My second son is a great foodie. When he was a child, he would ‘pounce’ on every dish on the table and gobble it up as though he hadn’t eaten for days. As if famine would strike from tomorrow. He would steal food from other childrens’ tiffin boxes and polish off their lunch box in the short break itself. He would hide snacks in his pockets, school bag and even the pillow. At functions, he would first rush to the kitchen and inspect the cooking. He would taste every preparation, give his ‘Masterchef’ feedback to the cook and come back to tell us what to eat and what to avoid. He still does this to this day, albeit with panache!
Sharada with her husband and two sons.
Sharada’s son cooking up some delicious food.
At 22, my son is still a foodie. The difference, now, is that he is a budding chef, cooking delicious food. He dreams to become a chef one day (if not a cricketer) and open a restaurant chain.
Fortunately, I found that my son not only loves food but also loves to feed the poor. As a teenager, he rubbished the adage that ‘anna daana is the most sublime form of daana/charity’ as an outdated belief of an ‘ancient lady’ like me. Yet, he practised it regularly. The many times he ate out in the Darshini after his early morning fitness and cricket practice, he made sure that at least two other underprivileged people begging outside the Darshini are fed. He didn’t give them money. Instead, he paid for their food at the Darshini counter, made sure they were served food by the waiters and waited until they ate their breakfast.
You see, he once saw that even if the beggars presented the token at the counter, they were shooed away. Fixed mindsets, right?
I had never realised he was doing this until I regularly found crumpled bills in his pocket for “3 plates idli-vada”. After a lot of questioning and probing, he admitted to this charity. It seemed like this was below his ‘teenage dignity’ to talk about this to me!
I learnt a valuable lesson in leadership from this. Leadership, as you all know, has many facets. In my opinion, empathy is a great virtue in a leader. More so in today’s aggressive, competition-driven world, where we always want to knock down the other to surge ahead. We have little time to feel for people around us and do something positive.
I saw streaks of an empathetic leader in my son. As a mother, I felt happy that the seed of empathy is sown. Not by me or anyone else, but by himself. I hope that this seed grows into a beautiful tree. That his dream to own a restaurant chain is fulfilled. Just so that he can feed many more hungry mouths.
Sharada with her two sons.
3 Plates Idli-Vada
Sharada S C, DTM
Member of IIMB Orators Club
16th September 2021
Connect With Our Human Here:
Call for Nominations:
If you have an inspiring story to share, write to us at d121.prmo@gmail.com and we shall be happy to feature you!