People, people, people.
They are everywhere. The ones you like, the ones you don’t, some you tolerate,
some you wish were dead. While you are busy hating mankind, a person comes
along who makes you happy, gives you joy and makes you smile. With each passing
day, you learn a lesson. A lesson in humility, a lesson in forgiveness. You are
learning all of this not because the person loves to preach but rather you see
it being practised. Then slowly you start to realize that the world is not as
bad as your cynical mind perceived it to be. I have been lucky in this lifetime
to meet one such person. The person I have been referring to is Vidya Mary
George. If you ever have to find her in a crowd, look for a person who is
jumping up and down. She does this not because she is excited, but that is the only
way she can get others to notice her. Yeah, she is short!
What do you do when you
are mad and frustrated at someone or everyone? I do not know about you but I
would probably yell or snap at people. Even the most patient person shows signs
of frustration. But in the two years that I have met her, I have not seen her
raise her voice even once or express any signs of anger. Even if the person who
is giving her the toughest of times bumps in to her, she will smile, talk to
the person like everything is all right. Once when she was doing this I asked
her that how does she manage to tolerate? Her reply was very simple. She said
that she is trying to understand why the person is behaving in that manner and
if there is anyway she can help. I was shocked beyond words.
A conversation with her
rings clearly in my head. There was a waste management rally and I asked her
why she is not coming. She told me, “I am not the rally kind of a person. If
something has fallen on the ground I pick it up and throw it and that is how I
manage waste”. These words had a strange impact on me. There are very few
people who have been able to inspire me with their honesty, clarity of
thoughts, ability to forgive and Vidya easily tops that list. But her charm
lies in her smile. It can disarm anyone and make you abandon all your thoughts.
Her smile speaks a thousand words and it is with that smile she will win over
you and me and make sure that we carry her in our hearts for a long long time!
