…till my wings get stronger
In response to Coffee Challenge; why I am a pro shoutout movement
Once upon a time, in Arabia, so the story goes, there was a kind and benevolent Sheikh who loved helping people. He was also a rich man, who was generous with his money, and very charitable.
One day, he was riding on his favourite white horse, when he met a poor man, asking for alms, from every passerby. His clothes were in tatters, and he was so emaciated and famished, he could scarcely walk. It was a hot day, and the sun was burning overhead. Passers by either disregarded the poor man or shooed him away.
The kind-hearted Sheikh dismounted, and gave the poor man all the money he had, and bade him feed himself. The latter’s eyes shone craftily.
“Oh, my Lord,” he implored, “Benefactor of the poor, my feet have become bloody with walking for so long. Can I sit on your horse, awhile?”
The sheikh agreed and helped him up. No sooner was the man holding the reins, than he galloped away. But he was still within earshot, when the Sheikh’s voice, raised in grief, came to him.
“My friend,” he called, “Take my horse if you want, but don’t tell people how you got it! For if you do, NO ONE will help another in distress!”
The thief was so struck by the Sheikh’s generosity, and humanity, and so ashamed of taking advantage of it, that he galloped back, slid off the horse and fell at the Sheikh’s feet, imploring forgiveness. Legend says that he was not only forgiven, but also provided employment in the Sheikh’s palace.
And THAT, is what a Shoutout does! It helps you when you are in a dark space: it tells you that you are appreciated, it gives you the will to continue writing, on days that seem hopeless, either because of personal angst, or saturation.
It is a hand someone lends you. How you make use of the hand, whether in humility, or arrogance is entirely up to you. Will you give credit where credit is due, or ride away, without acknowledging the gift that the shoutout is to you, is, of course, entirely up to you.
The reason why I decided to try Medium out, was because of Sujona Chatterjee, my erstwhile student, who thought that I wrote quite well, and egged me on to try this platform. I began, in the last week of August, as a rank outsider, standing outside, looking on wonderingly at the number of ‘followers’ some of the writers had, and wondering, with trepidation, whether I would ever cross double-digit numbers.
It was slow going. Very slow going. And then I wrote, ‘How to Write a Poem,’
kindly published by Living Out Loud: and KSHernandez gave it a shoutout, at the end of one of her exquisite pieces of writing, a very poignant poem devoted to her mother.
It felt like I had been moving through a dark, sinister forest of threatening trees, and suddenly the sun rose, and I found myself in a light-filled clearing, complete with babbling brook and bird song.
I looked back the way I had come, and the trees didn’t look threatening at all.
This was the one fact that kept me going: else, I might have thrown in the towel and retired from the ring, ere long.
As far as I know, no other publication insists on the shoutout. I don’t know whether it is considered to be a hassle by many people, but because of this initiative by Coffee Times Movement, every writer who writes for Coffee Times will give a spark of hope to another writer. I think it is a very noble aim.
We had a movement in India initiated by a newspaper, at a time when newspapers actually published news, called ‘Each One, Teach One.’ Many of us signed up for that. Every educated person would teach one unlettered person, how to read and write. In two years, the number of unlettered people within Mumbai almost halved.
That’s what a shoutout does: spread light. Light an unlit lamp. That’s all.
Thanks to Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Yana Bostongirl, Dr. Preeti Singh, Drashti Shroff, Marrisa W. and Sharing Randomly for this generous initiative.
And as though, this shoutout by KSHernandez was a sign of things to come, I received responses, heartfelt and generous, from people who were commenting not as a chore, but because they really liked what they were reading. That gave me a feeling of acceptance: writers like I. Trudie Palmer, Thief, Carolyn Hastings, Anastasia Soul Gypsy, Margie Willis, Ahlam Ben Saga, Poetic Therapy, Scot Butwell, Ravyne Hawke, Hamsalekha, David Rudder, Nandkishor Shingne and many others responded and kept my flame alive every time a stray wind of indifference threatened to put it out. One of these writers also told me that something I wrote made her feel stronger, after the loss of someone had left her feeling devastated. It was the ultimate gesture of acceptance.
But, without that one shoutout from KSHernandez, I wouldn’t be here, writing my 135th story.
I rest my case.
©️ 2021 Suma Narayan. All Rights Reserved.
Shoutout to Coffee Times, Winston
