The Power Of Appreciation

It was a beautiful day. There was the early winter chill in the air. The bright morning sun felt nice and warm. Little Baisakhi was on her way to school. She seemed to be neither happy nor sad. She had to go to school, so she did. Everyday, no complaints. She lived at walking distance from school. So, Mrs. K her mother, walked her to school. Mother and daughter talked all the way to school.

Mrs. K was a tall, slim, elegant lady who carried herself with dignity. Did this give you the impression that she belonged to the well off section of society? Oh no! She came from an ordinary lower middle class family. She lived in a small two-roomed house with her husband and her two children- a son and a daughter, in a then small town , Durgapur.

She , like any mother, had dreams for her two children. Both went to good schools. It was difficult, but she managed. Baisakhi, her little five year old girl, was a quiet, well behaved, child. You wouldn’t notice her in a class of lively boisterous children. In school, Baisakhi had her lunch by herself . All around her, there was chatter and laughter. You could see her exchange a smile , a word or two with her classmates once in a while. You guessed right! She had no special friend. But, she seemed fine.

Every day, one period was assigned to reading books. From the class Library . The five year olds would come, pick up a book, browse through, enjoy the colourful illustrations and return it. In about ten minutes. Reading wasn’t a part of it. Their teacher wanted them to give reading a try. She told them that they should read at least one page of their book to her, when they came to return their books. It worked! Ten minutes into the period, all children were glued to their books.

Up stood a girl, came to the teacher, and read, not one page, but the entire story to the teacher. There was pin drop silence in the class. Her classmates listened to her in amazement! To say that the teacher was surprised would be an understatement.

The teacher exclaimed, “That was too good, Baisakhi! “

“Did you understand what you read?”

She said ”Yes, Miss. ”

“Will you be able to tell me the story in brief? “ asked the teacher.

“Yes Miss. May I use Bengali words at times? I don’t know the English word for some. ” said Baisakhi.

And she proceeded to relate the story in a nutshell. The class broke into applause! Baisakhi was all smiles.

The teacher couldn’t contain her joy! She went into the next class, told the teacher there about what she had just witnessed. This teacher asked Baisakhi if she could read it to her class of five year olds. She did. And the little ones expressed their appreciation .

The teacher happened to meet the mother sometime that week. On enquiring as to how her daughter was able to read so well, the mother said that she always took a keen interest in her. brother’s ( who was eight) books rather than her own. She would keenly listen to her brother, as he read through his lessons. This probably led to her having developed the reading ability.

You might wonder why I mention this incident. Well, you see, it brought about a huge change. In Baisakhi as well as her classmates. Her classmates came to her for help in reading. This boosted Baisakhi’s confidence. Baisakhi came out of her shell. After this, Baisakhi was never alone. During lunch or play. She had friends with whom she shared her lunch, played, in short, had fun like any other five year old. You could see her smiling more often , taking an enthusiastic part in all the activities in school. She blossomed into a chirpy lively little five year old. And never looked back.

If you happened to see her walking to school, you’d see a happy little girl eagerly skipping all the way to school.

You may now ask, how did I know all this? Well I happened to be Mrs. K ‘s neighbour when Baisakhi was in college. I told her how I admired her daughter’s, cheerful, outgoing nature. That is when she narrated this incident to me. And the teacher who, she said was responsible for this. And she would be forever grateful to. It dawned on me, the positive, long lasting impact , a thoughtful act can bring about. It doesn’t take much effort. All we need to do is see the good, which exists in everyone. Just appreciate it. You might have been the only one to have done so. It will light up someone’s life. It might even turn someone’s life around! Like it did for little Baisakhi. That would be a nice feeling indeed!