Kindness is Contagious
Kindness is Contagious This is not just an anecdote but an incident that left me with so many unanswered questions. On my way back from school, I stopped by an ATM to withdraw money for personal needs. Just as I was inserting my card into the machine, a lady barged in, which irritated me. She did not appear to be a Malayali, was not dressed in a saree, or any typical outfit of a Keralite. She was middle-aged, had a shawl over her head, and looked shabby. My instincts told me she might be from some other part of the country or possibly even Bengali. I told her in Hindi to step out of the room and come in only when I was finished. I was rather stern in my voice, and she obeyed instantly. My transaction took only two minutes, and when I came out, I found the lady helplessly looking at me. To my surprise, she spoke to me in Malayalam, though not in the Trivandrum slang or any other dialect I was used to. Having married in North Kerala, I am familiar with the Calicut and Kannur slang as wel...