The Power of Human Touch

A month ago, I went to an establishment waiting for my turn at the counter. I was seated at the extreme left of a series of chairs with the wall behind. Suddenly I felt a jolt of softness in the palm of my hand, the touch was warm and soft and tender. It felt like God had sent someone to console my aching heart.

I turned my head towards right,  heads down I saw the touch was indeed sent by God in one of his avatar This time the avatar was in the form of a tiny baby. Its left hand was caressing my right hand. My lips widened to a smile and eyes became glittered at the sight. My eyes then beheld the small form of the baby. So much tiny. It was like a small balloon with curved joints. Its arm and elbow was separated by a thin line indicating the wrist. The knee was hardly visible. All seemed fused together gradually developing.

I looked at my mother. She smiled at me and looked towards the baby. That was an incredible moment for her. She might have remembered that long time back when she held me in he hands as a baby I slowly moved my hand under its tiny hand. I put out my index finger towards it, and it quickly clasped my finer. All five fingers of the baby warped around my index finger and held it very tightly.It was like that for a minute. Then the baby navigated my whole hand, sometimes holding my thumb and at other times gliding its fingers over the lines of my palm. After some more moments, it played another game of tapping my hand like it was tiny drum for it. Maybe it heard some music while tapping its fingers on my palm.

I felt like capturing the moment in photo like we do now-a-days for uploading to Instagram. But I urged myself not to do that and just enjoy the moment and make it an intangible memory. I feel like I am kind of old school at times in-spite of being surrounded by modern gadgets. That moment was photographed and stored just for my heart.. 

The whole episode made my day. I felt relieved from all worldly worries in those moments. Freshness rushed in my mind and my heart was revitalised. I felt happy and calm. There was so much of inner peace. It was like meditation in those minutes. Everything of this earth's beauty was inside that baby. It felt like the baby was especially sent to me to take care of me in those few minutes. It had that power, the power of its touch that made me feel what it is to be human. What it is to love a fellow humans, what it is love all the flora and fauna we share the earth with. A touch can bring revolutions.

Another episode really made me see how a family bonds. I was travelling in train from Guwahati to Dibrugarh in Rajdhani Express. I got a lower berth. Since the train was in its last leg of journey, it was almost empty barring a few passengers in each coach. There was a family of four sitting on the same compartment. Father, mother and their two small boys.

My mother, as being worried, as a mother is always; kept on instructing me to be careful and to eat an wake up early in the morning. Five minutes to departure at Guwahati station, she hopped out of the coach. I bade her bye. She told be she would wait on the platform in front my window. She wanted to see my face till the train got out of her sight. As soon the train started, I waved my hand to her, she waved back. She kept standing at the same position until I was out of her view. Such is a mother's unconditional love for her children. No matter how much we grow up, became adults; yet for a mother, we are the same small kids in her eyes.

Now in the train my view was this family in front. The mother was feeling weak so she was resting. The small one was barely 4 years and the older around 9. The young one was wandering here and there from father's lap to brother's side to mother's bed. The kid was restless. He jumped on his mother's bed and place himself atop his tired mother howling and jumping around her, sometimes hiding behind her. The mother did not complain and allowed the kid to move over her or get to her side. She took the irritation lovingly, in-spite of being tired, because I realised that the kid's happiness was greater than the mother's weakness.

When the kid happened to move away to a little distance, she instructed her older son to constantly hold the kid's hand. He is not let go out of her sight. The older one told that his brother was in front of his eyes, so why the need to hold him. Still he obeyed her and kept his brother close to him.

Around 9 pm dinner was served. We started eating. The mother did not take dinner. The older kid opened his plate and started eating. The father opened the young ones plate and started feeding him with his hands. The kid happily ate. In between the kid needed water, the older one passed a bottle to him. After finishing the meal, the father started unpacking his own meal, when half way through, the kid wanted to go to bathroom. The father had to pause eating. A bit irritated he said, "Now, I cannot even complete my dinner." But nonetheless he kept his food aside and happily carried the kid to the bathroom.  That is a father's love and strong support for his kids.

After 5 minutes, they returned. In the mean time I had finished my dinner and started preparing my bed, I mean berth ! I saw the father instructing his older son to jump to the upper berth and get ready to sleep. The small kid curled himself around his mother. The father started securing and locking each and every luggage tightly. I lost track of him, when he had completed his dinner. Later I wondered, when did he ate his dinner in between all these chores! After everyone was asleep; satisfied, the father went to lie down on his berth. I too by that time felt sleepy.

This family made be see that these simple acts of helping and supporting make what a great family is all about. All grand thing comes in small packages. Here it was the support and full love of a father, a mother caring for her children's happiness and the children joyfully playing and jumping and howling.

A touch can change a situation. From a tense moment, a simple gesture of touch can lighten the soul. Just like every living organism, we are hardwired to be social beings. We live in a society where an act of kindness can bring joys. When we hug someone, they feel that somebody is there to look out for them. Holding someone's hand, it is a meaning of belonging and acceptance. So whenever you see someone you love or are friend with, hug them or make a handshake or just joking push them a bit, you will see how they will return your gesture. That moment when you are touched back, that is a very special moment. Enjoy these small but very crucial moments the more and more you can.