WHEN SOMEONE SLOWS YOU DOWN

A good friend of mine is a very popular lecturer in her college. Her students adore her as she does walk, always, beyond the call of her duty. When a student is weak, she calls them extra and teaches. When the students are good in studies, she talks to them about what they should do to become focused on their goals. And whenever there is a deserving student, she refers them to me for fine-tuning.

Last morning, two young-ones came to me through my friend’s reference. Incidentally, I was free when they came to me with their respective mothers. These two students hailed from economically weak families… They were sincere; but, because they had studied through a vernacular medium, they had difficulty not only in understanding and writing, but also in self-confidence. Yes, they had low self-confidence…

My friend wanted me to do my bit in this respect. As I was free - and I am, always, excited when it comes to helping someone struggle with self-confidence - we spent close to an hour talking. I could see the sparkle on the faces of not only those two youngsters but also of their mothers.

We decided to meet, again, in the evening at 4 for a two-hour session. They took my telephone number and I took theirs. Of many things I said to the young-ones, one of them was this: “If you show enthusiasm, if you are very sincere, I will be motivated to give my best. Please show me commitment… and, don’t fail to communicate about anything.”

They agreed and left.

I was excitedly waiting for the two, right since 3.30. Till, 4.15, they had not turned up… nor was there any communication. At 4.20, I called one of the mothers. 

“Sorry sir, my husband is reluctant to send them;" the lady said, "I am sorry!”

“Any particular reason for his objection, ma’am?” I asked.

“If he says ‘No’, it is ‘No’, ” the lady said, “Sir, I am really sorry!”

Well, I knew, there was no point trying to persuade… I felt sad for the young-ones, sad also for the mothers… and, sad for my good friend. Before I knew, I had already asked the lady this, of course, a lot irritated:

“Why didn’t you call me and tell me about it, madam... You know I had kept two hours especially for your daughter and her friend?”

“Sorry sir,” the lady murmured meekly from the other end.

And, that was the end of my ‘Great fine-tuning session’!

Bhushan,  a dear friend of mine from Mumbai does a great deal of travelling. Presently, he is touring Karnataka. Today morning, I saw this update on his timeline:

“Caught over speeding!!! Shot gun clocked 59km/hr… Paid fine. Mysore.”

Below that, the obvious response back from Mumbai:

“Carefull, hubby!”

And, I had also seen some nice pictures from the interiors of Karnataka posted by Bhushan and had messaged him complimenting. I had, also, asked him if I could use some of them for my daily Posts. He was more than happy to oblige… I thanked him and, also, added:

 “Drive carefully, ok? Tcare.”

Bhushan was quick in his reply:

“Yes, here the rules are funny! I am sure the traffic police have got new speed guns… They catch u for over speeding at just 59km/hr! Hahaha! Added 3 hrs extra to travel coz of that… and these pics are credit to the rules!”

I ended the conversation with this one:

“All good things, in Life, come to us, in some ‘funny’ ways!!! I am writing on this... Bhushan; read around 12 noon, today. Tcare. Love.”

It is already past 12…

Bhushan must be eagerly waiting for my Post… As I had waited for my two students to come!

Waiting is never a waste… It helps us slow down… Be patient, tolerant… Try to understand someone’s problems… empathize with them… and, importantly, it helps us find new ways of using our time… creative ways... as Bhushan did: click lovely pictures of the countryside…

And, as I am doing, now...

I don’t think, this Post would have ever seen light of the day had those two young-ones, last evening, not kept me waiting… and, made me a lot irritated, too!

“Yes Bhushan, all good things, in Life, come to us in some ‘funny’ ways!!! This Post is for you, dear. Love.”

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pics.: Bhushan Thakkar