Unexpected Bounties!

If you thought I am referring to the ‘unexpected bounties’ (if any) from the Union Budget 24-25, sorry. No. Life has more to it than a country’s budget with its hits and misses. That is, if we care to see. If we care to pause and observe. If we care to reflect. If we care to experience and enjoy. And of course if we care to share with others, the unexpected bounties it has to offer !! 

Receiving the expected is happiness. However, receiving the unexpected is absolute bliss. The joy on our housekeeping team member, Satya’s face on receiving a dress material from me from my recent Jaipur trip (bought for the entire team) cannot be described in words. Her eyes lit up, she was bemused and asked ‘Madam, is it for me ? Is it really for me ? Is it free ? or shall I pay something ?’ She had expected it the least. She was grateful, joyful and overwhelmed – all at once. 

Satya’s expressions took me down the memory lane. The excitement I experienced, when occasionally, instead of the customary green wrapper Nutrine chocolate, it was the prized, 25 paise Eclairs chocolate that we got from my mother on the monthly salary day. No amount of bigger bars or artisan chocolates that I can afford to have now, can delight me more. Back then, I would eagerly look forward to my mother’s rare ‘unexpected largesse’ !

As kids, come rainy season, we would wait eagerly for the announcement on AIR (there was only one radio station, mind you) or in the newspaper for government to declare a holiday for all schools. Expected happy news. If this didn’t happen, we would grudgingly walk to the school and at times be thrilled. Why ? Becos we would be shooed away by the ayahs and security saying ‘No school today’. Management would be busy fixing the leaky roofs and wet benches, thanks to 2-3 days of heavy downpour. (I still love my school which had modest infrastructure but some amazing teachers). Oh ! the joy of not having to attend classes unexpectedly is something to be experienced. I still savour the moments – of getting wet in the rain, carefreely walking back with friends, eating out of the school tiffin box at home, not having to worry about homework for the day. Small things in life but the unexpected break would give inexplicable joy for a young me. How many of you have experienced such moments ?

While there are multiple such anecdotes, let me cut to the present and most recent one which was absolutely blissful and came literally out of the blue. After completing a gruelling two-year kitchen management programme with the famed Oberoi group with a gold medal, my son started out as a Sous-chef at the award winning luxury resort, The Rajvilas, Jaipur. While we were happy with his achievement, we were overjoyed when the Hotel offered us, an all-paid 3 nights-4 days stay during his orientation. This was such a thoughtful gesture by the General Manager to throw open the hospitality of the property to us as parents.  He recalled the joy on his father’s face when he had a similar experience years ago, enjoying the hospitality of the Oberoi property where he was posted, albeit after much goading. I understand he realised what it meant for an employee’s family to be delighted unexpectedly with a surprise offer to experience the ultimate in hospitality.

Oh boy, did it ? Of course it did surpass our expectations and gave us boundless joy – the palace like structure on a 33 acre, impeccably maintained, green expanse dotted with plenty of beautiful peacocks, soothing fountains and waterbodies, a spacious luxury tent that had a gold-thread embroidered ceiling, rooms with gold and natural vegetable-dyed frescos that looked fresh even after a quarter-century, extremely, extremely courteous staff, exquisite dining experience, traditional, performing folk-artists, gentle music, ambience befitting the royals (had to be in a heritage city like Jaipur), a thoughtful house-keeping boy who used his allocated budget (yes my son says each of them have budgets to delight a guest) to give us amazing little knick-knacks to take back and above all the genuine warmth and care we experienced from the entire team. The stay was out of the ordinary. Mindblowing and special because it was an Unexpected Bounty in the true sense !!

Grateful to Life for all these small, small and big, big startling things which turn into bounties if they come by when least expected. As a nation, hopefully we can expect the unexpected from our Olympians as well.  Wishing them the very best to dazzle on the world stage !

Union Budget 24-25 is already a week old. Enough and more has been said about it by all and sundry. It has been Bountiful for some (angel tax removal, jewellery sector, salaried class, MSME) and Bountiless (removal of tax indexation) for others. It has been analysed, torn apart, dissected, applauded and criticised by various stakeholders, depending on the lens each one looks from. This 302nd issue carries just the highlights of this much written about annual exercise, alongside news from other regulators like MCA, SEBI, RBI, DGFT etc.

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