The Kindness Chain - Sneha Jhanb

The Kindness Chain – Sneha Jhanb

Last week, we left microwave plastic in our oven by mistake and when we, without looking inside, turned the oven on, we had fumes waiting for us instead of a clean oven for a yummy chocolate cake to be baked.

As I grieved about the fumes, I was  reminded of fumes that I had to breathe about 13+ years ago.

 

I lived in an apartment building in Chinchwad, Pune where my parents still continue to live. I do not remember that particular date but I do remember that the entire state of Maharashtra was without electricity that night.

Since we had nothing to do in the dark, we slept early that night, my mom and me, in my parents’ bedroom and my grandfather in his bedroom.

My father used to work in Mumbai during that time and my sister was here in the United States.

We were fast asleep when suddenly we heard my grandfather shouting and a bunch of more cries from some other people. Now, if you knew my grandfather, you would think he was at it again, shouting or lecturing at someone on the road, for doing something that they should not, like lighting the dry leaves or garbage on fire.

Trust me, you would not want to be a teenager living in my house. The sense of embarrassment during those days still makes me laugh and sometimes gives me goosebumps. Though if I look back now, most of the things he said makes sense to me as an adult, it was just the way he would convey it was not very right. But that is a topic for another day.

As I woke up wondering why my grandfather was shouting at someone in the middle of the night, I realized that I could not breathe. I used to wear lenses and I was not wearing them that day. My mom woke up with me and she realizes she could not breathe either. We both walked in different directions. Someone was banging the door and somehow she found her way to open the door. She was pulled outside.

I had gone to the door of the balcony. I went out and asked what the chaos was all about. Of course, the details are very hazy now but I found out that there was a mention of fire in my house. I remember panicking a little bit but mostly very calmly asking them to figure out how to take me out.

Then as I went back inside the house wondering where the heck the fire exactly was, someone took me by the hand and outside the main door.

As soon as I was out, my whole neighborhood was in front of me. Nearly 60 people were filling vessels of sand from a construction place nearby and throwing it one by one on our washing machine. Someone had called fire brigade twice. So now we had two fire engines working on putting fire out and helping my grandfather out who was trapped on the other side of fire with no outlet.

Lot of people were sitting on our apartment stairs and making sure we are ok, offering us water, a shoulder, etc.  That night, we were offered a place to sleep by our front door neighbors which we said yes to.

Next day, when we looked at our house, the whole washing machine was burned down and the entire living room looked like it was painted with black soot. Other than that there was not much damage.

Life went by as usual and as it used to after that. My father and my uncle drove down from Mumbai and started handling the house renovation project. I am trying to remember what I did next day but I definitely think I took the day off from college.

I do not think we really know how the fire started ever, but to this date, I am very thankful to the neighborhood, for not thinking twice about the fire and pulling us out of our house.

This act of kindness is rare in today’s world and I am fortunate to be able to look back upon it and feel nothing else but gratitude.

Raising World Children Glasses

National Eye Exam Month :  Things are Clearly Different Now 

Four-eyes.  The ultimate insult to a fourth grader forty years ago.  I squinted my way through third grade, but couldn’t see what the teacher wrote on the board, even from the first row.  I’d meet up with friends during homeroom, note what they were wearing and identify them by the color of their clothing.  Jeepers, creepers, I didn’t want any peepers.

Like it or not, my very first pair of glasses sported thin, golden octagon-shaped frames.  On the ride home from the optometrist, I stared out the window, amazed at the individual blades of grass I could see.  The world was no longer awash in soft focus.  I could see clearly for the first time in years.

The Way We Were

Even though I was in the distinct minority in school, there were a few of us around.  We wore gold or silver frames a la John Lennon or heavy plastic frames in earth tones.  I even got first generation lenses that darkened in the sun.  Sadly, they never really turned completely clear again so I resided in a sepia-toned world during my middle-school years.

Where’d You Get Those Glasses?

Flash forward a few decades and eye wear is both functional and fashion-forward.  Some even choose to wear clear lenses with no correction just to get the look.  You can be studious, or edgy or retro or anything you’d like.  There are glasses that suit virtually any statement you’d like to make.  Polycarbonate lenses, anti-reflective coatings, frames that twist like a pretzel without breaking.  Not only beautiful, but strong too.

Although I wear contact lenses most of the time, I will confess to reveling in my tortoise-shell and baby blue RayBans, or the ones I’m wearing right now:  green textured rectangles that look like fresh-cut wood.  Gone are the days of one pair only.  Glasses accessorize, sometimes glamorize and always make a statement.

Invisibly Corrected

Contact lenses got in on the fashion game as well.  Back in the day, we were thrilled to get a single pair of lenses we wore for an entire year.  We handled them cautiously as a torn lens meant glasses, even if you had PhysEd at school.  Today, not only do lenses come in a rainbow of colors, some are meant to be worn just once and then tossed away.  Forget wishing you’d be born with blue eyes, the reality is as easy as popping in a pair of soft lenses.  Wish granted.

Leaving the Past Behind, For Good

Sometimes as adults, we have a tendency to wax nostalgic about the way things were.  In the case of vision correction, I don’t yearn for the old days at all.  The choices available now mean that my children see so much better (thanks to lightweight polycarbonate lenses) and they’ve never heard a derisive label regarding their imperfect vision.  Further proof that different is simply different and that’s perfectly okay.

This month is National Eye Exam Month.  If you’re having trouble seeing this beautiful world around us, schedule an exam.  If glasses are in your future, rest assured you’re in good company.  Jeepers, creepers, I love my peepers.

If you already have glasses, go ahead and share in the comments how your first days of wearing glasses was like.

 Deborah Fingerlow is a writer, traveler and explorer seeking adventures both large and small. Parent to one daughter in college and one teenage son in cyber-school. Food allergies play a significant role in day to day life decisions, as does the support network of a small town in south central Pennsylvania. Neighbors are known by their first names and a walking district encourages community engagement. Business to business communications and the development of authentic connections are Deborah Fingerlow’s superpowers. You can find her at the local farmer’s market, therapy dogs in tow, camera in hand.