Skip to main content

A stranger made me smile today....

This evening, when I left from work, I was a little disturbed. The last few days had not been very happy ones. The turbulence in life had made me depressed...left me lonely!

It was drizzling. The honking of vehicles and happy cheers of people, returning home, made me feel uneasy. I wasn't exactly looking forward to going home. I knew no one was waiting for my back at my empty room. I just kept walking, ignoring the noise all around. Even the slight drops of rain felt irritating today.

Too many thoughts were running in my mind. Betrayals, disappointments, heartbreaks...too many unpleasant thoughts were hitting my brain like waves of tsunami.The more I was trying to push them off, they more powerfully they were hitting me back.


Photo credit - http://assets.nydailynews.com


In between this mental struggle, when every breathe felt like a heavy sigh of distress, someone called me from behind - "Ajao. Mai tumko drop kar deti hoon." (Come, let me drop you home). I turned back. There was a lady on a scooter, calling me to hop on to the empty seat of her vehicle. I was definitely seeing that face for the first time. I felt a little hesitant to take lift from a stranger. Moreover, I didn't really need a ride. I politely denied, with a smile. She spoke again - "Ajao. Don't worry. Mai bhi usi taraf ja rahi hoon (pointing her finger in the direction of the road I was walking towards). Barish bhi ho rahi hai. Yeh rasta utna safe nahi hai. Akele mat chalo." (Don't worry, come along. I am also going in the same direction as you. Its raining and this road is not a very safe one. Don't walk alone here). This time, I couldn't deny. I hopped on.

In just ten minutes of the ride, I got to know that she owns a beauty parlour and was returning home after completing her work there. I spoke a little about my job and my life at Pune. It turned out, that she stays in the same lane as I do, just a few blocks away from my building. I showed her my place and invited her to come over sometime during some weekend. She dropped me at the gate, and departed with a smile. I smiled back, saying - "Thank you tai." (Thank you, sister).

Its strange, how we meet new people and how life shows us its beautiful colours, when we expect it least. I returned home with a smile. Not feeling lonely any more. I just befriended a stranger. 

Thats how I met my new friend today...Sangita!


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A lot can happen over coffee....only if you are allowed to sit at a CCD outlet!

Cafe Coffee Day is no more a new name for the youngsters in India. For a warm cup of coffee at an affordable price, thats where we generally go to! But more than the cup of coffee, its the atmosphere of Café Coffee Days which attracts all of us. An informal setup...good beverage and snacks...soothing music (most of the time)...complimentary wi-fi (at many outlets)...well, CCD always had a lot to offer its customers. Photo source - https://www.zomato.com/pune/cafe-coffee-day-2-koregaon-park For Siddhartha, coffee always used to be an experience to be offered...not just beans to be grown. I have had my job interview conducted at a CCD outlet. I have hosted and attended several community meetups at different CCD outlets across the country. I have even had my coffee dates at CCDs. Well, truely, a lot has happened in my life over coffee...at different CCD outlets. Once, Siddhartha himself had spent his new year's eve, serving customers at a Café Coffee Day (CCD) outlet near C...
8 comments
Read more

Equality and Equity: A Journey That Starts at Home, Beyond the Workplace!

In 2023, during the celebration of International Women's Day, I encountered the notion of " Equity " for the first time. Initially, its significance in a woman's daily life didn't strike me profoundly. However, over the past year, I've been continually reminded of its relevance on numerous occasions. Discussions around workplace Diversity and the concerted effort to elevate the presence of women in organizations, especially in leadership roles, have gained traction globally. While commendable, there's a touch of irony in this commendable endeavor. The very men who wield decision-making power in organizations, shaping policies to foster inclusivity and gender balance, often seem to leave the concept of equality at their home doorstep. As they enter their domestic realm, they discard the notion of equality as if shedding a coat, anticipating their wives to effortlessly shift from their professional roles into the responsibilities of a homemaker. It's imp...
Post a Comment
Read more

RASCI model - the responsibility assignment matrix

In the last few days, both at my workplace as well as while dealing with a few activities around me, I have realized the importance of implementing a better responsibility assignment matrix, to get things done in a less messed up way. A few months back, during some random conversation, a friend of mine had introduced me to the RASCI model, one of the responsibility assignment matrices. Wikipedia says that the responsibility assignment matrix 'describes the participation by various roles in completing tasks or deliverables for a project or business process.'  In simple words, for any project, if we can divide each person's role and responsibility, it not only ensures a better end product, but also saves the time, otherwise lost in discussions (which organizations like to call as meetings). A RASCI implementation ensures that each person is responsible for only and only the task assigned to him (or her) and will not need to interfere with another person's task, un...
5 comments
Read more