generosity

this' K and he's unintentionally taught me a lot about generosity.

K's a phD student in stockholm. one night when we were chatting over dinner, i learnt how he was supporting his parents, siblings, nieces and nephews back in hyderabad. not uncommon, i know, but wow. his phD allowance gets stretched in so many different directions! such responsibility on his spindly shoulders. needless to say, we were all students on a budget but K somehow managed to be the most giving person i've met here. whenever he cooks, he cooks for himself +1. just in case someone's eating in and hungry. if there's extra, he'll have it for lunch the next day. but everytime he's cooking, he's more than happy to share. i've tried to repay him in kind, by giving him the ingredients to cook with, by sneaking sundries into his cupboard but he shrugs it off and refuses to accept anything in return. i mentioned in passing once that i missed tandoori chicken (believe me, i really wasn't hinting) and next i knew, K was cooking tandoori for me. K instituted this rule in the corridor that if there's any food lying around (and it's his), then it's common property and anybody can help themselves. how giving is that? this' one guy who shares unconditionally and thinks nothing of it. his humility is equally inspirational. he was accepted into the cambridge phD program but couldn't go because of lack of funding but not once has he lauded his intelligence over the rest of us lesser mortals.

and now K's gone! and i'm sad. i woke up to say bye (nothing budges me from sleep, so he's gotta be special) and there's a gaping absence in the kitchen :(