My favorite story of kindness dates back to a rainy July day in Calcutta, sometime in the mid-nineties. The monsoon had been bearing down hard all weekend, but come Sunday afternoon, as can frequently happen even on the wettest of days, there was a brief letup in the rains. From amidst a canopy of deep purple clouds, a little patch of blue sky peeped out to tease.
Having been sequestered in by the rains, I promptly grabbed the chance to step out, with a long stylish English umbrella for accoutrement. Dodging and occasionally wading through pools of water, I ventured on to the main road, and started trudging towards a popular tea shop a little over a mile away. This shop served an immensely satisfying sweet and spicy tea, in eco-friendly matka cups, which was eminently worth braving the wet weather for. The road was empty, with nary a soul in sight, and the green landscape and cool breeze, with the mildest of drizzles made it a perfect Sunday afternoon excursion.
Sauntering along, I soon saw a little kid, on the opposite side of the road, his tiny frame tugging a large bag of enticingly pink, fluffy cotton candy on his back. He was seven or eight years old at best, for the bag was almost as big as him. Perfect occasion for a little indulgence! I floated across the road, and in no time was chatting with him as to what he was doing all by himself on a day like this with nobody around for business. With a charming smile, he shot back saying ‘But you are here, aren’t you. You can be my first customer this afternoon’.
I happily accepted his suggestion, and was soon finishing up a truly delicious little treat of candy, when I remembered to ask him how much it cost. Twenty paise, he said, which in today’s terms might be something like two cents, and certainly no more than a dime at best. Reaching into my pocket for the change though, I was aghast to find I had left home with pockets empty. Twenty paise, while small change for me, would certainly matter to a kid hawking candy.
He was repacking his wares to go. I requested him to wait for a few minutes, so I could dash home and come back to pay for the candy. He paused for a moment to look at me, and then said in the sweetest and most sincere of tones, ‘My home is far, and I have to be going now. You really relished that candy, so take it as a little gift from me, and let the payment be. But please promise me that someday in your life, you will do something similar, for someone you might encounter, just by chance, like we met today’.
Hoisting the bag on to his back, he walked away in the gently pouring rain, with no raincoat or anything else to shield him. I looked on wistfully, enveloped by the gentle rain, and the softest and most spontaneous kindness.
Kindness knows no boundaries of land or clime. Many years later, I was in Virginia, and heading out early in the morning to work, a little rushed for time. As I quickly reversed my car from the parking lot, I just about managed to notice a passing car behind, but it was too late. Even as I slammed onto the brakes, I couldn’t avert a solid little side-on impact to the other car. Stepping out, and apologizing all the while, I saw a little old lady come out of her car, and promptly offered her my driver’s license and insurance detail, admitting my fault completely. My morning hurry had just tickled the well-established statistic of most car accidents happening in the parking lot.
She shrugged, looked at me, looked at the dent on her door, and without even the slightest trace of upset, said, ‘Young man, this kind of thing does happen to everybody some time or the other. Will you please remember to be careful going forward. I will handle the dent to my car on my own, not to worry on that count’. Again, a sweetly random outpouring of kindness that left me touched, humble and grateful. In my personal scheme of things, the happiness genie would for sure visit and stay with that little lady forever.
If we contemplate our lives, each of us might discover that we have been graced with unexpected kindness multiple times over. Who among us would not want to pay it forward? The gestures have no need to be grand or imposing. Even a kind look, a soothing word, can brighten and sweeten someone’s day when they least expect, yet perhaps most need it. The smallest random kindness can for sure connect hearts and ennoble our humanity like nothing else can. It’s a most reliable, precious link to our happiness.