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Togetherness and The Human Touch

by Sneha Subramanian Kanta
(Mumbai)

For so many times in the journey of life, we’ve felt that all of it; living itself is a futile exercise.


For often, we’ve felt miserably unhappy, questioning and pondering the way it is all going.

We’ve all experienced moments, lonely as it can be, in the middle of the night, when everything is quaint and silent as though life itself has come to a standstill.

And then we look around us: at people, little incidents, and get on with thinking as we unravel pages daily in the book of our lives.

We realize that it is filled with little acts of kindness and small, memorable acts of benevolence and gentleness that fill us with joy.

I can never forget the day when I was feeling particularly low; and I made way to Mahim Church with a friend. I have always found churches peaceful; for the quintessential feel that they exude. After getting out of the place, I spotted a lady and her son; who hugged each other after the Novena and cried together. I cannot explain how it felt to see them. Their togetherness made me feel warm about life; which has the truthfulness of unconditional and pure love.

On a particularly cold day in Mumbai, about four and a half years back, I was walking all alone on a lonesome road early in the morning. I was engulfed with sadness, as something in life had not particularly gone right. As I walked a little ahead; I saw two children playing while their mother made some rotis for them. What was special was that although they lived on the road and did not have proper clothes to wear and less to eat; they had a little puppy that they fed. This touch of humanity and the feeling to help the little meek animal, shivering in the cold particularly had a long lasting impact on me.

While working as a special educator sometime back, I remember speaking to the grandmother of a young boy. He was a chubby, active and notorious child as much as I thought about him. I was shocked to see him after the vacations: he was walking on crutches. When I questioned his grandmother on what happened, she held my hand gently and started crying. She told me that he had gone on a bike ride with his elder brother and had met with an accident. Although she was from Ratnagiri, a small city in Maharashtra, she had come to Mumbai for her grandson, the apple of her eye. She worked as a domestic help in many houses to make ends meet and supported his education and lived in a dilapidated house. Still, the commitment of the woman and the belief that she would one day make her grandson walk properly, deeply touched my heart. It showed me how much human relationships mean in one’s life.

I do agree that relationships can sometimes be the most straining aspect of one’s life. We may constantly be worried about what someone may think about a particular action of ours. At other times, there may be questioning about the very purpose of life. However, if we all look around us, there are heart-warming moments that happen every minute. To put it metaphorically, like a warm ray of sunlight penetrating through a cold morning which keeps you not very warm, but warm enough.

It is always good to experience the human touch in the world around us. Amidst all the chaos, disruptions, violence and ill happenings, humanity still breathes in a corner. And I’m sure it just doesn’t breathe, it thrives. The togetherness and human touch that we all require at the end of the day can sometimes be the most blessed thing that one has in life. We just need to look around us to see what it means to be human!

The End

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Apr 04, 2012
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Thanks Sneha
by: Geetashree Chatterjee

For this marvelous article. Touched by your thoughts which evoke faith in humanity.

Apr 05, 2012
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Thank you
by: Sneha

Thank you, Geetashree. I'm glad to know your thoughts.

Apr 08, 2012
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Will always be...
by: isabel

As always your writings capture my butterfly like attention. To be still and read q words up to the last punctuation unconsciously. I will always and forever be an ardent devotee of your beautiful creations. Thank you for inspiring us and sharing your soul, heart and thoughts in everything that you write.

And thank you for all the encouragement and for sharing that poem "When you are old and gray" written by W.B.Y.



When You Are Old
By William Butler Yeats 1865–1939

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;


How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;


And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.


Apr 09, 2012
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Thanks
by: Sneha

Thank you, Isabel. I am deeply honored and humbled to read those words about me. Thank you also for putting up my favouraite elegy in the comment! Thank you so much...

Apr 10, 2012
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LOVED IT!!!
by: Priscilla

Absolutely loved the post!!

Apr 10, 2012
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Thanks
by: Sneha

Thank you so much, Priscilla.

Apr 12, 2012
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Togetherness and the Human Touch,
by: Eva Bell

No man is an island. Inside every human heart there is longing for relationship with another human being. Thats what makes us so different from the animal world.
Enjoyed reading your article Sneha.

Apr 12, 2012
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Beautiful
by: m'

Just one word for this sne, Beautiful.

Apr 12, 2012
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Thanks
by: Sneha

Yes, Eva...that's what the human touch is all about perhaps! Thanks for the wonderful understanding of this post!

Thanks, Mohit. I'm so happy you feel this way.

Apr 15, 2012
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Looking beyond self!
by: Tanuja

I am touched. Indeed, by viewing life only through the eyes of our heart and mind, it is possible to perceive the deepest essence of life without being confused by apparent phenomena. Lovely...something to look forward to each day.

Apr 16, 2012
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Thank you
by: Sneha

Absolutely, Tanuja. You put it so well! The heart always guides and tells you what you truly want...always.

Oct 05, 2012
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TOGETHERNESS...
by: PUSHPA RAGHURAM

When the Human Touch is becoming a rarity in the rat race people are apparently enjoying, your Article is thought provoking. It shows some people the life as you see it.

Oct 24, 2015
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Thank
by: Doretha Sacks

Thanks for sharing this information.

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