21-5-24 (Vesak Day Eve)
“Madame, please buy it. It’s very nice!” gushed the indian shop assistant. His lady boss at their grocery shop looked on sternly.
The mass produced laddoo being promoted was sealed in plastic wrapping. I could see it had been tossed about quite a bit. I wasn’t even sure if it was still edible, much less tasty.
A laddoo is a bright saffron colored spherical sweet made from flour, sugar, ghee & dry fruits. It is presented as snacks and offerings for celebratory & hindu religious purposes.
Having been exposed to freshly made indian sweets since I was a kid, and as an adult, tasted delightful morsels sold by weight, I’m somewhat of a sweet snob.
But what if the shop assistant needed me to buy THAT laddoo in order to show his boss that he was a good employee?
When I agreed to add that tired & slightly toxic looking golf ball sized sweet onto my grocery purchase, the shop assistant beamed in delight while his boss’ face opened like a flower in wonderment.
“You mean you would buy this laddoo from him just because he asked you to?” She clarified, amazed.
“Of course! He’s so enthusiastic about the laddoo. No harm giving it a chance,” I chortled.
Back home as I placed the shabby
*prasad at *Ganesha’s feet, I apologised for the way it looked, & promised I would get him nicer ones next time.
The next day I had no heart to toss out the laddoo. It was food after all, even if it didn’t meet my standard.
So I took a little bite. And it was the tastiest laddoo I’ve ever eaten! As expected, I single-handedly polished off the whole prasad in one sitting. 😄
On this eve of celebrating compassion & wisdom, may our heart & mind stay open to little acts that can sweeten our life and the lives of others in unexpected ways. 🙏
*prasad – offerings in sanskrit language
*Ganesha – elephant headed hindu diety associated with wisdom & possibilities.
Lisa Ong 