Meena Mangalathil:

The boat didn't need much steering, as it was going with the flow of the water. Seeing Naomi with the boat, the child stopped crying with great expectation, he came forward with his puppy. Naomi, slowly started steering the boat with her oar towards the boy, so that they could stop at the dry patch of land where the boy stood. All the people waited with baited breath to see the outcome. The boat crunched itself on the piece of land and Naomi helped the boy and the puppy into the boat, but within a matter of minutes, water took over the strip of land, pushing the boat towards the boy's family. Naomi was relieved as, she knew it would have been difficult to push the boat from the land. Naomi's fear ebbed, as she knew, this adventure is coming to a close, at least, she was able to save two kids. But suddenly, a gush of water with a lot of debris pushed the boat away from its course into a total different direction. The people shouted, giving all types of suggestions!!!!

Naomi immediately went to the kitchen for the required food and utensils for Eline and put into a large plastic air tight container, a very big bottle of water and deposited these items in the boat. Then she went to collect Eline's clothing where the wardrobe too was in the water. Naomi felt, there is no point in feeling sad about the situation she and Eline was in, everything would be wet and muddied too, the only silver lining was no fishes, snakes and crabs crossed her path. She took a deep breath, expecting the worst and opened the wardrobe and to her surprise all Eline's dresses were hung on hangers and nothing on the lower part of the wardrobe. She took a warm romper, waterproof pants and vests, some onesies, napkins, diapers and an emergency medical kit. Apart from the warm romper, a diaper and the waterproof dresses, she packed the rest in a plastic bag and put it in a small backpack and placed it in the boat. Naomi prepared Eline's food, collected her dres

Once upon a time, there lived a family of four, a husband, Eric, wife, Isabel, a baby daughter, Eline and Eric's mother, Naomi in a very beautiful place. Eric, a  scientist, was researching on a certain species of plant which helps in curing all diseases. He bought a plot of land with a small house and a large area of paddy fields on one side and a small rivulet on the other side. It was a beautiful perfect setting for a family to grow  and a calm place for his research. The family lived happily there.  One day, Isabel had severe bleeding and Eric immediately took her to the hospital leaving behind his daughter in the care of his mother. His mother assured him, "Son, don't worry, everything would be okay, just get to the hospital with care." Bidding his mother both goodbye, Eric left for the hospital in town, with Isabel. Naomi, knelt down near Eline's bed and started praying, but suddenly, she felt water on her legs. "Holy Heavens!!!! what is happenin

Hey Guys!!!!! This story is dedicated to all the people who are affected by natural calamities. My thoughts and prayers are with them. Once upon a time, there was a boat - a simple boat with a small oar. It was made of the best wood and very lightweight too. Unfortunately, there weren't any takers for this boat. The boat stayed in the dock all alone. The boat was very sad.  It felt useless and good for nothing. It started crying,  it cried and cried, but nothing changed. Then it started praying to God, "God, send me a sturdy, strong man to steer this boat through all the seas of the world. Still nothing happened. Time passed, months passed and the boat stayed all alone. One fine day, the boat found that there was water lapping all around it. "Really!!!! How is it possible!!!! No way, but later it came to know that there is a big flood raging in the land and the boat also became a part of its casualty, it started drifting on the flooded water and slowly started m

Hey Guys!!! Two months back, I happened to visit Mumbai. The amount of people and the way they co-exist is indeed mind boggling when we come face to face with that area. But there are certain areas, which divides the rich from the poor. Colaba region is one such area where we find financially high category. The structures in this area and the space they occupy (very quaint and historical) and above all, we feel an aloofness, where an outsider feels alienated. we don't feel like talking to anyone or smiling at anyone. But there is another place where even an outsider feels like an insider - The Darawi Slums. Here even the vehicles weave without mishap through the throng of people, which literally are jostling and the best part is, all have work, nobody stays idle. The toddlers, the kids, the youngsters, the youth, the middle aged and the old all are busy. I have never seen such a congested area where one has not a foot space vacant.  There are factories of leather, pot

Hey Guys!!!! Its so long since I spoke to you. I had a pilgrimage to fulfill for my mother. So I left for 4 whole days. Isn't it lovely????? You know when we travel, we meet people of different culture, caste, tradition, outlook and perspective and its a small window to a world which we have not thought about.  So I met a youngster, very energetic with very positive outlook, while I was talking, I asked, "Are you happy with your life?" He replied without any hesitation that he was, he loved his job. I asked, how do you spend your life? He replied,  apart from my job, I have my personal time of one week, where I go for adventure sports within the country with other people whom I am meeting for the first time for this trip alone and then we have family tours, sometimes it might be weekends or trips with all family and friends. Hearing him, I could feel his enthusiasm of life. That is when I felt that giving the quality time for our own Self can bri

Dear friends!!!!! Some days back, one of my colleagues asked me, "Chechi (sister), we help others and they do not reciprocate in that same way, should we continue to help them?" That is the usual way of thought for most people, we expect in return what we are giving, so I replied, "Then what will be the difference between you and them? Just give them a second chance or a third chance or a fourth, it doesn't matter, how much." Its better to lose count of giving chances than to lose hope in humanity because we all do need more than second chances in our lives at one point or another. So that we are able to make a difference for ourselves as well as for others. But there is one big glitch in it, we will have to have a big heart to forgive to give them the second chance. I'll give an example, Suhaz, my colleague, he is a very good guy, who helps lot of people a lot and he is a fast and good cook, he is punctual and ensures all the guests are happy