Generosity that knows no bounds
Jan 22 2016.
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Oh! Colombo
We are well into January. At a recent get together most were talking of how their New Year resolutions had not lasted even a fortnight and how they were all back to their same old routine of eating, dodging the gym etc., items they had solemnly sworn to abide by or keep off this year.
I was very happy when I was invited to lunch to a very sociable lady’s home at the beginning of this month. It definitely turned out to be probably one of the most joyous moments I would have this year. I have been invited to this annual event for the past several years but had never been able to make it.
Walking into her home I heard lots of laughter and some good old baila music and was greeted by a load of cheerful people. I saw the hostess dancing among her guests to the rhythm of the good old baila with so much joy. The guest list was not the usual dressed up society men and women but a cheerful lot of people who serve us on a daily basis and make our lives more comfortable and their families. They were the neigbourhood street sweepers, garbage collectors, tuk tuk drivers, postman, meter readers and many others who work in the neighbourhood. The baila competition had just started and I was requested to be the judge of the event. Watching the guests dance and their happy, smiling faces just made my day. Rarely do people think of those who help to make our lives happier on a daily basis.
Lots of drinks were served followed by a delicious rice and curry buffet with loads of seafood etc., which I enjoyed and gained and a kilo for sure.
The hostess told me that the first celebration she hosts for the year is this party to remember and appreciate how special the guests are. What surprised me was how well behaved they were and so full of manners and decorum, something that we do not see at many company/corporate get togethers where the party usually ends up with at least one brawl among the guests. The hostess had a giggle with me saying that her neighbourhood gets a bit snooty and aghast with this annual event and, this year, her nearest neighbour had asked her to not allow the guests to touch and dirty her boundary wall.
I have great admiration for the hostess to be able to throw such a party annually since most people we know will not even allow her invitees to enter their homes, leave alone have a single kind word for them. A single person can make a great difference just by reaching out and lifting people’s spirits, making them feel that there is certainly a light at the end of the tunnel.
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