Travel tales

Whenever  we travel on vacations , staying at hotels is the common norm as is with everyone or some odd times the home stays ...Gone are the Sarais and Aaram Ghars, the various trust Bhavans or the government Dak Ghars where our grandparents stayed while travelling .Those days they were not used to the comfort that the current hospitality industry offers us.The Asian hostels boast of the finest hospitality that is unheard of even in the developed countries .

For the longest time I can remember even as a young couple without kids back then or now with both kids in tow we have an unspoken rule that we follow. Before we leave the room for the day ... WE CLEAN IT UP !! Now - a-days ,papa dearest takes the kids first for breakfast while I stay back and clean up the mess they created the night before.Toys strewn across the room , one odd spoon under the table , an empty water bottle under the bed , books lying on the chair. It just takes about ten minutes.Some might argue but isn't it what the housekeeping staff are paid for ? So , why do their work ? 

It's not out of embarrassment for the mess that my kids create ( well ... To be honest it is a tiny bit of that too 😉) but it's more because of the respect of the unseen face who is assigned the duty of cleaning my room that day . All jobs require a bit of motivation and inspiration but I always find it hard to imagine anyone being motivated to clean 50 or even 100 rooms a day where all kinds of people stay . I have a nephew who has graduated in hotel management. He informs me that nothing shocks him after his stint as an intern at a leading five star hotel at Mumbai . After being a trainee in the housekeeping department he has seen it all. From fruit peels on the floor to shoes thrown under the table to cigarette ash on the bed and many other unspeakable items . However good the pay packet might be ,it can never be good enough to make the housekeeping job seem something that one looks forward to .. Day in and day out !!!

So while on vacation this time around , I got my older son to practice gratitude to the unseen face who cleans the room by making him pen, in his handwriting  something to the effect " Dear housekeeping Team , thank you for cleaning up the mess we created !.. Signed V ( age 6 yrs ) and S (age 4.8 yrs )..And a similar note was sent to the in-room dining team for bringing the food to them in the room.

I just thought it will brighten up someone's day but something bigger happened which I didn't expect. When we were checking out , the housekeeping manager came to meet my boys personally and with a small gift in hand for them . He thanked the boys for their note and said the gift was from the entire housekeeping team . They were very happy to receive the thank you note and more so because it was from the children and in their handwriting. I personally think that it made them feel appreciated and respected something that has become so rare that it's astonishing. Then a second thing happened which shocked me even further.The dining room lady manager showed me the photo of the second note on her whatsapp  group which was circulated by the room dining in team . They were so thrilled to receive it they sent it out on their Whatsapp group .

What did I do ?? Nothing at all ... I just made two small kids write a small note of gratitude... But the love it generated really astonished me !! Do we really as a society say "thank you"  so rarely to the unseen faces who do various jobs for us ? If yes , it's time to go out and say that small " Thank You " .. It doesn't take much time but the happiness it generates in the heart of the person receiving it is manifold and so worth it !! Maybe the person cleaning your room today or making the beds will not do it as a routine task but will do it with a song in their heart and a smile on their lips , just because they know that they are appreciated 😊😊 

A balloon girl

There I was waiting at the end of a lane for my car when I spotted her ... Balloons in hand !! She must have been just over 10 years old but had the presence of a girl much older. Kohl rimmed eyes and Paan in her mouth made her attempt to look older much more conspicuous . I asked her for two balloons that were shaped in the form of "Winnie the Pooh ". She quoted a price I knew was far more than what it should have been . I asked  her to bring it down . She gave me a look of cold contempt that showed her bitterness towards the " have " sections of society ( the " have nots " was all that she grew up in ).  I ended up buying the two balloons and paid her the cash . As I waited for my car , bags and now the added two balloons in hand I noticed her still standing besides me , now  leaning on a parked two wheeler by the road . She kept looking at me with humour as if trying to gauge what it must be to live a life different from her's ( or was she just observing me with those expressive eyes !) 

I turned to look at her and gave her a faint smile . She didn't return the same . It struck me  what must be it like to be a child and not enjoy the joys of childhood . Here was a child selling balloons that she must rarely have herself played with as it was her means of livelihood . Maybe she had a parent or two,  who counted her balloons before she left for the day and took in all the money of her sale for the day .

I rummaged through my handbag while balancing the bags ( and the balloons ) in my hand and found a 50 rupee note . I called her over and gave it to her . " Go buy yourself whatever you want today .. Something to eat or anything you want " ... The child in her suddenly came to life and I saw the gleam in her eyes . The smile lit her eyes before it came out slowly on her lips as she guaged the full meaning of what I meant . The fifty rupees was all her's to keep !!! And then she stumped me !!!! She did something that I did not expect out of her , much less think of it as a lesson for me . She taught me the true meaning of kindness and generosity !!! She asked me to choose two more balloons from her lot and wouldn't hear a " no " for an answer . She was very insistent and the child in her goaded me until I finally relented and picked the smallest two from her lot .Then she stood there by my side like a guardian angel and kept looking out for my car enquiring whether each passing car was mine . 

This little girl was the child once again that she was meant to be . As I sat in my car and my car started to move , I turned back to see her radiant face slowly getting lost in the growing traffic but the smile on her face would haunt me for days at stretch .

I learnt the biggest lesson in generosity that day .. I (who has multiples of fifty rupees ..atleast in my bank)  had actually debated in my mind once ,before handing her just one single note( how shallow of me !! ) ... And she ,who had just a handful of balloons  , give me two extra ones from the limited lot .

Next time you see someone selling balloons .. Look at the person behind the seller .. Sometimes they are meant to teach you bigger lessons in life than any college can ever teach you .

P.S. I have two happy Poohs dancing at home with two extra balloons !!!

 

Travels

So we got chatting in the car , hubby and self and we were discussing how train travel during childhood was such a magical journey . 

For the longest time I can remember we travelled every summer to my grandparents abode in Rajasthan (from Mumbai !! ) and the only mode of transport was the Indian railways . My father used to fill out the pink or yellow coloured railway forms well in advance always pondering through the thick railway timetable before fixing the dates of travel.

The day of arrival was preceded by my mother making besan ladoos , dry chiwda , chakli etc ( all for the impending travel ) as well as hot food to carry for the 24 hour journey which was usually Aloo- Puri and bharwan karela for grown ups ( does anyone remember opening the threads of bharwan Karela ?? )😊

There was bedding that was tied in a bed- roll which included soft pillows , bedsheets and duvets for all of us . My father used to religiously set the bedroll on the topmost berth and at night set up each berth with all the required items . We literally slept the bestest on those train journeys ... Morning would bring in " chai.. Garam chai !! " as well as some really creative chai wallah calling out " Kharab chai ... Kharab chai " 😳😳 to catch everyone's attention . 

Does anyone remember those tomato- cucumber chatwallahs ? Or the peanut sellers ? Or the little children who clinked stones which singing Hindi film songs ...  Running down to nondescript stations to fill drinking water ( no one drank Bisleri water back then and we were all fine with it 😊) and fearing that my father was left behind at stations when he went to fetch hot samosa or Kachoris for all of us ... 

Befriending stranger families who played cards with us and by the end of the journey we were one big unit with everyone sharing food and cold drinks .

Sticking faces on the window pane grills  to catch the turning train on those bends while the engine hooted away ..  Watching the landscape passing by .. Waving at little village children .. Ah .. The train travels ..

Come back to Circa 2016 - 

Our children are pros at air travels .. They click their seat belts before the announcement for the same . They remember the menu for different air lines and have their own preferences ... It's high time to introduce them to the joys of train travels ... As I announce this to my children that the next vacation will be by train .. My older one is very happy at the proposal while the younger one quips " please remember to take a big bottle of hand sanitiser in the train !!! " 😉

Happy Ramzaan Eid 2016

 A very sweet neighbour got me to put Mehendi on my hands last night as it was Eid and she was getting Mehendi put on her hands too... Now that's real neighbourhood bond !! 😍😍😍 

A pure heart has no boundaries .... And I'm sooo happy  that two small girls in their cute PJs sat and gave me company while we all laughed and ate banana walnut cake .... Love ,.. Love .. Love 

Aisi bhi baatein hoti hain !!

On this Sunday morning ... I heard a very familiar sound .. Coming from outside the apartment gate ... I peeped to see a knife sharpener tradesman with his trademark cycle ..I took the knives from the kitchen and went out with the boys to show them , how he sharpens the knives . These are dying trades.. In the next 5 years maybe we won't get to see these people ... Till then it's nice to see them again and after all it doesn't harm to get the kitchen knives sharpened the old way again . 

(P.S. While the knives were being sharpened and the boys watched awestruck..Hubby dearest gave his gyan to the boys " just as the knife has to undergo some amount of discomfort to become sharp ..similarly  in life .. We have to undergo some hardships to emerge out being successful "... My older one hears it and quips quietly "All right papa ... I'll finish my homework !! " 😉😊😊😊)

 

 

Sleep away your troubles !!

 As I looked at the night sky full of heavy rain clouds , my mind drifted to another night sky ..at another age ... Seems like an era away ... Summer nights at my grandparents home at Rajasthan ..the bungalow with stonewalled  fences and brick walls covered in deep coloured bougainvillea   ... When we kids would sleep in the courtyard ... The charpoys lined next to each other ,covered with the white linen ... The childish sprinkling of fistfuls of  water on the beds in the hope of cooling the summer heat ... The barking dogs somewhere in the colony ..the periodic "tic toc " of the lathi of the night watchman doing his rounds ... The crickets clicking away in the shrubs ... The occasional fireflies on the nearby bushes ... And star gazing and lulling away to sleep ... The desert just happens to magnify and multiply the stars .. A million times over ... And as you gaze at them and realise the minuscule nature of yourself in this vast universe .. All troubles melt away !!.. All worries vanish and an assurance from the universe overtakes you.. that all will be well .. It has to .... And you have to just accept yourself and do what you have to ...Just as there are million stars twinkling away ... Sleep well my friends .. And if you have any troubles bothering the sleepy heads ..think of the million stars out there .. Twinkling away ... Without a worry .. Watching over you .. Whispering " All will be well " ...Tomorrow the sun rises again .. Bringing with it .. New hopes .. New Beginings .. New You !!