Many thanks to the nameless souls!

On this day of Thanksgiving, it is our solemn duty to be thankful to all those who made what we are and how we conduct ourselves. Of those to whom we owe our thanks, our parents, teachers, relatives, friends and colleagues occupy a proud place. All these people are known to us and we also are aware of their deeds of kindness and generosity. However, there are quite a few to whom we must be thankful. Many a time we had either a brief momentary contact or no contact with these great souls. I am still grateful to the Muslim gentleman who was in my ward when I was recouping from a surgery while in graduate school. This gentleman used to send his son to fetch me meals as I had no one to take care of me then. When we came to the US in 1980, we had just 75 dollars in our pockets. The Indian government in those days released a generous sum of 25 dollars per head as foreign exchange when going abroad. We landed in Indianapolis and bought bus tickets to Lafayette, but during the transfer of luggage, lost them. We were asked to purchase these again. At that time, an African American woman found them and returned them to the bus station employee who gave them back to us. The thirty dollar worth tickets was a fortune for us then. A few years ago, when somebody hit our car one fine morning when there was absolutely no traffic, and I was shivering with shock and whiplash on the sidewalk, a total stranger covered me with a blanket from her home. These individuals and others like them touched my life briefly, but left me in a state of thankfulness and gratitude. As tyagarAja says, there are countless great souls and I respectfully thank all of them (eMdarO mahAnubhavulu, aMdariki vaMdanAlu).

Regards! - mOhana