My Dhobi (Ironman! Well, blame it on the Avengers movie I saw this weekend. Dhobi is the guy who irons clothes) was a young guy in his twenties. Since he is from Bihar, he went home right after Diwali and his father has been working in his place ever since. Now there is one thing common in both of them. They greeted my daughter with a lot of affection. The son would always wish her Good Morning and ask her how she did. His father calls her Memni (a derivative of the respectful Mem Sahib which he uses to address all the ladies) and always asks her if she has eaten her breakfast.My daughter is fond of making payments. Whenever I have to hand over money to anyone, be it a shopkeeper, the household help or anyone in the market, she takes it from my hands and gives them. Most people just smile and take it. This elderly gentleman folds both his hands as if he is receiving prasad and says, “Jai Shree Ram” after he has taken it. He then bows down to her in a Namaste and leaves. I never had the heart to tell him she is a kid and you shouldn’t really be doing this.
Today, she was getting ready for school when he visited. He asked for her. When I told him that he was inside, his face fell a little. I then went inside to fetch the clothes. My daughter insisted that she will hand them over. Even when I was paying him, she took the money from my hands on her own and gave it to him. Almost as if she had sensed his disappointment on not receiving the money from her. When he took it, he said “Aap to Bhagwaan Hain” (You are equivalent to a God). The little one just giggled away.
In this day and age while I fear for my little one’s safety and want to limit her interaction with others outside of home, I realise that we miss out on such moments. A little child knows only love and is not choosy about who she gives it to. It feels natural for her to receive affection from others and she is never suspicious of the attentions she gets from others. Heck, she does not even understand the concept of others now. If only our world was like this. If all of us were able to communicate with the purity and innocence of a child, we would be in such a happier place. Our lives would be free of so much stress and clutter and we would enjoy every moment of it. I just wish we could all speak The Language of Love.
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Heart warming! I also believe that kids always know good vibes from bad. My niece was just about 14 months when my spouse, then my boyfriend (?), went to my sister’s to meet them for the first time. My niece, who hadn’t bothered to show me her balloon book on my visits, walked up to him and perched herself on his thigh and showed him the whole book. She had limited vocabulary then but I think this was ample proof of how children can sense vibes. And this was even more surprising because she was one clingy kid who wouldn’t go even to her grand parents without holding her Mama’s hand. I am sure Kuhu also could sense the innocent feeling the dhobi had towards her. I always say the world of human feelings is pretty weird! 🙂
Wow, this is an awesome piece of musings. I can see that you analyze a lot and see world through their eyes. For example, you have tried to delineate this by looking at the world through your daughter’s eyes. 🙂
And yes you are right when you said that world could be better place if everyone would have a spirit and soul of a kid. I think it was once. May be long time ago. Now we are heading toward a time where we will be using our mind way more than heart and feelings and love will be an extinct thing.
P.S. – Thanks for leaving your responses at my blog Future of Technology (GreyBMusings) 🙂
-Nitin Balodi
I agree that we are headed to a world where the heart does not matter. I just wish that we will be able to save love somehow 🙂
I am a geek and love reading up new and innovative things.. loved the post on your blog !
So true. Nowadays, with what is happening around all of us, you don’t know whom to trust and whom not. And especially when it’s about kids. We need to be protective but being extra protective can hamper your child mental growth. It is just a hell of situation n damn confusing.
Yes. It is indeed a sad situation… and as humans we miss out on such small moments of joy…