Thursday, December 1, 2011

Daily vitamin


This quality is very dear to me. The grace of appreciation, the ability to always remember a good turn and ever be thankful for a path eased, a doubt erased, a conflict resolved. More than any other trait, I wish this upon Aqseer and Asawari. Let them, dear God, never forget all that they have received from others. And more important, please give them the words and the ability to express their gratitude.

The girls are tough. They can handle a whole lot alone. But in all these years of frenetic activity, they have had people touch their lives in a hundred and score ways. There have been instructors who taught them a whole lot more than mere skill. There have been friends who have looked out for them. There have been strangers who’ve thumped their backs. There have been the role models who inspired and drove them.  There have been those in the family who encouraged and supported their decisions. There were experiences that taught them what to stay clear of. They most certainly have a lot, a whole lot to be thankful for!

I feel a great sense of pride when they remember to call a teacher therefore, when they take time out to look up an instructor or when they are thoughtful enough to drop an email to someone who contributed to their area of work. I want them to understand that adults who have had something to do with their upbringing did so by investing in them of their person. I want them to appreciate that this nurture is something you can never validate with a straightforward cost benefit analysis. How can you calculate the value of a guru’s vision of your future? Can you possibly assess the worth of an instructor’s ambitious estimate of your ability? Would you be able to quantify the confidence placed in you by a coach who fields you against his name?

There are things and more to be indebted for girls! So send a little ‘owe you’ to Rey sir when in pool, to Galina ma’am and Fernando sir when you extend in dance, to Dey sir and D’Mello sir when following a music sheet, to Shaira, to Singh sir, to Malti Ji, to Nisha ma’am, Padma ma’am, Urvashi ma’am……..so many more of them. 

Say thank you. It is the one prayer I would wish upon you. It is the one vitamin I would want you both to imbibe daily!

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