Category Archives: Life-Incidents

A-Z Challenge, April Writing, Life-Incidents, Musings

Xeroxing

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While in College, studying- reading, note-making, homework, labwork was a long drawn process, mostly never-ending until vacations start.

Some of our teachers were kind, they had a tome of notes that they would give out to the class to copy. Now, the time I was in, copying was done by hand with a carbon sheet under the paper for another friend and the friend(s) could copy what they are taking notes on, for us. So it was a mutually helping and gaining process apart from a good handwriting practice. But there is only so much time to do the handwriting, scribing gymnastics and money was scarce. The ones who had money would go to the Xerox store, Yes, thats what we called the shop where we could make photocopies of notes for studying.

Xerox, in Indian English language was noun, and a Verb. So we “xeroxed” notes. Apparently, the term Xerography was coined by the company,  from two Greek roots xērós, “dry” and graphḗ, “writing”, meaning “dry writing”.

Fast forward to the first years in the US. I go to get some of the documents “Xeroxed” at the store here and say “I would like these xeroxed” The Lady at the counter stares are me like she didnt speak English. I have been accused of speaking too fast to be understood since I got to this Country(speech patterns and speed vary depending on where you live), so I thought I must have spoken too fast so I slow down my speech and she continues to look like she didnt understand…Then the light bulb moment happened when I realized, she didnt understand the word Xeroxed. I then say “I need these documents photocopied.” and She smiles “Ah yes! sure, this way please” and she takes me to the side where the copier was.

That was one of the many times, the words I used in what I learned as English Language were not understood. But this word surprised me. I knew at the time that Xerox Corporation was founded in the US, although I didnt know all of its history, with the machine being invented here, which means most in the US know of it and probably used the word often. I later realized that there was an ongoing Trademark war with that word usage and the Company in other parts of the world where they had joint ventures. They company did not want the word Xerox to become common-place, generic, for the fear of loosing their Trademark.

But, in India, the word is still used as a synonym for photocopying. Who knows maybe it will change as time goes by.

Signing off

You know who.

A-Z Challenge, April Writing, Humanity, Life-Incidents

Karuna- Kindness

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As adults when we speak of Kindness, it usually implies, using our words kindly or using kind words, being helpful, or sometimes just being civil to people we come across each day or for some it means volunteering in some community work or donating to some charities. I also notice, that sometimes, we will pay extra attention to Kindness during a festival season, like as if we are compensating for the other times in the year we arent speaking as sweetly or are aiming for points with our respective Gods. Sometimes, I notice the dichotomy in people, they cant speak kindly to their family members but will be overly kind to strangers, it makes me wonder. And I have to remind myself that it is not my monkey or circus. Their Kindness is their Business.

Be that as it may be, in most Indian languages, Karuna, is the word for Kindness. It doesnt matter what the language, Kindness, like Truth is a virtue people aspire to, in most any part of the world. It is the one quality, Imho, that has kept the world still alive, as civilizations began and declined over so many centuries. But as I write this, the incident that popped in my mind is narrated below.

On one of my classroom volunteer sessions with children in a Kindergarten, we were introducing vocabulary for the different jobs that people did in our communities. So we had flash cards with pictures of the different types of jobs, that showed doctors with their stethoscopes, engineers in front of bridges and computers, artists with their paint brushes etc. Some children were very enthusiastic as they recognized the jobs. Most of them repeated the words as the teacher said them while she held up the cards. Somewhere along the way, one of the children saw the picture of a Fireman and said “I will be a Fireman when I grow up.” That made most of the children want to talk about what they wanted to be. So the teacher said, “Lets give everyone a turn to talk” and went around the circle of children asking the question “What would you like to be when you grow up?” So, Firemen, Policeman, Soldier, Doctor, Baby Doctor, Scientist, Construction Worker, Nurse were the most made choice. The class had this quiet child who usually had to be coaxed to say anything, that day, she said “When I grow up, I want to be Kind.” My heart stopped, became a puddle and was at this child’s feet. Some children giggled at the idea and said “But that is not a job.” The teacher smiled at the child while quietening the class and said “Let everyone have a turn to answer” and continued to the next child, and the next, and one other child said “I want to be her friend” and points to the girl who said “I want to be Kind.” And funnily, the other children also said “Me too”, and they all turned to this quiet girl smiling. There was a kind of joy, smiles, affection and love in that moment. The teacher and I smiled….we were just amazed at the light that classroom had, in that moment. That to me was a Manifestation of What was Good in our world. That Moment, I hold very dear. I wished for a World that was like that Classroom on that Day. I hope fervently, it comes to be so.

Wishing you all such moments of giving and receiving Unexpected Kindness in your Lives.

Signing off

You know who.