Saturday 1 November 2008

Forwards Can Be Cool

Usually, forwards are just annoying old chain letters which, if not forwarded, will apparently bring you 50 years of bad luck/make you die a slow torturous death/help to save the life of a 7 year old cancer afflicted kid who has been 7 since I wasn't even born/make sure you're haunted by the ghost of a very old, very pissed off woman until the day you die or help you hook up with your crush like, that very night!!11! ZOMGZZ!!111!eleven!!11!

But some forwards are actually pretty funny. And once in a while, you may even find one that you absolutely love. Here's my once in a while that was forwarded to me today. It's a bit long but totally worth it :-)

One day, a Maths teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving some space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the students the remainder of the class period to finish their assignments; and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper and listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday, she gave each student his or her list.


Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much," were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in the Kargil war and his teacher attended his funeral. The place was packed with his friends. One by one, those who loved him took a last walk. The teacher was the last one. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came upto her. "Were you Sanjay's Math teacher?" She nodded. Then he said "Sanjay talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Sanjay's former classmates were there. Sanjay's parents were waiting to speak to the teacher. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Sanjay when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. Without looking, the teacher knew that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Sanjay's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Sanjay's mother said. "As you can see, Sanjay treasured it."

All of Sanjay's former classmates started to gather around. Smiling rather sheepishly, Arjun said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer in my desk at home."

Prithviraj's wife said, "Prithviraj asked me to put his in our wedding album."

"I have mine too," Rashmi said. "It's in my diary."

Then Deepali, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," she said, and without batting an eyelash, she continued, "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Sanjay and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. Telling people you love and care for that they are special and important isn't a crime. Do it now while you still can rather than waiting until it's too late.

5 comments:

Tanuj Lakhina said...

Put the forward in italics or mention when its about to start.Its not clear.

Usually, forwards are just annoying old chain letters which, if not forwarded, will apparently bring you 50 years of bad luck/make you die a slow torturous death/help to save the life of a 7 year old cancer afflicted kid who has been 7 since I wasn't even born/make sure you're haunted by the ghost of a very old, very pissed off woman until the day you die or help you hook up with your crush like, that very night!!11! ZOMGZZ!!111!eleven!!11!

But some forwards are actually pretty funny. And once in a while, you may even find one that you absolutely love. Here's my once in a while that was forwarded to me today. It's a bit long but totally worth it :-)

One day, a Maths teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving some space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the students the remainder of the class period to finish their assignments; and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper and listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday, she gave each student his or her list.


Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much," were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in the Kargil war and his teacher attended his funeral. The place was packed with his friends. One by one, those who loved him took a last walk. The teacher was the last one. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came upto her. "Were you Sanjay's Math teacher?" She nodded. Then he said "Sanjay talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Sanjay's former classmates were there. Sanjay's parents were waiting to speak to the teacher. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Sanjay when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. Without looking, the teacher knew that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Sanjay's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Sanjay's mother said. "As you can see, Sanjay treasured it."

All of Sanjay's former classmates started to gather around. Smiling rather sheepishly, Arjun said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer in my desk at home."

Prithviraj's wife said, "Prithviraj asked me to put his in our wedding album."

"I have mine too," Rashmi said. "It's in my diary."

Then Deepali, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," she said, and without batting an eyelash, she continued, "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Sanjay and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. Telling people you love and care for that they are special and important isn't a crime. Do it now while you still can rather than waiting until it's too late.

Eva Caroline said...

nice posting..nice article.. wanna link exchange ?? AUTO INSURANCE say hi..

Usually, forwards are just annoying old chain letters which, if not forwarded, will apparently bring you 50 years of bad luck/make you die a slow torturous death/help to save the life of a 7 year old cancer afflicted kid who has been 7 since I wasn't even born/make sure you're haunted by the ghost of a very old, very pissed off woman until the day you die or help you hook up with your crush like, that very night!!11! ZOMGZZ!!111!eleven!!11!

But some forwards are actually pretty funny. And once in a while, you may even find one that you absolutely love. Here's my once in a while that was forwarded to me today. It's a bit long but totally worth it :-)

One day, a Maths teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving some space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the students the remainder of the class period to finish their assignments; and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper and listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday, she gave each student his or her list.


Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much," were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in the Kargil war and his teacher attended his funeral. The place was packed with his friends. One by one, those who loved him took a last walk. The teacher was the last one. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came upto her. "Were you Sanjay's Math teacher?" She nodded. Then he said "Sanjay talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Sanjay's former classmates were there. Sanjay's parents were waiting to speak to the teacher. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Sanjay when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. Without looking, the teacher knew that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Sanjay's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Sanjay's mother said. "As you can see, Sanjay treasured it."

All of Sanjay's former classmates started to gather around. Smiling rather sheepishly, Arjun said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer in my desk at home."

Prithviraj's wife said, "Prithviraj asked me to put his in our wedding album."

"I have mine too," Rashmi said. "It's in my diary."

Then Deepali, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," she said, and without batting an eyelash, she continued, "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Sanjay and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. Telling people you love and care for that they are special and important isn't a crime. Do it now while you still can rather than waiting until it's too late.

Unknown said...

hmm...it's true, some fwds really are pretty cool.
You have a great blog! I love the layout!:) And you write really well too!

Usually, forwards are just annoying old chain letters which, if not forwarded, will apparently bring you 50 years of bad luck/make you die a slow torturous death/help to save the life of a 7 year old cancer afflicted kid who has been 7 since I wasn't even born/make sure you're haunted by the ghost of a very old, very pissed off woman until the day you die or help you hook up with your crush like, that very night!!11! ZOMGZZ!!111!eleven!!11!

But some forwards are actually pretty funny. And once in a while, you may even find one that you absolutely love. Here's my once in a while that was forwarded to me today. It's a bit long but totally worth it :-)

One day, a Maths teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving some space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the students the remainder of the class period to finish their assignments; and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper and listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday, she gave each student his or her list.


Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much," were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in the Kargil war and his teacher attended his funeral. The place was packed with his friends. One by one, those who loved him took a last walk. The teacher was the last one. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came upto her. "Were you Sanjay's Math teacher?" She nodded. Then he said "Sanjay talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Sanjay's former classmates were there. Sanjay's parents were waiting to speak to the teacher. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Sanjay when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. Without looking, the teacher knew that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Sanjay's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Sanjay's mother said. "As you can see, Sanjay treasured it."

All of Sanjay's former classmates started to gather around. Smiling rather sheepishly, Arjun said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer in my desk at home."

Prithviraj's wife said, "Prithviraj asked me to put his in our wedding album."

"I have mine too," Rashmi said. "It's in my diary."

Then Deepali, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," she said, and without batting an eyelash, she continued, "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Sanjay and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. Telling people you love and care for that they are special and important isn't a crime. Do it now while you still can rather than waiting until it's too late.

Tanuj Lakhina said...

@Crazy Confused Cynic,I totally agree with you especially the part about her writing really well.That's what makes me come back here.

Usually, forwards are just annoying old chain letters which, if not forwarded, will apparently bring you 50 years of bad luck/make you die a slow torturous death/help to save the life of a 7 year old cancer afflicted kid who has been 7 since I wasn't even born/make sure you're haunted by the ghost of a very old, very pissed off woman until the day you die or help you hook up with your crush like, that very night!!11! ZOMGZZ!!111!eleven!!11!

But some forwards are actually pretty funny. And once in a while, you may even find one that you absolutely love. Here's my once in a while that was forwarded to me today. It's a bit long but totally worth it :-)

One day, a Maths teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving some space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the students the remainder of the class period to finish their assignments; and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper and listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday, she gave each student his or her list.


Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much," were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in the Kargil war and his teacher attended his funeral. The place was packed with his friends. One by one, those who loved him took a last walk. The teacher was the last one. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came upto her. "Were you Sanjay's Math teacher?" She nodded. Then he said "Sanjay talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Sanjay's former classmates were there. Sanjay's parents were waiting to speak to the teacher. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Sanjay when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. Without looking, the teacher knew that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Sanjay's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Sanjay's mother said. "As you can see, Sanjay treasured it."

All of Sanjay's former classmates started to gather around. Smiling rather sheepishly, Arjun said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer in my desk at home."

Prithviraj's wife said, "Prithviraj asked me to put his in our wedding album."

"I have mine too," Rashmi said. "It's in my diary."

Then Deepali, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," she said, and without batting an eyelash, she continued, "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Sanjay and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. Telling people you love and care for that they are special and important isn't a crime. Do it now while you still can rather than waiting until it's too late.

Parinita said...

Thanks crazy confused cynic :D

And thanks Tanuj too.

Usually, forwards are just annoying old chain letters which, if not forwarded, will apparently bring you 50 years of bad luck/make you die a slow torturous death/help to save the life of a 7 year old cancer afflicted kid who has been 7 since I wasn't even born/make sure you're haunted by the ghost of a very old, very pissed off woman until the day you die or help you hook up with your crush like, that very night!!11! ZOMGZZ!!111!eleven!!11!

But some forwards are actually pretty funny. And once in a while, you may even find one that you absolutely love. Here's my once in a while that was forwarded to me today. It's a bit long but totally worth it :-)

One day, a Maths teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving some space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the students the remainder of the class period to finish their assignments; and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper and listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday, she gave each student his or her list.


Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much," were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in the Kargil war and his teacher attended his funeral. The place was packed with his friends. One by one, those who loved him took a last walk. The teacher was the last one. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came upto her. "Were you Sanjay's Math teacher?" She nodded. Then he said "Sanjay talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Sanjay's former classmates were there. Sanjay's parents were waiting to speak to the teacher. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Sanjay when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. Without looking, the teacher knew that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Sanjay's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Sanjay's mother said. "As you can see, Sanjay treasured it."

All of Sanjay's former classmates started to gather around. Smiling rather sheepishly, Arjun said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer in my desk at home."

Prithviraj's wife said, "Prithviraj asked me to put his in our wedding album."

"I have mine too," Rashmi said. "It's in my diary."

Then Deepali, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," she said, and without batting an eyelash, she continued, "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Sanjay and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. Telling people you love and care for that they are special and important isn't a crime. Do it now while you still can rather than waiting until it's too late.