"Well, he is a 'Muslim' and I can't get my food delivered by him! Please change the delivery boy, else I will cancel the order"
This was the quote that rocked the ever boiling Indian twitter scene last week. Both sides of the spectrum, the religious right and the liberal left fought, abused, yelled and mocked each other. "Food does not have a religion, food is a religion", said the liberal left! The more vocal right-wing showed the various food rules religion has imposed on humanity. The stench of hatred was in fact nauseating.
When an old friend of mine pinged today reminding of the friendship day, It got me thinking. Nothing unusual I suppose. The older you get, faster the philosopher in you get going.
Day one in the United Kingdom! This great olympian and his wife, a world-leading researcher herself, drove a long distance just to pick me up. No, I have never known them before. She is a friend of a friend. Just a random act of kindness. Two days into this country, I was walking trepidatiously, looking lost, when a random stranger walked in and said, "Are you okay, do you need help?"! A swiss once walked an extra mile to help with an obscure presentation I had to make. A Colombian sat through an extra hour to explain a concept I did not understand. A man from Ghana helped me with my writing. Of course, the Pakistanis were the best. Two best buddies were Bangladeshis. And then the Indians. Indians from all over the place. Indians of different caste, creed, language and religion. Nothing deterred them from showing kindness and love. Nothing deterred them from being friends.
True, the bloody politicians, religious bigots, language and cultural terrorists may try and divide the world. But kindness and love will always prevail. For more the hatred being spewed, the tighter we will hold on to the precious friendships made over the years.
For friendships make the world. And friendships are made of love. And love shall overcome!
This was the quote that rocked the ever boiling Indian twitter scene last week. Both sides of the spectrum, the religious right and the liberal left fought, abused, yelled and mocked each other. "Food does not have a religion, food is a religion", said the liberal left! The more vocal right-wing showed the various food rules religion has imposed on humanity. The stench of hatred was in fact nauseating.
When an old friend of mine pinged today reminding of the friendship day, It got me thinking. Nothing unusual I suppose. The older you get, faster the philosopher in you get going.
Day one in the United Kingdom! This great olympian and his wife, a world-leading researcher herself, drove a long distance just to pick me up. No, I have never known them before. She is a friend of a friend. Just a random act of kindness. Two days into this country, I was walking trepidatiously, looking lost, when a random stranger walked in and said, "Are you okay, do you need help?"! A swiss once walked an extra mile to help with an obscure presentation I had to make. A Colombian sat through an extra hour to explain a concept I did not understand. A man from Ghana helped me with my writing. Of course, the Pakistanis were the best. Two best buddies were Bangladeshis. And then the Indians. Indians from all over the place. Indians of different caste, creed, language and religion. Nothing deterred them from showing kindness and love. Nothing deterred them from being friends.
True, the bloody politicians, religious bigots, language and cultural terrorists may try and divide the world. But kindness and love will always prevail. For more the hatred being spewed, the tighter we will hold on to the precious friendships made over the years.
For friendships make the world. And friendships are made of love. And love shall overcome!
1 comment:
Beautifully written!
Happy Friendship Day Sam :)!
Post a Comment