You are never too small to make a big difference!

As we journey our way through life, we meet people, have plenty of experiences of our own, as well as of others, which we either witness or come to us by word of mouth. All these leave an imprint on us, at times influence our character as well. A few of them leave an indelible mark in our lives. So much so, that it never fades away. One such in my life, goes like this.

All the girls, from fifth to tenth grade, well groomed, were standing in neat lines ready for the school assembly. After the usual prayer, prayer song, thought for the day, and the news got over, the principal, Sr. Yvette, took the stand. The girls waited with baited breath. For, when Sr. Yvette came, there sure was some important announcement.

“I have some good news for you, children,” said Sr. Yvette.

“Mother Teresa from the Missionaries of Charity, will be coming to our town, to the CMERI Auditorium to be precise, on Monday. She will be the chief guest at a function, to be held from 11 am to 12 noon. All students, from eighth grade upwards have permission to leave school, to attend this function. Provided, your parents/guardians pick you from school and drop you back.”

The school auditorium filled with murmurings of the girls. There was excitement in the air. Sr. Yvette and the other teachers smiled at the girls. Giving in to their joy , for once, no one reprimanded them for talking during the assembly.

The eighth graders were mighty pleased. I was one of them. The younger ones had a forlorn look on their faces. But, we were talking nineteen to the dozen. Those whose parents had a car, were in great demand.

“May I come with you, please.”

“Me too” chipped another voice.

“ I can take four of you” came another generous offer.

“ Is it houseful“ came another query.

And so, plans got made. My friend promised to take me along with her, to the function. And boy, wasn’t I excited! I was going to see Mother Teresa, in person. I had read and heard so much about her. The selfless service to humanity that Kolkata witnessed, and talked about all over the world, was spearheaded by this gentle soul. And I would see her in flesh and blood. I felt blessed.

My family, my neighbours, weren’t spared from my incessant chatter. Everyone knew of my impending visit. Some of my cousins and neighbours asked me to get her autograph for them. And sure enough, on Monday, there were a few autograph books in my bag. All of us came to school as usual. Those of us us who were lucky enough to be going, had eager, excited faces.

The auditorium was packed. We children were requested to give up our seats for adults. We didn’t mind. Not one bit. After the usual speeches, Mother was invited to speak to the audience. Up stood a short, frail lady, her face filled with wrinkles. There was absolute silence in the auditorium. She spoke in a soft, gentle and soothing voice. What got imprinted in my twelve year old mind and heart was an incident she related. It goes something like this:

There was this family of three. A father, mother and a six year old boy. This little boy used to drink milk with sugar. He wanted two heaped teaspoons of sugar in his milk. In order to make sure that two spoons of sugar were added, it had to be done in front of him. And so, it was. Every evening, after coming home from school, his mother would add the two teaspoonful of sugar into his glass of milk. And this little guy would enjoy his glass of sweetened milk.

One evening, as soon as he returned home, he went hunting for an empty bottle. Thinking that this was another whim of her son , the mother pulled out an empty bottle. The boy beamed with joy. When his mother brought the sugar container, the boy made a strange request. He asked his mother to put the two spoons of sugar into this empty bottle. On enquiring the reason, the little boy said he would tell her later. The mother complied. She allowed him to keep his secret. Then she proceeded to add sugar into his glass of milk. The little lad had gulped down the unsweetened milk. His mother was dumbstruck. Her son had never ever had unsweetened milk. The boy went about his usual tasks.

This continued for quite a few weeks. Till the bottle was filled to the brim. That evening, this little boy asked his father to take him to Mother Teresa’s orphanage. That is when the whole story spilled out.

The class teacher had told her six year old students about the scarcity of food grains and sugar in ration shops. She told them, that the children in the orphanage were affected by this. The kind hearted six year old wanted to help them. In his own little way. And so began the journey of the two spoons of sugar into the bottle instead of the glass of milk.

The parents took their boy to the orphanage where he met Mother, gave his one bottle of sugar to an orphanage filled with children.

Mother said “ That little boy’s one bottle of sugar sweetened the milk for all my children in my orphanage”

We all had tears in our eyes.

This happened sometime in the 70s. Mobile phones weren’t a norm then. So no photographs were clicked. But,it remains etched in my memory. To quote Wordsworth, “they flash upon that inward eye.”

To this day, when I relive the story narrated by this humble lady, it brings tears to my eyes. It brought home to me, the fact, that this wizened old lady was truly powerful. To have created a long lasting positive impact on young minds with this simple narration. Big or small, we all have the innate ability to create ripples. Just imagine the cumulative result! It motivated me to do my little bit. I have created ripples too!

Like she said, we need more such little boys and girls.