THE SMILE
In the night yesterday, it started raining while I was in the lift at work, waiting to get to my bike. In the lift, a couple of people talked about the rain and about driving in the rain. My colleagues and I exchanged looks of dismay. Driving on my motorbike in the rain would not be easy !
As I slowly took the bike out to feel the intensity of the rain, I was caught in two minds. In first gear, I brought the bike to dead stop, paused and reflected : should I wait for the rain to pour and blow over ? Or was it worthwhile to drive into the light drizzle ? If I waited, after the rain stopped, there would be a lot of vehicles on the road, leading to traffic jams. If I left now, I would be drenched as it appeared that the rain would not stop quickly : it was a steady, incessant rain.
I also needed to make a purchase at a mall for a friend. That decided it for me. I let the clutch engage and much to the consternation of my fellow colleagues, I drove into the rain. That sounds grand and heroic, but what it meant was drops of rain drenching my bare arms and entering my watch. Soon, I was drenched to the skin, as expected.
I began to have second thoughts when the rain picked up momentum, but by that time I figured it was correct to continue since I was already completely wet. Soon, I found myself scouting for a parking place at the mall. A few people waiting under its shelter looked at me curiously : clearly, to them, driving in the rain was not something that sensible people did !
Anyway, I made my purchase and went to the gift wrapping section. There was nobody there and I was beginning to get annoyed after waiting for a minute. Just at that time, a girl approached the counter and began the gift wrapping. The colour of her nail polish matched the paper she was wrapping. She was not too skilful, but she got the measurements around my purchase correctly done and did the sealing well. I have seen better gift wrapping done, but since she had done her best, I gave her a sincere "Thank you".
She smiled - and that smile was something special. I don't know whether it was the tone of the "Thank you" I made or my wet appearance, but I could see from somewhere that the "Thank you" went home. I think she said "You are welcome" or something to that effect, but what I recall most was the smile on her face. I feel that it was unexpected for her - perhaps, she was expecting that I may berate her for the delay in turning up. It may also be that she had not met anybody courteous yesterday evening - or may be it was just the practised smile that she learnt at her training session ! Whatever it was, I can still recall the smile !
I started my bike and then forgot all about the smile as I concentrated on the drive. However, the "domino effect" of the smile showed : at a signal, I smiled at an autorickshaw driver after I involuntarily shivered due to the cold rain beating against my face and arms. I don't usually do that kind of thing (smiling at autorickshaw drivers, I mean :-) ) The driver made a sign of wearing a jacket. I got his hint and told him that I had forgotten to get mine today. He seemed to understand. That incident livened up his evening to some extent, I think. I expect he went home a little happier.
Let me confirm that it is true then : a genuine "thank you" and an equally genuine smile can create wonders !
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NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
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===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged as
the properties of their owners.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
In the night yesterday, it started raining while I was in the lift at work, waiting to get to my bike. In the lift, a couple of people talked about the rain and about driving in the rain. My colleagues and I exchanged looks of dismay. Driving on my motorbike in the rain would not be easy !
As I slowly took the bike out to feel the intensity of the rain, I was caught in two minds. In first gear, I brought the bike to dead stop, paused and reflected : should I wait for the rain to pour and blow over ? Or was it worthwhile to drive into the light drizzle ? If I waited, after the rain stopped, there would be a lot of vehicles on the road, leading to traffic jams. If I left now, I would be drenched as it appeared that the rain would not stop quickly : it was a steady, incessant rain.
I also needed to make a purchase at a mall for a friend. That decided it for me. I let the clutch engage and much to the consternation of my fellow colleagues, I drove into the rain. That sounds grand and heroic, but what it meant was drops of rain drenching my bare arms and entering my watch. Soon, I was drenched to the skin, as expected.
I began to have second thoughts when the rain picked up momentum, but by that time I figured it was correct to continue since I was already completely wet. Soon, I found myself scouting for a parking place at the mall. A few people waiting under its shelter looked at me curiously : clearly, to them, driving in the rain was not something that sensible people did !
Anyway, I made my purchase and went to the gift wrapping section. There was nobody there and I was beginning to get annoyed after waiting for a minute. Just at that time, a girl approached the counter and began the gift wrapping. The colour of her nail polish matched the paper she was wrapping. She was not too skilful, but she got the measurements around my purchase correctly done and did the sealing well. I have seen better gift wrapping done, but since she had done her best, I gave her a sincere "Thank you".
She smiled - and that smile was something special. I don't know whether it was the tone of the "Thank you" I made or my wet appearance, but I could see from somewhere that the "Thank you" went home. I think she said "You are welcome" or something to that effect, but what I recall most was the smile on her face. I feel that it was unexpected for her - perhaps, she was expecting that I may berate her for the delay in turning up. It may also be that she had not met anybody courteous yesterday evening - or may be it was just the practised smile that she learnt at her training session ! Whatever it was, I can still recall the smile !
I started my bike and then forgot all about the smile as I concentrated on the drive. However, the "domino effect" of the smile showed : at a signal, I smiled at an autorickshaw driver after I involuntarily shivered due to the cold rain beating against my face and arms. I don't usually do that kind of thing (smiling at autorickshaw drivers, I mean :-) ) The driver made a sign of wearing a jacket. I got his hint and told him that I had forgotten to get mine today. He seemed to understand. That incident livened up his evening to some extent, I think. I expect he went home a little happier.
Let me confirm that it is true then : a genuine "thank you" and an equally genuine smile can create wonders !
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged as
the properties of their owners.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
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