There’s so much goodness in our world. We must pause from
running the rat race to notice it though!
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| Picture shot on mobile camera with available light Kalam in the red circle Karthikeyan, the Uber cabbie |
Yesterday, when we
were riding on Uber, we noticed something interesting on the car’s front inner
display shelf. There was a picture of former Indian President Abdul Kalam, who
died last month, along with miniature statuettes of Shirdi Baba and Ganesha on
the shelf. Kalam smiled back at us, waving charismatically, from an acrylic stand – in fact his presence was more prominent than even that of the
Gods’ (who normally adorn car/vehicle interiors in India)! We asked our cabbie,
Karthikeyan, who was in his early thirties, “Why Kalam?” And Karthikeyan replied, proudly: “He is my teacher that I never met. He taught me the value of
muyarchi (hard work/disciplined
effort) and naermai
(integrity/honesty) through his Life.”
In a dog-eat-dog
world, where even the “safe and secure” Uber cab aggregation service has been
mired in crime and controversy – with at least two instances of rape by its
cabbies being reported from the National Capital Region in the last 12 months,
Karthikeyan’s originality and genuineness made a difference. Besides, yesterday
was Teacher’s Day. And what better way to be reminded of two values that can
never fail us in Life – hard work and honesty – that too through the Life of Kalam,
a great teacher himself and an apostle who lived by and practiced those values
till his last breath. The other learning is also this – it is said that if your work can inspire even one soul in your lifetime, you would have led a Life of
meaning. And Kalam touched so many, many lives. Will you ever find an Indian
cabbie sporting any other Indian President’s picture in his or her vehicle?
Our inspiration: we must live our Life in such a way that people
will think of us when they want to be reminded of goodness and beauty in the
world. Kalam lived this way. Karthikeyan is living his Life this way. Will
you too?
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