The Final Taste
Lunch times at the ConnectFor office can be morphed into special occasions under the following circumstances:
1. When it’s someone’s birthday and/or when desserts have been ordered
2. When someone goes down to the chaat-wala downstairs and brings back a plate of Nimbu Puri
Last week, the team had cause for celebration because Number 3 was happening. I noticed that Maniti refrained from touching the Nimbu Puri until the end of her meal. I asked her if it was the soggy-ness that she was after. She patiently replied that that was not the case. This is when she told me about her theory –
She liked ending things on a good note. The last thing she ate would be the final taste that is left in her mouth. This taste would remind her lunch and so, she wanted it to be special. A bad final taste would indicate a not-so-great meal. Thus, the saving of the Nimbu Puri until the end. This idea seemed interesting at first glance but the more I thought about it, the more I found that it could be applied to everything in life. It was another incident that brought me to this epiphany.
I was traveling home via the Mumbai local train one night after a dinner with friends. I was buying a ticket for my commute when I realized that the two people standing at the machine next to me were
1. Not Indian
2. Couldn’t read the Hindi script on the screen
I asked them if I could be of any help. They were more than grateful to have someone who knew their way around the station. I bought their tickets and stayed with him until their boarded the train, all the while throwing bits of helpful tourist information at them. They seemed happy for the help. Seeing them happy made me happy. As I got home that night, I couldn’t recall the fight with my mother or that huge work problem I had. All I could think about was the grateful look on their faces. The final taste left in my mouth was a good one and therefore, the entire day was great for me.
This realization made me think about the power of kindness; the way that it can start a chain and brighten up lives, which is why I am so excited about ConnectFor’s #100KSmiles initiative. More details to come on this, but it’s closely linked to the happiness caused in a chain reaction when someone performs a random act of kindness.
