மே — 1, தொழிலாளர் தின நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் Warm wishes on May Day — International Workers' Day

Manju Miss looked at her third-grade Section 15A class and said cheerfully, "I'm not taking attendance today — I'm going to tell you a story!" The children cheered.

That Saturday evening, Kavin, an eighth-grade student, went to a large city park with his father, Sivakumar, a software engineer. His father worked all week and made it a habit to spend Sundays in unhurried conversation with his son.

At the entrance to the park, Kavin noticed a scene. A young boy had emptied his cool drink bottle and dropped both it and the snack wrappers carelessly on the grass. A little further away, an elderly man tossed a finished biscuit cover onto the lawn as he walked past.

Kavin's face fell. He felt as if a sign in one corner of the park — "Throw waste in the bin; keep public places clean" — was being mocked. His father said gently, "Kavin, look — the flowers are blooming so beautifully, lighting up the park."

Kavin replied softly, "Father, the flowers are beautiful, yes. But are we using this park the right way? Don't you always say that throwing fruit peel on the road can cause an accident? In the same way, the small bits of waste we drop become a danger here too."

Touched by his son's social conscience, Sivakumar swelled with pride. "Kavin, what you say is absolutely right. We must never act in a way that, for our own convenience or laziness, brings harm to others."

Kavin took out a bag he had brought along and began collecting the scattered plastic litter, one piece at a time. Other young people and youngsters joined him, and within half an hour the area was spotless.

Moral: What we do for our own comfort or out of carelessness must not cause inconvenience to others. Concern for society is the true mark of a worthy citizen.

He wakes up early in the morning. He peeks again and again to check if we are awake. The slightest movement and he comes running, leaping on top of us. A kiss from him brings such joy.

He never stops chattering. Even when we play rough games and worry — "oh no, don't do that!" — he takes our concern as encouragement and keeps doing it more. Even when we say it isn't easy for us, he doesn't listen. Praise his small effort and he laughs and does it again, again, again.

He makes things stir when he is near. He makes us yearn when he is far. Who is that little rabbit? My life's spring, my sweet grandson — who else but him?

Everyone in the world dreams of seeing it. We had a dream of touring Europe, too. My friends Rama Krishnamurthy and Shanthi shared their experience of touring Schengen countries through @Sree Janaki Tours last year — and to give us courage, they sent us along to Sree Janaki Tours.

Then trouble began. Iran, Israel, the United States — wars escalated, and Qatar Airways flights were cancelled. In February, in T. Nagar Mathsya, the team had organised an extraordinary buffet lunch for travellers. With the assurance "the trip will not be cancelled," they explained clearly what we needed to bring, where we could buy things at the lowest price and best quality.

True to that assurance, they swapped our Qatar tickets for Etihad without any extra charge. Some of us hesitated about the Abu Dhabi route, but my son's family had just flown back from Abu Dhabi to Chennai, so we trusted that path.

Ready-made uppuma, poha, Pongal, chutney — every snack was ordered through Amazon. We bought instant Narasus coffee in Pondy Bazaar, and instant tea on Amazon. Thermal wear, goggles and waterproof shoes filled our long Decathlon list. Forex Nabar even brought our euros to our doorstep.

To be continued in the next issue — meeting in Abu Dhabi.