(82)

THE PROMISE

'How long will you be poring over that newspaper? Will you come here
right
away  and make your darling daughter eat her food?'

I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter Sindu

looked frightened. Tears were welling up in her eyes.  In front of her
was
a bowl filled to its brim with Curd Rice.

Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age. She has just
turned
eight.  She particularly detested Curd Rice.  My mother and my wife are

orthodox, and believe firmly in the 'cooling effects'of Curd Rice!

I cleared my throat, and picked up the bowl.

"Sindu, darling, why don't you  take a few mouthful of this Curd Rice?

Just for Dad's sake, dear.  And, if you don't, your Mom will shout at
me'

I could sense my wife's scowl behind my back.

Sindu softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands.
'OK,
Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this.

But, you should...'  Sindu hesitated.

'Dad, if I eat this entire Curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask
for?'

'Oh sure, darling'.

'Promise?'

'Promise'.  I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with
mine, and clinched the deal.

'Ask Mom also to give a similar promise', my daughter insisted.

My wife slapped  her hand on Sindu's, muttering 'Promise', without any

emotion.

Now I became a bit anxious.  'Sindumma, you shouldn't insist on getting
a
computer or any such expensive items.  Dad does not have that kind of
money right now.  OK?'

'No, Dad.  I do not want anything expensive'. Slowly and painfully, she

finished eating the whole quantity.

I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child eat

something that she detested.

After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with

expectation.

All our attention was on her.  'Dad, I want to have my head shaved off,

this Sunday!' was her demand!

'Atrocious!' shouted my wife, 'a girl child having her head shaved off?

Impossible!'.

'Never in our family!' my mother rasped.  'She has been watching too
much
of television.  Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV
programs!'

'Sindumma, why don't you ask for something else?  We will be sad seeing

you with a clean-shaven head.'

'No, Dad.  I do not want anything else', Sindu said with finality.

'Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?' I tried
to
plead with her.

'Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice'.
Sindu
was in tears.  'And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for.  Now,
you
are going back on your words.  Was it not you who told me the story of

King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honour our promises no

matter what?'

It was time for me to call the shots.  'Our promise must be kept.'

'Are you out your mind?' chorused my mother and wife.

'No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honour her

own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled.'

With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked

big & beautiful.

On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school.  It was a sight to watch

my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom.  She turned around and

waved.

I waved back with a smile.  Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and
shouted, 'Sinduja, please wait for me!'

What struck me was the hairless head of that boy.

'May be, that is the in-stuff', I thought.

'Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!'

Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and continued,

'That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish.  He
is
suffering from ...... leukemia.'

She paused to muffle her sobs.  'Harish could not attend the school for

the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side
effects
of the chemotherapy.  He refused to come back to school fearing the
unintentional but cruel teasing of the
schoolmates.  Sinduja visited him last week, and promised him that she

will take care of the teasing issue.

But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake
of
my son!  Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as

your daughter.'

I stood transfixed.  And then, I wept.  'My little Angel, will you grant

me a boon?  Should there be another birth for me, will you be my mother,

(81)

(80)

How true..!!

(79)

(78)

Has the water entered my ship?

In 1923, nine of the wealthiest people in the world met at Chicago 's Edgewater Beach Hotel. Their combined wealth, it is estimated, exceeded the wealth of the government of the United States at that time. These men certainly knew how to make a living and accumulate wealth.

Attending the meeting were the following men:

The president of the largest steel company,

The president of the largest utility company,

The president of the largest gas company,

The president of the New York Stock Exchange,

The president of the Bank of International Settlements,

The greatest wheat speculator,

The greatest bear on Wall Street,

The head of the World's greatest monopoly,

& a member of President Harding's cabinet.

That's a pretty impressive line-up of people by anyone's yardstick.

Yet, 25 years later, where were those nine industrial giants?

But let’s examine what happened to them 25 years later.

1. The President of the then largest steel company (Bethlehem Steel Corp), Charles M Schwab, lived on borrowed capital for five years before he died bankrupt.

2. The President of the then largest gas company, Howard Hubson, went insane.

3. One of the greatest commodity traders (Wheat Speculator) , Arthur Cutten, died insolvent.

4. The then President of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, was sent to jail.

4. The member of the US President’s Cabinet (the member of President Harding's cabinet), Albert Fall, was pardoned from jail just to be able to go home and die in peace.

5. The greatest “bear” on Wall Street, Jesse Livermore committed suicide.

6. The President of the then world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Krueger, committed suicide.

7. The President of the Bank of International Settlement, Leon Fraser, committed Suicide.

8. The president of the largest utility company, Samuel Insull, died penniless!!

What they forgot was how to "make" life while they got busy making money!

Money in itself is not evil;it provides food for the hungry, medicine for the sick, clothes for the needy; Money is only a medium of exchange.

We need two kinds of education:

.....a) One that teaches us how to make a living

and

.....b) One that teaches us how to live.

There are many of us who are so engrossed in our professional life that we neglect our family, health and social responsibilities.

If asked why we do this we would reply that "We are doing it for our family".

Yet, our kids are sleeping when we leave home. They are sleeping when we come back home!! Twenty years later, we’ll turn back, and they’ll all be gone, to pursue their own dreams and their own lives....................................................

Without water, a ship cannot move. The ship needs water, but if the water gets into the ship, the ship will face existential problems. What was once a means of living for the ship will now become a means of destruction.

Similarly we live in time where earning is a necessity but let not the earning enter our hearts, for what was once a means of living will surely become a means of destruction for us as well!!

So take a moment and ask yourself………. Has the water entered my ship? I surely hope it hasn't yet done so!