A few days ago, while at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital for his mother’s treatment, Rajesh Monji received a heartening surprise. A food packet he collected for lunch from the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI)’s Hridayapoorvam (‘Heartily’) stall came accompanied by a sweet note. “Chetta, chechi, umma, thatha, amma... Whoever receives this packet, forgive me. My mother is not at home. I prepared this while in a hurry to get to school. I apologise if it’s not tasty. May you get well soon,” said the words scribbled onto a blank sheet of paper.
The note in Malayalam, which Rajesh posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday, January 25, has since been winning hearts on social media. In response to the person who penned the note, Rajesh, an associate professor at the MES Mampad College in Malappuram, wrote on Facebook, “Child, the food packet you sent was delicious. Each grain was full of love.” He also went on to affably point out the two spelling mistakes on the note, before apologising for succumbing to his compulsions as a teacher. Rajesh assumed it was a child who wrote the note because it mentioned that the writer was “in a hurry to get to school”. The person who wrote the note, however, is yet to be identified.
Rajesh later told Asianet News that it was his wife who first found the note. “I saw her staring at it with tears in her eyes,” he said. “When I read it, I immediately realised it was written by a schoolchild. It made me feel a lot of hope in today’s children. In our world, where people are constantly pointing fingers at each other in the name of religion and caste, this child has been able to retain love for humanity.”
There might be people who wonder if this is a big deal, Rajesh further noted in his Facebook post. “If up to 2,000 food packets were distributed in just one hospital in a day, how many houses, how many families must have thought about the welfare of the people who are seeking treatment at the hospital and those who are accompanying them? That child must have also realised their part in an initiative that welcomes you to think about others,” he added.
The food packets were distributed at the hospital under 'Hridayapoorvam', an initiative launched by the DYFI less than two years ago. As part of the programme, volunteers collect food from volunteering families and distribute it among patients and caretakers at various government medical colleges.