Last night, I was talking to a friend and lamenting about not doing much now, no job, nothing happening on TNFES thanks to no fresh infusion of donor funds and how I am trying to keep doing things to stay centred. I told him that I was baking breads for a charity sale, the little I could do. He asked me why I thought like it and proceeded to talk me about the Butterfly Effect, that a small act could mean something more. He quoted some instances and told that what we would never dream of could still happen. I kept thinking about that and it propped me up for a while.
It was 1985 and devastating floods had hit Chennai. Parts of Chennai were submerged. Velachery truly lived the moniker of Vella-chery or flood-hit town. Our close friends and relatives had to take refuge on the terrace of their buildings even as the clouds showered some more and rising water snapped at their heels. Telephones were not widespread and we barely got to know the ground reality.
I remember, on the 3rd day or so, a lot of people were holed up in car sheds near the "All in One" stores in Besant Nagar where we lived in. Our locality was spared then as it was 20 years later as well. My mother carried the only loaf of bread we had at home to give to the hungry homeless people there. We didn't have a fridge back then, veggies and fruits couldn't have been stored and we, ourselves as a family didn't have much to go on. Yet, my mother carried that with her. I asked my mother why she was doing that. She told me and I remember that very clearly, Ivaalukku onnume illai, irukkarathu namakku podhum. These people have nothing and what we have is enough for us. And then she added, engeyo, namakku therinjavaalukkum yaaraavathu poduvaanga illa? Somewhere, somebody might help people known to us also, right? Perhaps, she was also talking about the butterfly effect in her own way. That evening changed my life in many ways.
Years on, I have always been blessed with wonderful friends, family and benefactors who have lent a helping hand and leaning shoulder when I needed. I consider it a privilege and honour to be the recipient of such kindness. I have also done this and that, helped people around me the little that I could.
Yesterday, I posted in a WhatsApp group about this charity sale, so more money could be raised for a worthy cause. Surprisingly, many people messaged me in turn asking me to bake for them. Now, that was some unintended consequence I had not anticipated. I am a novice baker who is still striving to learn and make myself better at this. I may or may not do this but couldn't help wondering about how a small ripple could lead to something more.
A loaf of bread my mother donated during the floods in 1985 inspired my interest in social service. The floods in 2015 helped me meet this friend who talked about the Butterfly Effect while I was baking breads for a charity. Strange how life comes a full circle.
Karma, Butterfly Effect. Whatever you want to call it. Send some goodness into the world around you. You'd never know what you'd get in return.
It was 1985 and devastating floods had hit Chennai. Parts of Chennai were submerged. Velachery truly lived the moniker of Vella-chery or flood-hit town. Our close friends and relatives had to take refuge on the terrace of their buildings even as the clouds showered some more and rising water snapped at their heels. Telephones were not widespread and we barely got to know the ground reality.
I remember, on the 3rd day or so, a lot of people were holed up in car sheds near the "All in One" stores in Besant Nagar where we lived in. Our locality was spared then as it was 20 years later as well. My mother carried the only loaf of bread we had at home to give to the hungry homeless people there. We didn't have a fridge back then, veggies and fruits couldn't have been stored and we, ourselves as a family didn't have much to go on. Yet, my mother carried that with her. I asked my mother why she was doing that. She told me and I remember that very clearly, Ivaalukku onnume illai, irukkarathu namakku podhum. These people have nothing and what we have is enough for us. And then she added, engeyo, namakku therinjavaalukkum yaaraavathu poduvaanga illa? Somewhere, somebody might help people known to us also, right? Perhaps, she was also talking about the butterfly effect in her own way. That evening changed my life in many ways.
Years on, I have always been blessed with wonderful friends, family and benefactors who have lent a helping hand and leaning shoulder when I needed. I consider it a privilege and honour to be the recipient of such kindness. I have also done this and that, helped people around me the little that I could.
Yesterday, I posted in a WhatsApp group about this charity sale, so more money could be raised for a worthy cause. Surprisingly, many people messaged me in turn asking me to bake for them. Now, that was some unintended consequence I had not anticipated. I am a novice baker who is still striving to learn and make myself better at this. I may or may not do this but couldn't help wondering about how a small ripple could lead to something more.
A loaf of bread my mother donated during the floods in 1985 inspired my interest in social service. The floods in 2015 helped me meet this friend who talked about the Butterfly Effect while I was baking breads for a charity. Strange how life comes a full circle.
Karma, Butterfly Effect. Whatever you want to call it. Send some goodness into the world around you. You'd never know what you'd get in return.
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