“THE greatest thing in the world is to be courteous, kind, and thoughtful of others” – Gautam Buddha Yes really courtesy matters a lot in our life, all of us are recognised by society primarily by our behavior, attitude, and other factors like humbleness, harshness, etc. No matter how we behave as per the situation but the personality traits exhibit in the real nature. It’s a unforgetful incident that happened to me when I landed at Singapore Changi Airport (First overseas travel). I was a little nervous. As I came out of the airport, I quickly asked the policeman who came in front of me, about the distance to my hotel situated in Cecil street. Very politely he answered me and finally he said, “Thanks for asking”. It really gave me goosebumps.

The courtesy he has shown, moved me very deeply and I was overjoyed. After offering him “Thank you very much”, I moved on. Two Little words are more powerful in the whole vocabulary, they can change any scenario in a positive direction, they are “ Thank You” and “I am Sorry”. Magically they are the true meaning of “courtesy”. Some years back I read a book by Arindam Choudary titled “Count your chickens before they hatch”. It was a blockbuster book in those days, he emphasised on the usage of these words and adviced people to use them as frequently as possible and as quickly as possible because one may not get chance in a lifetime to say “Thank you” or “ I am Sorry” to the other person. The author narrated one incident in the book. Once, his car tire went flat in the night and he had no spare tire. He came home by cab and informed his younger brother about the car and asked him to arrange for the repair the next morning.

His brother made his car available for him the next morning. All he wanted to tell him was ‘Thank you’ but in a busy schedule, he failed to utter those two words. On the same day his brother met with an accident and passed away next day. He could not say “Thank you” to his brother in the whole of his lifetime. We should not be burdened by the guilt of not showing gratitude to the person who has helped us in need and made us feel good. Wishing/greeting someone on any special occasion really make the person happy and we make our place in their heart forever. Thanks to social media and technology for keeping us alert all the time. These all little courtesies make our life beautiful. In real life, I came across a few personalities who are more humble and more courteous. Professor Singam Jayanthu, renowned mining professor in India. He never dodge offering help. Persons like him are most admirable and deserve more respect.

I have also seen people with exactly opposite nature. They feel they are straightforward and don’t care what others feel, they utter what they want and make others feel humiliated. Courtesy and humbleness go hand in hand and have the power of winning hearts. Lacking the knack for communication is a cause of disaster for personal life and professional life as well. We can witness the magic of “Courtesy” in Star Hotels and other hospitality businesses. It definitely makes good impression on the person on the other side. In our country “Courtesy” was embedded in the lives and has played important role in cultural development Bhagavad Gita says, “suhrn-mitrary-udasina- madhyastha-dvesya-bandhusu sadhusv api ca papesu sama-buddhir visisyate” - (He who is a friend to all, who is impartial toward all, and who treats alike the well-wisher and the enemy, the neutral and the hostile, the good and the sinful, is considered to be a sage of steady wisdom). Lets us keep the culture alive by teaching “Courtesy” to our younger generation.