DID I FEEL BLESSED? YES, I DID... I DID
Pic.: Manoj Nair
“Your blessings lay beyond your fear.”
“May
God bless you.” “Stay blessed.” “Count your blessings.” “Feel blessed.”
Honestly, I do not use any of these phrases casually. For,
I know how much power they come packed with!
This Post is inspired by some very mundane incidents of
my life… But, none of them have passed by without making me strikingly aware of
how blessed my life could be!
Just
ten minutes ago, this happened. I call him Sharmaji,. He must be in his fifties.
I have been watching him, for more than two decades, here, in this colony,
where I work from. He comes twice every day on his bicycle to deliver fresh buffalo-milk
to his loyal customers. Many years ago, I had the ‘fortune’ of teaching his son
and daughter, both. Now, I said ‘fortune’… and I know why I said it. Because, it
was his dream to provide them good education and see them placed well in life.
The son, after his graduation, had completed MBA from a fine management college
and was absorbed by a big private-bank. The daughter had completed her M. Com
and B.Ed and started teaching in a famous school.
Today, Sharmaji came to share his happiness… His son had
been promoted to a good position by his bank; and, as a father, he was
delighted and proud. “Sharmaji, God has paid you for your hard work,” I
complimented. “No sir, my hard work alone could not have done it,” Sharmaji
said with great humility, “the blessings of my children’s teachers and
well-wishers were needed, too.”
I smiled as I allowed the depth of Sharmaji’s confession to impact me. I knew how sincere and true those
words were!
Did I feel blessed?
Yes, I did… I did.
Vivek was my student, some twenty-five years ago. He
lives with his family in the same building where I have my classes and office.
His 11-year-old twins, Yomesh and Vishaka, have been spending their entire
summer vacation, here with me doing the PD programme… They simply love it and
come with their friends, year after year… So, they are my children, too… Every
second day, Yomesh or Vishaka come to me with a new dish prepared by Meenu,
their mom… Sometimes, it could be a morning or evening snack… sometimes, a full
lunch… or, it could be just a special seasonal drink like chilled ‘Panna’
or Mint juice… or a tempting plate of assorted fruits… Today, before leaving
for work, Vivek and Meenu, both, came with a casserole… Inside, it had
steaming-hot tomato-rice and spinach gravy to go with it!
The very thought, that someone had thought of me while preparing
a special dish and packing their lunch box was enough to melt my heart…
Did I feel blessed?
Yes, I did… I did!
And,
last evening, around 6, when I was teaching, I could feel my cell-phone
vibrating continuously. Finally, when I checked, I saw the message: “Sir, this
is Poonam here, standing outside your classes… Didn’t want to disturb you.”
I, immediately, came out of my class-room to see Poonam
along with her cousin Meena satnding there outside. I had taught Meena some
thirty years ago. She lives with her family in Bangaluru. Poonam was my student
two years after Meena had passed. She lives in Mumbai with her family. Poonam
reads my blog posts regularly and keeps saying, that she finds them very useful
and relatable. Yesterday, Meena and Poonam, both, had come to give me something…
Meena had brought from Bangaluru a box of local sugar-free sweets. She knew my
wife had been a diabetic. Poonam had brought a rose-scented rosary from Rome. “Sir,
my daughter had been to Rome and I especially asked her to get this rosary for
you!”
Did I feel blessed?
Yes I did… I did.
Later,
last night, I wasn’t getting an auto to go back home. There was unusually a
heavy traffic, and, I had already waited there for over twenty minutes. Suddenly,
I heard a lady calling me out, “Mr. Gerry, come, come…”
For some Society-related reasons (I am the Hon. Chairman
of our Society), this lady had been on a confrontational path with me and our
Managing Committee and communication had almost broken down. So, I was
pleasantly surprised, last night, when, from the thick of maddening traffic,
this lady was calling out…
I simply – and gladly – went inside the auto, settled
next to her and said, “So kind of you ma’am… Thank-you very much!”
On the rest of our journey, we spoke on everything,
except our Society issue!
Did I feel blessed?
Yes, I did… I did.
GERALD D’CUNHA
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