True kindness

Today I received a parcel in the mail. It is the lavender coloured Indian silk blouse, the one that I am wearing on my avatar, during the camel tour in the Thar desert of Rajasthan.
After I returned to Tokyo, I wrote a thank you-mail to Lois Mason, the owner of the Desert Moon Guesthouse in Jaisalmer. (www.desertmoonguesthouse.com) and mentioned that my silk blouse did not seem to be in my suitcase and could it be that her dhobi-man (the laundry person) forgot to return it from the wash? She went looking for it and wrote back, no, it was not there. But where did I stay next after Jaisalmer? Could I send her the name of the hotel, she would call them and find out if I forgot it in the next place, maybe. So I sent her the phone number of the beautiful Ratan Vilas hotel in Jodhpur which also has a very kind manager, and she called them twice, reminding them to search for it and then she sent me another mail, saying that she had good news finally, that indeed, they found it! And that she had told them to send it to her so that she could ship it to Japan for me.... Ratan Vilas promised that the next time someone of their staff made a trip to Jaisalmer (5 hours drive away from there on mostly desert roads) they would give him the blouse and have it delivered to Desert Moon into Lois' hands. After 2-3 weeks someone finally did travel over there through the desert and Lois sent me another mail that she had it and would post it. Meanwhile, I told a friend who went to India yesterday all about Desert Moon and it's wonderful, kind and thoughtful owner and started arranging for Rajasthani/kalbeliya dance lessons for her which Lois offered to have held on her roof, with a dancer provided by Jaisalmer's culture center.
And then another mail came, with Lois saying that she had finally made it to the post office and sent the blouse by speed post and now it is here! Back with me, after an odyssee through the Thar desert, city to city, retrieved from oblivion. I am touched when I look at it.
My kathak teacher was enchanted when I told her this story and asked me for the address of Desert Moon, and said, this is a happening that is unheard of in India!
Thank you so much, Lois, I owe you one! I hope, everyone who thinks about going to Jaisalmer will find this on the net.

Wed, October 28, 2009 - 7:08 AM