I met a Singaporean in the play area yesterday. I was playing Badminton with my 6 yrold who was at home during school hours, supposedly taking rest after a very nasty cut on his lip... Conversation veered around to the mumbai terror, and she said 'Very unsafe country, India' and shuddered...i protested that noone is safe anywhere, and pointed out the recent bangkok situtation at the airport...but deep inside, my heart sank, because she was true wasn't she? So many questions, and no answers....
Was talking to someone who talked about the rich and poor victims...If you are talking about official apathy or general ineptitude, go ahead. In the end, grief is universal, be it for the two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg who will never remember his parents, or the 13 yrold boy in hospital who is waiting for a family which will never turn up or the GM who lost his family in the Taj or the parents who lost their brave sons to the terrorists or the mother who lost her child at the station. :(
They all started their day as any other...and paid with their lives. Living a normal life is dangerous. Perhaps the politicians should try it...
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The hospital recognizes my 6 yrold now, which is not good news......this must be the nth time i'm getting him there invariably for cuts, deep ones at that..that boy has springs on his feet...
Graciousness is much in demand in Singapore. While filling in the form at the hospital, i took quite some time to locate a number which they needed . The receptionist was helpful and tried various futile combinations to access his previous records. I apologised for the delay and also thanked them while leaving. The receptionist looked at me gratefully and said, "You are a gracious lady, Thank you for appreciating us. Not many realise that we are here to help you." (totally his words). This is not the first time that someone is telling me this here...but it made my day...
While on the 6 yrold, he looked totally like hanuman, courtesy that swollen lip...minus the tail , of course...:)
25 comments:
Oh yes!!! Graciousness is a way of life there, I noticed that too...from the cab drivers to shop girls...It was so refreshing to hear smiles through their words.
And as for Hanuman...now please pamper him well, and enjoy the season... ( I'm going to get hit for these words by other mom's) but you know why I say this...
wounded soldiers brigade...
take care, and You are one great Mom!!!
HUGGGSS
everyone now thinks india is unsafe now...
yesterday was going through s forum where pakistanis were accusing us for the blasts..how tragic:(...
tc buddy[to ur hanuman:)]
I agree. Grief doesn't see rhyme or reason. Caste no bar, creed no bar. Pretty fair, it is, unfortunately.
Hope lil' Hanuman gets well soon :)
Ya true, when i read the below link in usha's post http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/01/mumbai-terror-taj-oped-cx_mp_1201pollack.html
I was kind of imagining how i would face a situation like that and will i have the solace exhibhited by this couple.
Little hanuman hurt his lip, how? Hope he is doing better now. A few kind words can move mountains they say and you are right.
Very true Suma. Graciousness goes a long way .... and it has this tendency of being showered right back.
Just the other day, I was visiting someone and I found a very very grumpy lady in the lobby of the building. I honestly don't know what made me do it but I gave her a bright sunny smile and I could actually see that grumpiness melt away. So happened that she was headed for the same place as I was.
And what is it about six year olds and getting hurt ? Same story here - one day there is a bruise on teh arm another day the ear gets clipped real bad and bleeds ..... life goes on :)
:)
thank you is SUCH a powerful and important word, isnt it!
and when its meant with all your heart, it can make someones day! including your own! :)
hope hanuman is doing betta!
cheers!
abha
yup - agree with the graciousness. It is refreshing to see the smile when you smile back at the people. It is wonderful to note that how a simple smile and a thank you can make peoples day... :)
Its so easy to generalise...isn't it? Why do we need to put each other into either good bucket or bad bucket?
so hows the hanuman doing now?
LOL @ Hanuman..i have the image of this super cute kid in my mind now...have forgotten all else that i read in this post!!
Wish the li'l one a speedy recovery...n buy him an ice-cream or choc everyday no..pls! Frm my side!...he needs it to recover fast ;)
It is not safe in India, it is not safe in any place where there is a neighbor like Pak, some incompetent MF politicians.. and some kick-ass PM.. ! it is not safe in any city, any state.
Now I pray daily, to be given a normal death, where my body can be cremated... and not where my parts are not to be found.. arghhh! it is so so hateful to live like this.. this is a 1 day feeling.. and nxt day I m .. chilled :-/
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Graciousness !! ahh yah!! Smile :) and thanks for sharing that :)
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hope your lil Hanuman gets well soon :)
prats:: yes, tehy are quite helpful here but you'd be surprised to know that there are active campaigns urging Singaporeans to practise graciousness,
and hanuman? sigh...sure...and hugz back to you too...hope te migraine has vamoosed....:)
Meira:: he's fine, now...thanks...
Sumana:: i read that...a good insight into what happened in those scary hours...and he hurt his lip while running a relay...so dedicated that he didn't see the wall coming infront of him... ;(
brocas:: i know, sad isn't it?
Gauri:: sometimes a smile is all that it takes...i'm glad you made that lady's day...
and yes, what is with these kids falling and giving moms minor panic attacks...
mamamia:: Thank you for such a nice comment...and the lil fella's back to school...
xh:: true...it pays to be gracious...
~nm:: you've finally waded thru the reader and reached here? :D
and you have some patience...:)
Rambler:: back to school, the springs are back in action :D
pavi!!!!:: he has a dedicated cook at his command. trust me things aren't going to get better than this...:D
veens:: my gpa passed away recently and after mumbai happened that's exactly what i thought...that atleast he died surrounded by his family, that in itself is a huge solace for me now...it is sad to live like this...
In these days of high tensions every where, a smile & wave of the hand helps in cooling tempers. I found this especially on the roads while driving..Road rage vanishes including in me !
Jai Shree Hanuman ji !!
TC
CU
Its time to pick the pieces and move ahead ! its time !
Trust Hanuman is doing ok
how's hanuman now?
yeah... just this noon, we had a quick working lunch at McD.. and a woman approached our table with her tray as we were leaving. i realized my boss had left the straw cover on the table... and i picked it up.. coz i like clean tables... and the woman says "that is SO lovely of u. and SO unusual. i really really appreciate it." i hadn't realized it was that unusual... but well, made my day! :)
Hey thats true..I dont know where is India heading to these days...so pathetic. Btw how's ur kid now?
Hmmmm I have never been called gracious before - hmmmmmm???
Hope your son is doing better :)
Lol and a bear hug for lil hanuman from Aunty S:) You might as well check with the ER guys if they have benefits for regulars... :) Might as well make the most of the situ until junior grows up:) No?;)
CU::its been a loooong time...!
Kavi:: as good as he can be...:)
rayshma:: that's something to smile about...here in singapore, they have acampaign to incite diners to leave their tables clean so that the next person is not put off...and not many locals like doing that...
Arathi:: he's fine now,how have you been?
pink dogwood:: mebbe polite, nice, sweet?...and guess what? this is the first time this particular word 'gracious" has been used to praise me :D
Ziah:: spoken like a true lawyer...and you give that bear hug in person okay? and noone cares about me, now...except Prats...
India suddenly fell into the currently 'unsafe' countries in the world cos of the horrible Mumbai attacks. I know that anywhere is unsafe but ppl hv very short memories and they go by wuts current.
Sri Lanka is also on the UNSAFE list for a very long time now.
btw Im bak :)
Keshi.
poor lil guy...my heart goes out to him and to you.
its called growing pains,cuts,nicks and fractures...
come n check my Update Suma ;-)
Keshi.
Last line cracked me up completely..Poor guy.
Cheers
preeti
an award for ya! :D
cheers!
Yup no place is safe. And in India it is worse off because the political system just cashes in on such tragedies rather than preventing them.
Reading what the receptionist said reminded me about something that happened to me in Hong Kong (Kawloon actually but we always end up saying HK) long ago. I was walking and bumped into this lady (the pavement wasn't crowded). So I apologized (loudly and clearly enough for her to hear). She actually stopped turned and stated at me and then smiled. It might not sound odd but it felt odd back then. And I turned to my cousin who lives there and asked what that was all about (I mean I bump into hear and shes all smiles?) He said 'Oh people bump into each other all the time here. No one says sorry. Maybe she was just happy to hear someone apologize to her'. So I'm like 'how can you not apologize when you bump into people' and he's like 'go to a crowded street and trying to not bump into someone. Everyone walks here'. So I says 'but then why don't people apologize' and he says 'How many people will you keep saying sorry to?'.
I remember thinking Okkkaayyyy thank god I don't live here. No wonder that lady seemed happy.
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