<p>H<em>allu eddare kadale ella, kadale eddare, hallu ella</em>, a popular saying in Kannada, when translated in English roughly means 'those who have teeth don't have the grams to relish, those who have grams don't have the teeth to chew them!'</p>.<p class="bodytext">The full implication of this saying was brought home to me recently during one of my periodic visits to a deserving group of friends, neighbours, acquaintances --deserving because most of them are not acquainted with modern virtual interactions and crave personal relationships yet health issues, distances, age and inconveniences come in their way. Hence these visits that this group cherishes have turned into a moral duty for me.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Each one in this group had a tale of his or her own to relate and problems to convey; some did it vocally, others, silently. But ironically enough, each tale and problem was different from the rest!</p>.<p class="bodytext">Naturally, the solutions to their problems and emerging needs were as varied as the problems themselves !</p>.<p class="bodytext">I got acquainted with and elderly couple in the park whose sole aim of coming there was socialising. They coaxed people to sit with them and chat ( much to the displeasure of health freaks as it ate into their walking time) and often even accompanied them to their flat to spend time over snacks and coffee. Small parting gifts as gestures of thanks for the good time spent were not uncommon. What they needed was just human company.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A jar of pickle or a pack of snacks from someone to pep up the simple meal she dishes up and the tea she brews is a God-sent for my elderly neighbour. A call is enough to brighten up my house-bound college friend's day. His tech-savvy nephew's presence is all that my next door elderly uncle needs while dealing with his on line communication to instil a sense of security. Just a non-judgemental listening ear adds a lot of cheer and relief to most. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Going back to the beginning sentence of the Kannada saying, let us ask ourselves "if it is not in our hands to help people grow teeth to relish the gram, can't we boil the gram to make it easy for them? ; is a handful of gram so costly as not to be parted with for the one who craves them?"</p>
<p>H<em>allu eddare kadale ella, kadale eddare, hallu ella</em>, a popular saying in Kannada, when translated in English roughly means 'those who have teeth don't have the grams to relish, those who have grams don't have the teeth to chew them!'</p>.<p class="bodytext">The full implication of this saying was brought home to me recently during one of my periodic visits to a deserving group of friends, neighbours, acquaintances --deserving because most of them are not acquainted with modern virtual interactions and crave personal relationships yet health issues, distances, age and inconveniences come in their way. Hence these visits that this group cherishes have turned into a moral duty for me.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Each one in this group had a tale of his or her own to relate and problems to convey; some did it vocally, others, silently. But ironically enough, each tale and problem was different from the rest!</p>.<p class="bodytext">Naturally, the solutions to their problems and emerging needs were as varied as the problems themselves !</p>.<p class="bodytext">I got acquainted with and elderly couple in the park whose sole aim of coming there was socialising. They coaxed people to sit with them and chat ( much to the displeasure of health freaks as it ate into their walking time) and often even accompanied them to their flat to spend time over snacks and coffee. Small parting gifts as gestures of thanks for the good time spent were not uncommon. What they needed was just human company.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A jar of pickle or a pack of snacks from someone to pep up the simple meal she dishes up and the tea she brews is a God-sent for my elderly neighbour. A call is enough to brighten up my house-bound college friend's day. His tech-savvy nephew's presence is all that my next door elderly uncle needs while dealing with his on line communication to instil a sense of security. Just a non-judgemental listening ear adds a lot of cheer and relief to most. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Going back to the beginning sentence of the Kannada saying, let us ask ourselves "if it is not in our hands to help people grow teeth to relish the gram, can't we boil the gram to make it easy for them? ; is a handful of gram so costly as not to be parted with for the one who craves them?"</p>
