The first impression on opening A Heart full of Kindness and going through the names of familiar saints and spiritual thinkers in the contents, and the words ‘stories of courage and compassion’ on the cover, straightaway prepares you for a course in lofty ideals and morality. However, the author’s note dispels any hint of didactic preaching. The easy expressions of a complex demeanour like kindness simply flow like musical strains to catch the young reader.
These are stories about people from all over the world whose acts of kindness have left a mark on time. Faraway lands and diverse locations in the stories paint varied landscapes and cultural features. A young prince Siddhartha heals the wounded swan, Krishna greets his childhood friend Sudama, Kabir’s thinking visualizes the movements of tiny animals, just as Bahá’u’lláh in distant, cold Tehran gives shelter to a stranger, and Reb Israel, the founder of Judaism, silently helps the needy with wood for fire and bread. Young Nanak feeds the hungry, Lhamo Thondup, who became the Dalai Lama, rescues ants, and Kong Mei of the Khasis in Meghalaya protects tradition against genetically modified methods in agriculture, explaining the rationale in simple terms. The stories glide like harmonious notes of a melody, the pleasing whispers of the prose offering the balm of kindness.
The multifarious diversified plots entertain, their outcomes set a standard for expectations focused on virtues of the given protagonist, primarily zeroed in on the main thought, kindness. Kindness is a power which, in the author’s words ‘…does not shout, it does not march, it never demands attention. It works quietly, like early morning sunlight, gentle, but impossible to ignore once you feel it… sometimes changes a heart…’
The cosmetic side of the book is worth a mention. A pleasant cover, emphatic illustrations defining each story with a text appearing neat and easy to read add to the quality of the production by Speaking Tiger Books.