Saturday, January 13, 2007

Mail From Lalitha

What I am going to write about now is something that happened some time back. There are many instances in ones life when the worlds seems to be against you. You may be very much convinced about your efforts and your path, but the person next to you doesn't feel the same. Not only that they try to prevent you from going ahead. Sometimes you back down, sometimes you go ahead. You may succeed or you might fail, but at least you have the satisfaction of going creating your path. This choice is of path entails lots of tests where there is no hope of light, in such situations a few words of support can work wonders. What I am going to narrate here is one such incident in my life which gives me strength to keep my resolve in testing times.

I must be around 12years of age when I resolved that I will not litter the surroundings with waste, but will put what ever waste I generated in a dustbin. I strongly believed and believe to this day that if every one puts their dust in the dustbin, we will be a spic and span society in no time.

Now all you out there think this is an easy enough task or a silly task. Never mind, just try it for half a day and you will notice how difficult it is. I was ridiculed by every one around including my parents, friends and all the people I could think of. During outings and many occasions I used to collect waste from them just because they don't care to take responsibility for it. It was not an romantic task to perform but I stood by my resolve.

It continued for years and years, I could not make a dent in the thinking of one person around me. Years later I had a big fight with a friend of mine, I was upset, very distressed with the way things were going between us. I was so down that I questioned every action of mine. I who was so conscious of littering started to behave like normal people.

Such were the times when one day I got a mail from Lalitha. She is a friend of a friend. I met her a few times during my stay in Mumbai. A nice and friendly girl, I haven't stayed in touch with her after I moved out of Mumbai. What she wrote in the mail has changed my outlook at life for ever.

After the initial greetings she said that she was really moved by my practice of not littering places but to put the waste in a dustbin. She did not end there, she mentioned that she herself started to practice this, and wished me that I could bring about I continue doing it.

Boy! It never happened in my life. Many people appreciated my efforts in the past, but no not one had said I am going to follow it. I felt as if I was vindicated. My values could bring about a change in at least one person. This small mail made me think over about my life in a different vein. If you can effect change in one persons life then you bring about a change in a thousand other lives. But for that to happen you have to walk the talk. Suddenly what Gandhi did and spoke came before my life, not in mere words but as a 3D picture. Some of his preachings made perfect sense.

I faced innumerable situations where I had to choose a path, I think of Lalitha's mail and ask myself will someone be inspired in to take my path. If the answer to this is Yes, I go along the path. In times of doubt, it inspires me to say hold on to this there are is someone out there who is to follow you, show them the way.

I never got to thank her for the mail. But thanks to the mail, it changed the way I look at life.