On 13th
January 2017, I experienced Instant Karma. Not the music band, but Karma in its
purest form, delivered instantly, unlike the traditionally slow pace it takes.
On that
day, my mother and I visited Vishranti, an old age home for destitute women.
Every year, my mother makes a donation on her mother’s death anniversary and
this year, we opted to do it here. We had made a prior appointment and the Home
asked us to come there around lunch. We did and after completing the donation
formalities, they took us around the campus.
It was
quite an experience to meet so many old ladies coming from myriad backgrounds,
housed in a good and calm environment. They had a dorm like setup for the elders
who could take care of themselves and we were told that there is a separate
area for those who need full time attendance. We even met a sprightly 102-years
old paatti, whose claim to fame was that she worked in Vaitheeshwaran Kovil, as
a kolam artist, till she was 80!
We were
then asked to wait till lunch was served. And once all the ladies assembled a
common prayer was chanted and the list of donors for the day was read out.
Then, we were asked to partake in the serving of food. Now this was a little
unexpected and I felt very happy doing it. It was a feeling that doesn’t really
come, when we simply write a cheque as a donation. Not that it has changed me
into becoming a “volunteer” type of person, but I think I can understand why
some genuine people do it.
Now, during
this lunch time, we were joined by a family of 3 comprising of a vociferous husband
(they do exist), a wife and their gawky pre-teen kid. They had brought a box of
sweets and they served it along with us. Turned out that they were quite
regular in visiting this place and that day was the husband’s birthday.
Now, me
being the usual quiet guy (at least in public with strangers), thought this was
a good moment to portray a different image and decided to crack a joke, on the commonly accepted comedy-piece called Vijay. “After all that these old ladies have
experienced in life, why do you want to make them watch a Vijay movie? Don’t you
have any other option?”. Well, at least that was the dialogue I had in my mind
and quite literally opened my mouth to utter the first syllable.
That’s when
the advocate took over (his nature suited his profession) and told them that
his son had acted in the movie! A gamut of thoughts ran through my head ranging
from WTF to Thank God I am not a loud mouth. The advocate went on to add that
even he had starred in the move as part of the villain’s legal counsel.
Now imagine
what level of embarrassment I would have caused if I had said the dialogue that
I wanted to. It may have even lead to unnecessary heart-burn and ruined what
was otherwise a very peaceful and satisfying experience. I feel that all the
punyam I earned with the donation and more importantly, the serving of food to
elders, definitely came back as Instant Karma to save me.
1 comment:
I am sure that the mild good fortune had nothing to do with good karma. The lack of spontaneity was definitely due to the non-functioning status of almost all nerve endings except those around the stomach region, as a result of the lunch you had just had. Besides, all good karma would definitely go to your mother, you would be left with a residual driver karma at best. And driver karma would ensure that you don't get into a fender bender with a "Youth" on a Eero Aanda.
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