Small Story 276.

Small Story 276: Acquaintance Moments After finishing his usual morning walk, Ram joined his friends at their regular meeting spot. He was warmly greeted, and one of them offered him a birthday sweet. It had become a routine for Ram to receive sweets almost every day — either due to a celebration or as prasadam from someone’s visit to a temple. The mutual respect within the group and the time discipline they maintained for their meetings were admirable. Their conversations were concise, informative, and to the point, often covering a variety of useful topics. After the gathering, Ram bumped into another acquaintance who greeted him and invited him for tea. Ram politely declined, saying he had just had some, and the acquaintance understood. Instead, he invited Ram to attend his son's first wedding anniversary celebration that evening. Later that day, Ram went to the event. To his pleasant surprise, he met several of his social media followers there. Many of them told his friend that Ram was a talented writer and blogger. This made Ram feel happy and appreciated. His friend Shankar said, "You never told me about this! I'm proud of you." Ram smiled and replied, "There’s no need to showcase everything. If someone has a true talent, it will come to light naturally one day. One should remain simple and continue doing what they love, regardless of age." He paused and added, "An old friend of mine, who is no longer with us, taught me this. I still follow that principle, and I’m now seeing the results. Today, I’m happy to have met some friends who first connected with me on social media." After a delightful dinner, Ram left the function with a heart full of joy. K.Ragavan 14-6-25