Can the gift of a single sweet box on Deepavali mean much to someone? Yes, it can, if that person is on duty while the rest of his colleagues are at home spending the holiday celebrating the festival.
Nearly 400 such personnel, manning essential Government services, were recognised for their service by a few students of PSG Institute of Management who went around the city gifting them sweet boxes. Traffic constables, employees on duty at Coimbatore Railway Junction, Fire Services, Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, and drivers and conductors of TNSTC (Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation) buses, were the beneficiaries of the students’ kindness.
The smile on the face of the recipients brought unparalleled happiness to the students who considered it time well spent on a holiday. And, the smile was not only because of the box of sweet, but a nicely-worded ‘Thank You’ note that the students gave the recipients, which mentioned the gratitude for their service.
When the idea of distributing sweets was mooted by Director of the Institute R. Nandagopal, though it was found appreciable, there was an inability for many students to take part in the initiative as they had to go to their hometowns to celebrate Deepavali with their families. But Ashiq Kamil, Jaffar Sadiq, Saradhambal, Dinesh Chandrasekar, and Yoga Meenakshi made up for their classmates absence and completed the task.
The students formed two groups, with Mr. Nandagopal joining one of the groups and went around.
Ashiq Kamil said that all the recipients were touched by their efforts and some senior persons not only thanked them but also blessed them and wished them well. “My classmates believed that it brought them more happiness than spending time with their families on Deepavali. It was for a good cause and there was no complaint about wasting time on a holiday. It was also a learning experience for us.”
