"You made me comfortable!"

And the two day intensive workshop for a group of teachers we organised in a public school in the neighboring district of Malappuram concluded with a touch of high optimism and many an eye sparkled with happiness. The climax was yet to come.

Session evaluation and experience sharing.

Expected, typical words of thanksgiving and joy. Then, it was the turn of Zeenath, the exuberant teacher, who missed day one of our session. She rose, shook hands with Laila and I firmly with the kind of a charming smile  possessed by the innocent only, looked deep, deep into our eyes and uttered these words: “You made me comfortable!” and then her eyes welled up and she cried. The cry of gratitude, tears of the marginalized and of the uncared one.

We were stirred beyond words, and wondered what did we gift this girl in such limited hours which should elevate her to such a state of intellect that she should open up and reward us with those wonderful words – You made me comfortable!

Yes, we made somebody comfortable! We gifted somebody self-esteem and courage to go ahead. We lent our hands to a pair of feeble hands so as to gather enough strength to embrace life. 

All the past 15 years of my life of chasing wild dreams came to a standstill as I received the greatest of the great medal that moment, when time froze and the key board of the piano got stuck, and the music rang in the air.
Zeenath made our day. She is an inspiration, a ray of light fallen unexpectedly from the cluster of dark clouds conspiring for a downpour