Small gestures, enormous rewards

I scanned my wardrobe to chose that day's wear.My eyes caught a growing pile of clothes that were combo of old clothes and those I had grown out of. Trashing good ,usable clothes didn't seem like a good idea. Concurring with this thought ,my mother suggested that we give them away to the poor and needy.With that ,we set off the next day with all kinds of used cum old clothes in four bags.Following my mother's lead , I wondered where she was going to take me .She walked out of the Triplicane railway station and stopped with a conclusive expression.

Another world

Puzzled, I looked around and the devastating scene right before my eyes answered my thoughts. Along the sour,stained walls of the Triplicane railway station were clumps of settlement.They had nothing that they could call a roof or a house . Some kids wore no clothes while others torn ones .In one corner was a woman trying to feed several mouths from one tin plate .Small children with unkempt hair and dirt-streaked faces slept on the pavement , while few played with a punctured tyre and bottle lids. This scene evoked a contrasting image of my colourful,well polished wardrobe at home.They would have probably never seen a full meal in their life, let alone a wardrobe.

I opened my bag and took out a couple of shirts.The next minute I was mobbed by kids of varying ages each trying to get whatever they could.One kid only as tall as my knee, took a shirt that was probably too big for her, kissed it and immediately wore it.A heavenly happiness seemed to radiate from her face.She ran forward and hugged me for something like a lifetime.To me , it was just a shirt, but to her it meant the world and maybe more.

Moreover, it gave me some undefinable pleasure on seeing that infectious smile light her face.

Stopping by to smell the roses

After distributing everything , later when I was sleeping on a fluffy pillow and was comfortably tucked into a cosy blanket , I clasped my hands and had a silent prayer , thanking God for blessing me with all the necessities of life and aiding me in giving hapiness to someone who was not as blessed as me.