Nurturing Thursday: Kindness

My Paris trip was a last minute trip and so I decided to relax and spend time with my family instead of thinking much about photography. Though my family is supportive they are not photographers 🙂

Anyways, I am going to share my experience of talking with a stranger. One day my husband and I were eating breakfast. All tables were busy. An old lady (she was not very very old but old enough to be a granny) asked me if she can sit with us, which I accepted. Still we were busy in our own world, talking light. Suddenly something happened to me and

Me: “can I ask you a question”?

She: “Yes, sure”.

Me: “” We three are sitting on a table but my husband and I are talking to each other leaving you alone.  But then I am not sure if you like to talk to strangers. So do you like talking?”

She: Ohhhhhhh….. (hard for her to talk, she used her handkerchief), thank you so much for thinking about me. Actually I really wanted to talk to someone but…

I thought she will start sobbing. She took a few minutes to gather herself, then she explained her situation. She was in Paris with her friend for a week. First few days were fantastic and then suddenly her friend got sick. Her friend had been taken to emergency medical care. The appendix got ruptured  and spreaded infection. The hospital was not that near to the hotel and it was difficult for the lady to cope with this sudden situation. I tried to console her which she appreciated very kindly. She told us about her family in the US and how badly she was missing her husband. She said this was her first trip without her husband. Before saying goodbye she thanked us again and said she was feeling much better. She had a nice smile while saying goodbye. We felt good that we could be of some help to a stranger.

This incidence reminded me of the quote by Saunders

In 1957, Saunders wrote the line, “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans,” usually attributed to John Lennon. It appeared in a 1957 issue of the Reader’s Digest.

For Nurturing Thursday  I would like to share this quote:

Smile at strangers and you just might change a life ~Steve Maraboli

Someone is posing for a shot near the Louvre palace.

गोधडी भाग ४: सहृदयता/kindness

पेपरात रोज येणाऱ्या बातम्यांची वर्गवारी विभागणी केली तर, चांगल्या बातम्या कमी आणि वाईट बातम्यांची, अर्थात वाईट घडलेल्या गोष्टींची संख्या जास्त असणार. याचा अर्थ समाजात सगळे वाईटच घडत असते का? कि जे काही चांगले घडते किंवा सुरळीत होते त्याच्या कडे आम्ही सपशेल दुर्लक्ष करतो. वाईट गोष्टी लांब पर्यंत जातात किंवा लक्षात राहतात. असो.

२० मार्चला सूर्य ग्रहण झाला. ग्रहण म्हटले कि आपल्या कडे बरेच जण प्रवास टाळतात, नवीन काम सुरु करत नाही आणि बरेच काही. पण बरेच जण तो पाहतात देखील अर्थातच योग्य पद्धतीने. तर, त्या दिवशी माझा नवरा प्रवासात होता. विमान KLM कंपनीचे होते.  विमान ३५००० फुटावर होते. आकाश निरभ्र होते. आणि सूर्यग्रहण सुरु झाले होते.  विमान चालकाने विमान दोन वेळा पूर्ण गोल फिरवले जेणे करून विमानातील सर्व प्रवासी सूर्यग्रहण पाहू शकतील. माझ्या नवऱ्याने ज्या शब्दात आणि भावनेत त्या प्रसंगाचे वर्णन केले ते लिहिणे मला जमणार नाही पण प्रवाश्यांचा येवढा विचार करणाऱ्या वैमानिकाचा चांगुलपणा मी इतरां बरोबर share करावा असे मला वाटले.

हे दोन्ही फोटो माझ्या नवऱ्याने ३५००० फुटा वर काढले आहेत.

These images display amazing view of the solar eclipse from flight to Amsterdam on 20th of  March 2015. Crystal clear sky at 35,000 feet.  KLM pilot circled twice so that everybody could get a good view of the eclipse. “It was surreal to have this experience…” as my husband said. I thought it would be very appropriate to share the thoughtfulness of the pilot. Just to say thank you.