“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody,” goes a Chinese Proverb. Helping others was exactly what the NCNA Chettiars did on a breezy Saturday evening in Santa Clara, CA. That night, we, the NCNA (Northern California Nagarathar Association) Volunteers, immersed ourselves in the spirit of giving back during the holiday season. We packed the Family Giving Tree storage room, fervent to lend a helping hand in any way we could. After listening to directions given by a coordinator, we discerned partners and scurried to our conglomeration of gifts. Once we organized our presents in sequential order, we identified missing gifts. Subsequently, we made our way to a room commensurate to Santa’s workshop, stocked with presents from corner to corner. Using a gift wish list from each underprivileged kid, we found the presents requested. Pulling the gifts we had collected in a wagon, we scrambled back to our agglomeration of presents, lining the goodies in order. Finally, the NCNA Volunteers ascertained that for each child there was a present. After two well spent hours, Chettiars glowingly admired the neat heap of gifts they had put together. As Chettiars sauntered out to the hallway, we gleamed with vivacity knowing that we will be putting a voluminous smile on another’s face. Happy Holidays!

By

Kailash Sundaram