One Apple A Day #1092
"Narmade Har!"
I woke up with these words in mind.
It is how everyone greets you when you walk along the river Narmada; from the parikramavasis - the pilgrims who walk all the way from the Arabian Sea up to the source and then back for 2600km - to the villagers going after their daily chores.
"Narmade Har" is the only thing I could say and the only one I could understand. I don't speak Hindi, and very few locals speak English.
So, we had no way to communicate, apparently.
Yet, I learned that kindness and love don't need words.
Smiles can break through any communication barrier and go straight to the heart. Acts of kindness, like a warm chai, clean water or some biscuits, don't need words. They just manifest themselves through loving hands and a friendly smile.
I needed only to chant "Narmade Har!". And the river, as if she could sense the need in our souls, always sent someone to help us.