Little acts of kindness

The simple beauty of William Wordsworth's poem stirred and enchanted me deeply.

Lines from great poetry have a way of creeping into one’s consciousness and staying there. I was still a young student when I came across the phrase ‘little, nameless unremembered acts of kindness’ in the poem ‘Tintern Abbey’ by William Wordsworth. The simple beauty of the words stirred me deeply, but the enchantment, I knew, went well beyond this. It held a profundity that I sensed but could not fully gra-sp. It was the passage of years that slowly but steadily unfolded their secret charm.

My sister, who is well into her 70s, has a wide circle of friends. They are not, as you might imagine, elderly women. The group is made up mostly of 30-something and middle-aged mothers. They stay in touch, are always there for each other. How did this come about?

A couple of decades ago, a young couple and their baby moved into a flat not far away from my sister’s house. The  mother went on a walk every evening with her baby in a pram. Winter was approaching and my sister noticed that the baby’s rather bald little head was exposed to the chill. “You must put a cap on her,” she told her impulsively. That did it. The two became great friends and soon the circle widened to include others. My sister’s small gesture has brought her friendship and much happiness.

Not long ago, on my return from a library, I was stranded at a Metro station due to heavy rain. Night had fallen with the darkness deepened by a power outage. I wondered how I would make my way home. As I got up, a young woman beside me took my hand and guided me down the slippery steps.

“Can I drop you home? Autos will be hard to come by,” she said. I accepted her offer gratefully. During the short journey home, I found that her mother had taught in the same school that I had. I had found two new friends!

That small gestures go a long way was proved recently when a batch of old students of our school celebrated the silver jubilee of their graduation. Instead of confining the invitees to batch-mates, they decided to contact all their teachers. It turned out to be a warm and very memorable occasion. The most gratifying moment came when the students lauded the kind and caring attention that they had received from the teachers.

Little deeds that we had quite forgotten were recalled – from just a reassuring pat on the shoulder to words of encouragement in times of trouble. In an emotionally-laden voice, one of them described how a particular teacher came discreetly to her aid when she could not pay her fees.

Their recitals took me back many years. I was once more a student with the words, ‘little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness’ reverberating in my mind. The difference, of course, was that this time I understood clearly the profound meaning that they contained!