It was a wintry day.
My friend and I were returning from our tuition classes. Our brains were still
working on memorizing the class formulas. Suddenly, I noticed something. In a slow-motion, cloudy-filter , I saw a girl firmly holding her rubber
chappals. She jumped in the air, flipping her hair and hit the shuttle with a
burst of laugh on her face. The sight was exhilarating.
The next day, I visited that place. Their home, a tin hut, was just next to the construction site where her mother was working. I asked her mother if she was there. She gave her daughter a call. She arrived. I handed her the badminton rackets thinking that I was bringing something that would enhance her enjoyment of the game. However, her words made me question my own understanding of what it means to find happiness and fun.She looked at me, sensing my confusion, and explained, “You see, fun is not about the things you have or the money you spend. It’s about the moments you create and the joy you find in the simplest of things. I don’t need fancy rackets to enjoy playing badminton. I can use anything I find, even if it’s just a rubber slipper, and still have a great time.”
Speechless and stunned I am standing there like a statue.
Now as I look back on that wintry day and the encounter with the girl, I am grateful for the unexpected lesson she taught me. She was a reminder that happiness and fun can be found in the simplest of things, and that true fulfillment comes from embracing the beauty of life, one moment at a time. I discovered that she had an incredible ability to see beauty in the simplest of moments.
-Aashi Gupta
