The Hand

**Here is wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving day**

With a nice story carrying a beautiful message …

Thanksgiving day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.

Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged but still many would celebrate the Holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These the teacher thought would be the subjects of most student’s art, and they were. But Douglas made a different kind of picture.

Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those eyes. Yes, his picture was different.

When asked to draw a picture of something he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else, just an empty hand.

His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise Turkeys. Another suggested police officers, because the police protects and cares for people. Still others guessed that it was the hand of God, for God feeds us. And so the discussion went untill the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas’s desk, bent down and asked him, whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and murmured, “It’s your teacher”.

She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him, here and there, as she had with other students. How often had she said, “take my hand Douglas we’ll go outside..” or, “let me show you how to hold your pencil..” or, “lets do this together..”.

Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand. Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.

The story speaks of more than thankfulness. It says something about, teachers teaching, parents parenting, friends showing friendship, and how much it means to the Douglass of this world. They might not always say Thanks, but they always remember the hand that reaches out…

Cheers !!

SUMIT

Childhood Memories

NG’s last post on Childhood memories, brought back some of my best and tasteful childhood memories. Since she has tagged me to that post, it gives me a better reason to preserve those memories in writing here, before they get stacked under these monotonous daily chores. So here I go … with 5 of those specialities which tickled my taste-buds as a child.

1. Milkfood Ice-cream: Well it was the first Ice-cream that started coming in the cup over the usual ‘Jet‘ ice-creams (those wrapped around sticks) which were a norm till then. The cup was out of the reach of my pocket money (rs 5) and I have been bad at saving, so buttering mom was my only chance at the cup.

2. Sweet Cigarettes: NG has said it, those white sticks with a red tip were a rage at one time, and Phantom was my brand (as i got it at the shop near my house).

 3. Tomato Ketchup: Well yes, not Pakoras but ketchup was my taste. I used to lick the bowl clean to make sure none of the ketchup was wasted. I don’t know whether it was exclusively a childhood thing, or the effect of all those stern looks and scoldings i received for this habit, but now ketchup is nearly a no no for me.

4. Coffee at parties: Coffee at marriage and B’day parties (the one they prepare with that fizzz machine) has been my favorite coffee ever since I was a child. As kids we used to hover around the coffee stall at parties to make sure we got maximum cups, with that tasty choco powder sprinkled over a hot cup of coffee. I bet, Cafe coffee day and Costa Coffee can never have it on their menu.

5. Rasna: I love you rasna, coz no one can beat that smell which that original red rasna carried along with the taste. Now, I am not sure if they manufacture the original red wala rasna, as the last time I checked (couple of years back) they had orange and lemon variants to offer. But I’ll still try to explore the market once again to see if I find my rasna taste and smell again.

Now that my turn is over, I would like to carry on this tasty tag to five others who are listed below:

• Frenchita
• Tej
• Savy
• Libran Girl
• Chakoli

Once you are through, please tag five people each to carry on the tag.

Pink Tree and OSO

The other day I went to Nehru Park, with my friend who was participating in the addidas otto peltzer race. On our way back, we came across this tree in the park which instantly caught our eyes as it was a pink tree, standing between the greens.

Nehru park is a good place to go for a picnic on a weekend where you can spend the entire day in the mild winter sun, playing any outdoor game you like and end your day shopping at Sarojini Nagar or maybe catching a movie at nearby Chanakya Cinema.

I also watched Om Shanti Om this weekend and the movie was awesome, simply a celebration for anyone who likes bollywood. A perfect entertainer for the entire family with good music and oldish story packed taken into new times. Shahrukh Khan is dominant in the movie but the new comer Deepika Padukone Steels the show wherever both of them share the screen.