Suman Tai has been working with me for the past 25 years plus.
Thin, frail, Maharastrian woman,
she belongs
to a tribe
I admiringly call...
A Professional!
She migrated from a small village near Pune.....Me shetkari aahey
"I am a farmer , first !"
She speaks local Marathi dialect,
which over the years I have begun to grasp;
But our connection is more from heart
and much much more than that of a boss and a sub-ordinate!!
From my end, specially, the emotion is much more of a respect...
She may not be the cleanest or the most efficient worker...
but her heart and loyalties are in the right place
What also stuns me, sometime, is her generosity
I have been taught from my childhood that I must share,
that Sharing is Caring....and I would call myself averagely , ahem, generous ....!
But I do find myself calculating what, how much, and with whom I share! :)
Whether its my favourite chocolate oolong tea which is rationed and brewed only when I am alone
or
my favourite mangoes which are slyly kept in that corner of the refrigerator where no one will rummage and notice...
I do run a quick check list of Should I? Must I ?
before I open my closed fist...
With Suman Tai its not like that.
She always finds an occasion to give, unconditionally and finds opportunities to do so :
Her bounty primarily being raw mangoes or jamun which fall off the trees in the colony we stay in and which she gathers....or some lemons handed over free by a vegetable vendor
With twinkling eyes and unbridled and unquestioning generosity, she removes them from her pallu, and hands over to me with simplicity and kindness!
She is truly abundant !
"Abundance is not the money you have in your bank account, the trophies on your shelf, the letters after your name, the list of goals reached, the number of people you know, your perfect body, your adoring fans... It is the delight with which you savour each unique moment, the joy with which you greet each new day.....
It is knowing yourself as presence, the power that creates and moves worlds. It is your open heart...
It is simplicity. It is kindness..... "
~Jeff Foster~
No comments:
Post a Comment