Random Acts of Kindness
It was a cold winter night in Delhi. I had finished back-to-back sessions of yoga. My mind was refreshed to a large extent. I felt like having a “Malleswaram 18th Cross” dosa at Carnatic Cafe.
Unlike a normal day, the restaurant staff who manages waiting customers was not noting down names and phone numbers. Shrouded in a shawl, he assured customers that they would definitely get their seats when their time arrived. The person claimed that he was making a mental note.
As soon as I enquired, he made it clear that even single people like me would be given a seat based on their position in the queue! Remember, providing a table for a single individual at a famous restaurant during peak hours is a profound act of kindness.
It doesn’t make economic sense to keep couples or four-member families waiting in the cold. They would be ordering more and bringing more business to the restaurant than a single guy whose spending power is unknown.
Even as I waited outside with my yoga mat, the restaurant staff assured me I would be let in if someone higher on the waiting list failed to turn up. I mumbled random sounds in approval.
A family of four and a couple entered the restaurant before me. My turn had arrived when a table for four opened up! But, there was a 7-member family right after me on the waitlist. Still, I got the table!
Elated, I ordered my regular items, i.e. “Malleswaram 18th Cross” dosa and a filter coffee. While I was munching, four of the seven-member family got a table next to mine. The old man, probably the head of the family, asked the waiter to check if I would be ok with three kids occupying empty seats on my table.
Even before the waiter asked, I intervened and said it was ok if the three kids took the empty chairs. The old man and his wife thanked me with wide smiles. Though I maintained a blank face, I felt good about myself.
After all, why should three youngsters wait outside in the cold when there were three empty chairs? The old man’s daughter looked at my unkempt hair with suspicious eyes, even as I avoided eye contact with her. A bespectacled kid and his sister (my guess) occupied the remaining two spots.
The world is probably sustained by random acts of kindness. We might not think of these acts even when we are receivers or givers. But it feels cosy and warm when you think of it on a cold winter night.