Believe in Miracles

                      Believe in Miracles

 

Dear Readers,

I would like to share with you about an interesting incident that happened in my life in 1998. The incident, I am about to share with you, maybe too hard for you to believe to be true, but honestly, it a real-life incident.

 

Me, my wife, my son along with my father-in-law and mother in law, had gone to Chennai for a holiday.  As usual, we had made an advanced booking of the tickets. As I had to spend a few extra days at Chennai, for my official work, I had booked my tickets for a different date and for all my family members on an earlier date.

After the end of the holiday, it was time for my family members to start back to Madurai.  I decided to go with them to the railway station and send them off. So, we all left to the Egmore railway station. They were to leave by Pandyan Express. We checked the Platform number, and as we reached the platform, I got the train ticket which my father in law was having, to check for the coach number and seat number. Once I saw it, I located the coach, got the luggage loaded, and stowed them under the seats. Having got them comfortably settled, without a second thought, I kept their train ticket inside my shirt pocket. 

In a short while from then, the train started and my family members happily waved their hands to me, bidding goodbye. Having seen them off, I returned to my apartment at Nungambakkam, to unwind for the day. As I emptied my shirt pocket, I noticed that I had the train ticket and there they have already waved their hands and left.

 

It was a shock! What a blunder, I told to myself and was thinking about what could be done. Those were the days when there was no mobile phone. I could not even communicate, to my family members, that the tickets were with me.  I was worried that they may be de-boarded from the train, somewhere en route, for not having the tickets.

 

My mind started running quickly. I was thinking of options, of how I could set this right. The first thought that came to my mind, was to hire a cab and rush to Tambaram and catch them there. If I miss out there, I can still go and give it to Chengalpet. But, with the road traffic, will I be able to make it. It was already 30 minutes since the train had left. I was puzzled.

 

Anyway, I thought let me call up the railway station and find out the time “Pandyan express” will reach the different succeeding stations.  So, I called up the Egmore railway station, got connected to the station master, and explained to him what happened.

 

Here is where something mysterious happened. The station-master asked again, which train did you say?  I repeated, “Pandyan Express”. What he told me was something unbelievable, He said, “there was a problem with that train engine and that train is returning back to Egmore station, for changing over to a new engine.” I was sure that a station master wouldn’t be kidding, with me. 

 

I rushed to the station.  In a few minutes of my arrival, I could see the train returning to the platform. I could see my father in law and son, waiting at the compartment door, trying to see if I was still there. I waved my hands, and I could see a big sigh of relief, in their face.  I went and gave them the ticket.

 

Then I listened to their side of the story. My father in law said, that when the TTR came for checking he explained the situation to the TTR. The TTR could understand the situation, as the name appeared in the passenger’s chart. But the TTR could not help them in any other way, except by issuing them a new ticket with some extra fine. Left with no other option, my father in law was about to pay, just then they heard the announcement that the train will return back to Egmore.  So, the TTR himself told, “Let us wait and see, till we get back to Egmore.” Luckily, I had come back and they did not have to pay again. They took the ticket and in another few minutes, the train was ready with a new engine, and they set off again.

As I went to bed, I could not believe what had just happened. It was unbelievable. I just signed off to bed, with a thought, well it is true. "Miracles do happen".

 

D. Senthil Kannan,

Managing Trustee, PALMS, Tuticorin.

Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning

Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com

 

SMILE - The forgotten language of the human heart

 

SMILE 

The forgotten language of the human heart

I read an article, which talked about cultures that smile the most and can you guess in what place in India was?  It was 124^th on the list. Denmark was No.1. What does this imply? 

 

• Dothis mean that Indians are a set of serious people?  
• Does it mean that we have a poor sense of humour?
• Does it mean, we are so busy that we do not find the time to smile?

 Ofcourse, not.

What then is stopping us from smiling? I think it is because we attach too much of ego to our conscious living. We smile only at a selected list of people, who we think or near and dear to us. We never get to smile at the waiter at the restaurant, but we are fast to complain that the waiter is not courteous. We do not smile at a co-passenger on a bus or train, with whom we travel a long distance. We are sometimes comfortable travelling a few hundred miles without even speaking a single word and we say people are not friendly. Remember, the good old nature’s law applies in this well, “What you sow, so will you reap”. Share a smile and see how many smile responses you get. Start from today. 

 

Be happy to know, that smiling is a learnt behaviour. One of my friends in the training fraternity shared with me, how he changed from a serious looking person to a smiling person. He said that he was a very serious looking person, which made people to shun away from him. So, he took a conscious effort to have a smiling face. Everyday, when he looks into the mirror, he used to consciously take the effort to lift the two muscles on the side of his mouth, and smile. He used tell himself that he looks good this way and commits himself to keep smiling throughout the day. He would then carry his smiling face wherever he goes, right from riding his scooter smiling at everyone on the road or while talking to anyone at work or home. In due course of time, this got deeply ingrained in him and he became a smiling person. He found his level of social acceptance, significantly improved and he became a welcome guest everywhere. So, the simple secret is, “fake it till you make it”.  This gives us great scope, to think and start afresh on cultivating the habit of smiling.

 

Smile is the greatest gift bestowed upon human beings. Animals don’t smile. A smile is meant as a friendly acknowledgement of another member of the human race. So let us start smiling. Don’t wait for the other person to smile first. Be the first to smile. You have nothing to lose. You only have a lot to gain. Smile at the watchman, driver, tea stall vendor, receptionist, client, whoever you share physical space and time with. Most of our faces look better when we smile. Don’t be shy, show your teeth and speak the only language that connects the whole world.

 

 

 

D. Senthil Kannan,

Managing Trustee, PALMS, Tuticorin.

Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning

Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com