Namaste everyone and how have you been doing? How has your week been? I hope you’ve all been doing really well, you know, because I am so excited to share the story and this beautiful little word that I learnt very recently with all of you. Now, if you’ve been following my podcast regularly, you’ll realise that every once in a while, we do talk about certain beautiful words or certain concepts which have a deeper meaning. And so today’s word is a charming French import that feels oddly familiar to our Indian hearts and the word is Trouvé.
Now, before you think it’s just some noise I’ve made, let me explain Trouvé. It’s spelled T-R-O-U-V-A-I-L-L-E and it means a lucky find, a happy accident. You know that moment when you clean out your shelf and you suddenly find a crumpled 500 rupee note that you didn’t even know you still had with you because you thought you’d spent it all on that shopping spree you had three months ago? That is a Trouvé.
And so today I’m going to tell you this little story and it’s a true one. You know, a few weeks back, I had to do this much needed clean up in my house. There’s this one particular shelf which is near my old study table which had been ignored for a really long time.
I think the last time I cleaned it must have been when Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement. And so I took some time off that day and I decided to clear out that entire section. So I started shifting furniture around and I started sorting things out and I kept it in different different bundles, you know, things that I could keep, things that I had to give away and things that I was actually wondering what to do with because I didn’t even know where it belonged anymore.
And they’re right there in the shelf for these mysterious wires that I know didn’t belong to any particular appliance in the house. There were little trinkets, there were these caps of certain bottles. Anyway, while clearing out this dusty little shelf near my old study table, I found an old steel dabba.
Unfortunately, no snacks in it. But inside it was a tiny stack of yellowing postcards bundled up with a rubber band that had clearly given up a long time ago. And this little stack, they were from my best friend in school.
Her father worked in the armed forces and she had relatives spread across the country. And so she would go to all of these beautiful places in her vacations. And she used to send me these little postcards from there.
You know, places that she traveled were like Agra. So she sent me this beautiful little postcard from Agra, from Shimla, even remote places in the northeast. And you know, every card ended with the same line, for you my bestest friend.
I sat down right there on the floor, dusty and tired but smiling. I hadn’t gone looking for those postcards. I didn’t even know that they still existed.
But finding them, that was something special. That was a true way. And that’s the thing about a true way.
It’s not about a price tag or rarity. It’s about the feeling. It’s that lovely little moment when life surprises you with something small and perfect.
Just when you aren’t looking. So wherever you are today, keep your eyes open and maybe check your bag. You never know what kind of true way is waiting for you.
You know, I understand in India, we may not use the word true way, but we live it all the time. You know, when you find your mom’s handwritten chole recipe behind an old bill from maybe 1996. When a roadside chai stall serves you the best tea of your life.
You know, when you’re aimlessly scrolling and you discover a song that then becomes your personal anthem. Right there is the universe’s way of giving you a small gift, wrapped in surprise and sometimes in dust like it happened to me. And so today, keep your eyes and your heart open.
Life might just hand you a true way when you least expect it. And if you do find one, tell someone or better yet, get yourself a postcard and write it down. May seem old school, but it’s beautiful.
Until next time, take good care of yourselves. Keep wandering and remember, some of the best things in life come when you’re just cleaning out a cupboard, when you least expect it. So here’s to each one of you finding your true way.
Hoping that life hands you a true way when you least expect it. Take good care of yourselves, everyone. And we’ll speak to you again next week.
Bye for now.
