outer jacket .....E p l was on tv ...man united vs chelsea. nO guesses as to what was more inviting. I switched on the tv..I had jus met one of the most inspiring persons i can think of. Her story was so motivating. And my adrenalin overflowed when i heard t too. But now as many of the inspring stories' do ,this story's effect too started fading away. I can only be myself i thought. And satya and only be satya. But u know wat . The inspiration faded. The happiness and satisfaction of helping someone still lingered, and i had a strong feeling that it will continue to do so.
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ReplyDeletewell..really a grt blog dude..:) and gud language too..loved this line "Her dad and mom had put the word "romba nandri sir" in an 'infinite for' loop" lol...infinte for loop..
ReplyDeletetrue ..money cannot buy everything indeed