I Inspire

A must-read for anyone who has ever rolled their eyes skyward and asked, “Hey God, is there like a road map to life?”

Srinagar was dressed in her autumn best. Like blushing brides, the trees were clothed in bright red, their graceful limbs swaying eagerly forth in the wind, and then, as if suddenly recalling their modesty, holding back just a bit.

Neerja’s grandmother was busy in the kitchen. The smell of pickles enticed the chubby little girl and she walked in to watch the elderly woman create magic with her wrinkled hands. Every now and then, she would steal a piece of sour green mango, flick it into the air and catch it in her mouth. The taste was heaven… pure heaven.

“Oh nani, I love you!” Neerja sighed. “This is the greatest treasure you could ever give me!”

“Oh, no, my little one”, replied her grandmother, beating masalas into a bowl to marinate the cut raw mango pieces. “Raw mangoes are not the greatest treasure.”

“I give up Nani! Tell me, tell me now, what is the greatest treasure?”

Equal parts humorous and soul-stirring, the deeply personal and disturbingly honest I Inspire reveals how the human spirit is much, much bigger than anything it endures.