---------- Forwarded message --------- From: N Sekar <[email protected]> Date: Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 11:11 AM Subject: Fwd - Empathy and not Sympathy To: Kerala Iyer <[email protected]>, Narayanaswamy Sekar < [email protected]>, Suryanarayana Ambadipudi <[email protected]>, Rangarajan T.N.C. <[email protected]>, Chittanandam V. R. < [email protected]>, Mathangi K. Kumar <[email protected]>, Mani APS <[email protected]>, Rama (Iyer 123 Group) <[email protected]>, Srinivasan Sridharan <[email protected]>, Surendra Varma < [email protected]>
*Dialogue in the Dark – (A True Story)* My husband is great at giving me surprises & this year was no less ! After a nice morning drive, he said he planned a special lunch for me. We reach the 3rd floor of a particular mall & entered an Eatery whose the board read “ *Dialogue in the Dark”.* I could make out that it was a different place because I couldn’t see any people just a counter with a manager, a menu card & a bell. We walked up, he said *“Aha, you're here Happy birthday and we hope we make your day memorable to you."* The manager smiled & asked us to follow him in a pathway which for some reason kept getting darker and darker, until a point I had to hold my husband because I could absolutely see nothing. *The manager now turned to us & said “I am handing you over to our server for the day, Sampath”* Sampath greeted us warmly & began by saying, “ *As you can see; you can't see !* " It's pitch dark already & there are no sources of light inside either; please hold my hand, trust me, you are safe with me & I ll take you to your table. We did as he told us, holding each other, we touched the walls to support & not trip and as promised, we were safe and reached our table. Sampath brought in our meals in 10 mins, and asked us to enjoy ! I thought “ *Enjoy what? Darkness?”* And for the next 45 mins, we ate in complete darkness & we had to feel the roti, figure out the sabzi, chutney, drink etc. Not being able to see the person, just able to hear each other out, *It was difficult in the beginning but as time went on we completed our delicious meal & it was a unique experience indeed !* When we were done, we called Sampath who came promptly, we stood, placed our hand in his and walked ahead and as we headed back out towards the light I was relieved; *And I could finally see the back of sampaths head and THEN HE TURNED !* *My jaw dropped instantaneously when I finally and actually saw Sampath ! A visually disabled man ! No eyes whatsoever !* Sampath whispered softly “What you experienced was not only how disabled the blind people are *but also how uniquely able we are !! ”* While I almost tripped multiple times, couldn’t bear the darkness beyond few minutes; they live like this all their lives ! His spirit, his positivity, his SMILE ! *I was humbled* & filled with a profound sense of respect for them. I was literally in their shoes for 60 mins; I felt their pain, felt their world & felt their emotions, *and to say the least, their courage too ! That was Empathy !* I thought to myself “ *Sampath might not have eyes, he surely has VISION* ” And I would never discard right away anyone again. *What a birthday* ! *WE NEED EMPATHY NOT SYMPATHY.* *WE ARE ALL HUMAN BUT HOW MANY OF US ARE REALLY HUMANE.????* Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer <https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=US_Acquisition_YMktg_315_SearchOrgConquer_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=US_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100002039&af_sub5=C01_Email_Static_&af_ios_store_cpp=0c38e4b0-a27e-40f9-a211-f4e2de32ab91&af_android_url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yahoo.mobile.client.android.mail&listing=search_organize_conquer> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CABC81ZfH3ofHHDA3VX4tzKKVcuSMtWpqJ0OwYwTffx10SzR0Tg%40mail.gmail.com.
