Had the privilege of being present with Nipun as he engaged hundreds of people at the International Womens' Association and Rotaract Club in the flooded city of Chennai.

He touched upon the values that he was brought up with that have shaped him to look deeper beyond fleeting moments of joy and fear.

He told stories about how in India, even 20 years ago, when people traveled on train, they carried food for fellow passengers also and how that culture has disappeared but we have not taken note. And he talked about how in today's sharing economy even walking a neighbor's dog has been taken over by commercialized apps.


Many in the crowd could resonate with that and some got teary eyed. And in turn, they started sharing stories of kindness from their life. One lady was moved when her son came home after sharing a meal with a homeless person and spoke excitedly about how that old man had asked "Did you eat Kiddo?" before even receiving the meal.

The story of Shaku-ben, the school janitor who collects discarded pencils and erasers and shares it among the poorer kids struck a deep chord. Many came up later and said Nipun changed the definition of "Giving" for them and asked to be included in the 21 day KIndness challenge that is underway at kindspring.org

Even as the local newspaper reporters were keen on getting sound bytes from him, Nipun's focus stayed on creating inner transformation in them by connecting over small things, asking them questions and stressing the importance of doing a random act of kindness in the next one hour :)

It was reassuring to hear that every one can be great at serving. And these events have set the stage for a local Awakin gathering, Karma Kitchen and many more random acts of kindness.

Thank you for coming all the way and showering so many of us with those precious moments of connection.