The Letter
After losing the game of foos ball, I walked back to my seat wondering when my ticket to India would be booked. It was second week of August and high time that I got a ticket booked sooner than later. As I approached my desk, I found a white envelop kept carefully on top of my Thinkpad.
As is the case when I pick up the mail everytime in America, I noticed the absence of Gandhi's face from the face of the colourful stamp. The mail, stamped with stars and stripes, had been sent by someone from Los Angeles, CA on the 1st of this month. Hmm..I wondered. Los Angeles. I know no one there. And that too on my official address, which I would vacate this weekend. My first instinct would have been catagorizing it as a letter from a Verisign detective who was probing the circumstances in which Manish was injured on the Volleyball court. He had called me a couple of times and we had exchanged some emails last week. But the envelop did not have a Verisign logo and my name was carefully hand written by someone who identified himself as Marvin A Menjivar. This was a departure from the printed mails I am used to receiving here. As my brain searched for this unknown name within my repository, I could not place Marvin. Cutting the chase, I decided to open the letter and find out for myself.
The crisp white A4 sheet of paper was folded with much care. Also, the paper used was of superior quality and was not the normal sheet one uses in office for printouts. As I managed to open the folds one by one, my eyes read the following:
"Dear Ujjwal Moitra,
I want to let you know that I have received my digital camera and am a very happy individual right now. I want to stress how thankful I am for what you did. Not many people would find the need to see through a package incorrectly delivered to their address be delivered to its rightful owner. In the fast paced, impersonal, and anonymous world that we live in your deed stands out in my mind as something this world desparately needs more of today. I recently returned from Iraq after a year with the U.S. Army there and have come back with a tendency to distrust and not give people the benifit of the doubt. But every now and then someone comes along and shows you that humanity and the caring for the well being of others is alive and well. It is only through these hospitable deeds that the world can start being a better place. To prove my point, I am not thanking a huge corporation like Panasonic for me receiving my camera intact and on a timely maner but a complete stranger three thousand miles away who took the time to care when he was under no obligation to do so. I guess I just want to say thank you.
Sincerely,
Marvin A Menjivar"
The story dates back to end of June. As I returned from office, I saw a UPS notice on my door stating that a package for me had been delivered to the housing community office. I promptly went there and collected the box delivered by Bigston Corporation. Bigston handles all the repairs for Panasonic cameras and since I was expecting mine back, I was happy that I finally had my machine. But as I read on my way back, neither the name nor the telephone number printed on the box were mine. The address was, strangely enough, correct. Assuming it to be a case of mistaken delivery, and a little concerned about the fate of my camera, I dialed the number of someone called Marvin while climbing the stairs. It went to the voicemail and I left a message asking the person to give me a call back.
Fast forward to the last week of July. Sitting in the annual celebratory meeting of Verisign-taking-over-iDefense, I felt a little vibration in my left pocket. The phonebook did not identify the calling number and hence the call was let die a natural death. After the meeting, as I returned the call, I felt as though I had seen the number before.
"Hi. This is Marvin", came a voice from the other side.
"Hi. I just got a missed call from this number. Do you..."
"Oh yeah", he spoke cutting me short, "you left me a voice message last month. Sorry, I was away from the country. So you said you had some package of mine?"
I called? Last month? Package? What was going on?
Oh yes. The package. The camera. The picture was becoming clearer now.
"Yes Marvin. I have a package meant for you. How do I send it back? Whats your address?"
There was silence for a couple of seconds. I checked my phone. The call was on. Cursing T-Mobile for the problem, I walked towards the window from where I had a clear view of the lake and hopefully, a better reception.
"I am so thankful to you, Sir. I cant imagine someone would do this at all."
Feeling a little embarressed and sceptical of people standing close and listening to my conversation at the end of the party, I spoke softly.
"Thats not a problem Marvin. Let me call you in a couple of minutes."
Hmm. Now did Marvin think that I had changed my mind? That it was some expensive camera that was supposed to be fixed. Did I want to keep another camera just for the heck of it. I dont know. Actually, since it was delievered to the corporate housing I was staying at, I had passed on the package to Lisa, the office assistant, saying that it was not mine. I had to check with her if she had not returned the same to UPS.
"Lisa. The package that I gave you about the wrong delivery, is it still there?". As I explained to her what had happened, I was hoping she would say yes and that I wont have to cut a sorry figure to Marvin.
"Yes. Ask him to email me his address and I shall mail it back to him."
As I called Marvin back and gave him the news, he still sounded as though it was some unbelievable event was unfolding around him. We was thanking me profusely for what I was doing and promised to pay me back any cost I incurred in posting back the package.
Done. Package sent. Episode forgotten. And then it all came back with the letter yesterday. I guess he got the office address from my email signature. But it brings bigger questions to the surface. Questions which I dont feel comfirtable answering. Questions which are better left untinkered with, because the answers to them include challenging and questioning a part of one's faith, upbringing and culture.
As is the case when I pick up the mail everytime in America, I noticed the absence of Gandhi's face from the face of the colourful stamp. The mail, stamped with stars and stripes, had been sent by someone from Los Angeles, CA on the 1st of this month. Hmm..I wondered. Los Angeles. I know no one there. And that too on my official address, which I would vacate this weekend. My first instinct would have been catagorizing it as a letter from a Verisign detective who was probing the circumstances in which Manish was injured on the Volleyball court. He had called me a couple of times and we had exchanged some emails last week. But the envelop did not have a Verisign logo and my name was carefully hand written by someone who identified himself as Marvin A Menjivar. This was a departure from the printed mails I am used to receiving here. As my brain searched for this unknown name within my repository, I could not place Marvin. Cutting the chase, I decided to open the letter and find out for myself.
The crisp white A4 sheet of paper was folded with much care. Also, the paper used was of superior quality and was not the normal sheet one uses in office for printouts. As I managed to open the folds one by one, my eyes read the following:
"Dear Ujjwal Moitra,
I want to let you know that I have received my digital camera and am a very happy individual right now. I want to stress how thankful I am for what you did. Not many people would find the need to see through a package incorrectly delivered to their address be delivered to its rightful owner. In the fast paced, impersonal, and anonymous world that we live in your deed stands out in my mind as something this world desparately needs more of today. I recently returned from Iraq after a year with the U.S. Army there and have come back with a tendency to distrust and not give people the benifit of the doubt. But every now and then someone comes along and shows you that humanity and the caring for the well being of others is alive and well. It is only through these hospitable deeds that the world can start being a better place. To prove my point, I am not thanking a huge corporation like Panasonic for me receiving my camera intact and on a timely maner but a complete stranger three thousand miles away who took the time to care when he was under no obligation to do so. I guess I just want to say thank you.
Sincerely,
Marvin A Menjivar"
The story dates back to end of June. As I returned from office, I saw a UPS notice on my door stating that a package for me had been delivered to the housing community office. I promptly went there and collected the box delivered by Bigston Corporation. Bigston handles all the repairs for Panasonic cameras and since I was expecting mine back, I was happy that I finally had my machine. But as I read on my way back, neither the name nor the telephone number printed on the box were mine. The address was, strangely enough, correct. Assuming it to be a case of mistaken delivery, and a little concerned about the fate of my camera, I dialed the number of someone called Marvin while climbing the stairs. It went to the voicemail and I left a message asking the person to give me a call back.
Fast forward to the last week of July. Sitting in the annual celebratory meeting of Verisign-taking-over-iDefense, I felt a little vibration in my left pocket. The phonebook did not identify the calling number and hence the call was let die a natural death. After the meeting, as I returned the call, I felt as though I had seen the number before.
"Hi. This is Marvin", came a voice from the other side.
"Hi. I just got a missed call from this number. Do you..."
"Oh yeah", he spoke cutting me short, "you left me a voice message last month. Sorry, I was away from the country. So you said you had some package of mine?"
I called? Last month? Package? What was going on?
Oh yes. The package. The camera. The picture was becoming clearer now.
"Yes Marvin. I have a package meant for you. How do I send it back? Whats your address?"
There was silence for a couple of seconds. I checked my phone. The call was on. Cursing T-Mobile for the problem, I walked towards the window from where I had a clear view of the lake and hopefully, a better reception.
"I am so thankful to you, Sir. I cant imagine someone would do this at all."
Feeling a little embarressed and sceptical of people standing close and listening to my conversation at the end of the party, I spoke softly.
"Thats not a problem Marvin. Let me call you in a couple of minutes."
Hmm. Now did Marvin think that I had changed my mind? That it was some expensive camera that was supposed to be fixed. Did I want to keep another camera just for the heck of it. I dont know. Actually, since it was delievered to the corporate housing I was staying at, I had passed on the package to Lisa, the office assistant, saying that it was not mine. I had to check with her if she had not returned the same to UPS.
"Lisa. The package that I gave you about the wrong delivery, is it still there?". As I explained to her what had happened, I was hoping she would say yes and that I wont have to cut a sorry figure to Marvin.
"Yes. Ask him to email me his address and I shall mail it back to him."
As I called Marvin back and gave him the news, he still sounded as though it was some unbelievable event was unfolding around him. We was thanking me profusely for what I was doing and promised to pay me back any cost I incurred in posting back the package.
Done. Package sent. Episode forgotten. And then it all came back with the letter yesterday. I guess he got the office address from my email signature. But it brings bigger questions to the surface. Questions which I dont feel comfirtable answering. Questions which are better left untinkered with, because the answers to them include challenging and questioning a part of one's faith, upbringing and culture.
- If every religion and culture in the world teaches its desciples to be good, caring and helpful then why are people pleasantly surprised when someone tries to walk the talk? Moreover, why is the world itching closer to WW3?
- Is it really the upbringing or just the individual? Or rather the circumstances? Last night, I lied to a friend pretending I had to go to bed and that I shall talk to him the next morning. Another friend, who was driving the car besides me, asked me a question to which I had no answer, "How difficult is it to tell the truth when you know that it wont hurt the other person?". He has spent 18 years of his life in India and the rest 6 in the United States. Upbringing? Individual? Circumstances? Any answers?
- Why dont people in India send more letters or cards like these? Again, is it the culture? I remember when I sent a 'sorry card' to one of my crushes in college. It created a furore. I stopped sending cards or letters after that.
posted by Ujjwal at 8/08/2006 08:46:00 PM
5 Comments:
Hey ujjwal just read your blog about the letetr man it really amazed me that first of all u return a camera!!!
on a serious note it was real nice and maybe rather strange considering the life i have seen his letter was really warm!!!!
dunno about you! but almost all actions that I do are based on the belief that someday someone somewhere will return the same action to me in similar circumstances! by which I mean to say "you sow what you reap". :)
dude! amazing post. great to read...
what i am still thinking about is the last part...and am still thinking..
you did a very good deed, rather the right deed..only if things were always this right n good..life would have been so much better.
I like the simplicity with which you've questioned the escapist and opportunistic nature of people in general.
Provocative at many levels, will definitely think about it!
And btw, I particularly like this style of writing... the whole present to past back to the present thing...
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