Skip to main content

Four Points - At Random - Think it over.

 Four Points - At Random - Think it over

Dinesh Kumar Kapila
Just four points. From here and there. We can think about them and their implications.
Point One - Don’t give advise unless asked for - A school teacher asked his young students to carry out one noble task each and tell him about it the next day. Well, the next day one student immediately raised his hand and said he wanted to relate his noble task, undertaken yesterday. Surprised at this volunteering, the teacher nodded and the young student said he saw an old lady standing by a busy road and helped her cross it. Immediately a second student informed he too had helped an old lady cross a busy road. This student had just completed his story when a third student informed that he too had helped an old lady cross the road. The teacher said he was deeply moved with their sincerity but was puzzled how each one of them had helped old ladies to cross busy roads. The class monitor, a bright young girl, said quietly, I was watching, it was the same old lady and she never wanted to cross the road in the first place.
Point Two - You are just a caretaker of your house and property - Don’t be too proud of your house and property. Enjoy your wealth and comforts and find happiness in them, if you may. But remember as you age more and more it’s your daughter in law, who comes as an unknown person initially as to her attributes, who will gradually but firmly decide as to the furnishings and curtains and upkeep and you will sit and watch TV and May be a religious or spiritual channel at that. It just will happen as much as the Earth goes through its rotations. If not the son and daughter in law, well then the daughter and son in law will come into play.
Point Three - He / She is the one to give - One young child went with his mother to a candy store. the kind shopkeeper looked at their dresses and told the young child to pick up whatever candies he liked from a jar. The child refused. Puzzled, he said take any of the candies from any of the jars. The boy was quiet while his mother sort of nudged him to go ahead. Come on son, said the kind shopkeeper and added, I am not charging at all. Seeing the young boy still quiet, the shopkeeper reached into the candy jars and handed over two large fistfuls of candies to the boy, he had to hold out his shirt to receive them. When they reached home, his mom asked the young boy as to why he kept quiet, the young lad said, Mom, his hands were much much larger than mine, I actually received much much more by waiting patiently and quietly. A lesson there somewhere surely.
Point Four- My good friend had a long chat the other day and said as we age we grow quieter and better. Puzzled, I asked him and he told me about his friend who I have met once or twice. My friend said he saw his friend after some time with his wife. They meet rarely. This particular friend, some years older than my friend, was quiet and attentive and was helping out with the snacks etc. Well this guy had been famous for his temper and shouting and not listening to his wife and here he was, quiet as a mouse and very very domesticated. A roaring tiger in the house and family was now well a well behaved sheep. Well said my friend, if this is what awaits us, we might as well have a better life of getting along in our middle age too ! Now even the speed of the fan or the AC is controlled by the spouse !
Food for thought ! What would you say !!
————-///////————-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Forgotten Unsung Heroes of the Battle of Madhumati. 1971. Bangladesh. 45 Cavalry.

  The Forgotten Unsung Heroes of the Battle of Madhumati. 1971. Bangladesh. 45 Cavalry. By Dinesh K Kapila  (Chief General Manager (Retd). NABARD (As discussed with Major General (then Major) Pramod   Kumar Batra, Retd and Other Veterans)   Just a Glimpse – Cdr 62 Mountain Brigade – “Pramod, I believe it is hard to maneuver PT 76 tanks in this terrain and waters”. Pat is the answer, “it is hard and I may struggle, but you will never see me to give up or fai”l. They stood together, on the edge of the swift flowing Madhumati, the staff and soldiers waiting. It was dark. Very Dark. After waiting for some time the Bde Cdr had said, “lets go”. Major PK Batra vividly recollects even now watching the Cdr's face as he looked at the map with a torch. He was calm and very quiet, showing ,no fear or afraid and maintaining a dignified silence. He remembered the old saying, "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown". It was a moment in not only the life of the Brigade Co...
17 comments
Read more

A Knock on The Door and a Memory

  A Knock on The Door and a Memory A Short Story By Dinesh K Kapila  (written for a contest, had to start with Knock Knock ...) Knock knock. The sharp rap shattered the silence, jolting her from a restless daze. Who would knock so late ? Open the door ! The voice, urgent, cut through the stillness. Her breath hitched. That voice ……. Unmistakable. She froze, heart pounding, hand inches from the knob. It could not be…. It sounded just like Dheeraj. How could it be? Just could not be. She was wondering, in the meantime, the knocking continued. Sharp raps. Relentless. She stood back a couple of steps. Wondering. Thinking should she open the door. It was late. Very late. ‘Wait’, she shouted loudly. ‘I will just take a minute”. That would buy her time. To think. What did he look like now. It was now more than three decades since they last met. She had moved on and so had Dheeraj. Life, it gives chances, you grab some, some you let go. On an impulse she steeled herself and o...
3 comments
Read more

Appearances ! Oh Chandigarh !

  Appearances ! Oh Chandigarh ! Dinesh K Kapila Appearances. The real self. The perceived self. The public self for the world to see, sometimes multiple selves. That is us. Surya felt only Chandigarh took it at times to another level. Surya was with his wife Annie at a house in a tony locality in Chandigarh. Visiting. For those who do not know, Chandigarh has a clear cut demarcation. Here localities are called Sectors. Sector 1 to Sector 30 are directly maintained by the Chandigarh Administration, they are visibly cleaner. Sector 8, Sector 9, Sector 6 are viewed as exclusive. It’s deeply rooted, this degree of exclusivity. The accents are apparently plusher and softer and lifestyles more lah de la, that is the refrain. Then come the other sectors. As you cross over from Sector 30 onwards, maintained by a private company, the perception itself changes, so goes the wisdom. One old timer, a hard nosed businessman from Sector 6 once told Surya, you guys in the Sectors such as 33,3...
1 comment
Read more