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Back in 2019, while I was pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Shillong, I visited a small village as a NSS volunteer for the Swachh Bharat Mission campaign. Sadew, a beautiful village about 12 kilometres from the city, is nestled in the hills of Meghalaya, lined with pear trees and tiger lilies. It was mid-July, and the monsoons had already set in.

It had rained for two days straight, but on that day, it was bright and sunny. The roads glistened with streams of rainwater, winding like silver ribbons through the hills.

We were going door-to-door, accompanied by two local kids, to create awareness about waste management, though the locals were way ahead of us in this regard. There were no traces of trash, and most of the houses already had waste decomposition setups.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

After a whole day’s survey, we finally reached the last house. By this time, we were extremely thirsty and tired. Just as we were about to leave, the lady at the house asked us to wait for a moment. She came back with a sweet treat which soon became one of the best memories of my life.

With a mouth full of kwai (betel nut in betel leaf) and a big smile, she served us homemade tamarind ice popsicles. Those chilled, tangy, sweet ice pops were a lifesaver in that sultry weather.

Instant rejuvenation.

That perfect balance of sourness, sweetness and warmth offered by the smiling, elderly kong brought back smiles to our tired faces.

For a long time, the taste of those tamarind ice pops lingered in my memory. I have tried making it on my own a few times, but it always lacks something. Perhaps it was not the taste but the moment – the warmth of the unexpected kindness from a stranger that you can’t recreate.

Tribedee Acharjya lives in Assam and enjoys writing about everyday experiences.

We’ve grown up hearing that “it’s the small things” that matter. That’s true, of course, but it’s also not – there are Big Things that we know matter, and that we shouldn’t take our eyes, minds or hearts off of. As journalists, we spend most of our time looking at those Big Things, trying to understand them, break them down, and bring them to you.

And now we’re looking to you to also think about the small things – the joy that comes from a strangers’ kindness, incidents that leave you feeling warm, an unexpected conversation that made you happy, finding spaces of solidarity. Write to us about your small things at thewiresmallthings@gmail.com in 800 words or less, and we will publish selected submissions. We look forward to reading about your experiences, because even small things can bring big joys.

Read the series here.

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