Their very own karma konnection!
By Kiran Khanijow
As one of Taylor Swift’s latest hits, “Karma,” hits the number one spot, every time I hum to the song I think about how this age-old Asian ideology has seeped through into Western culture. Most of us will agree that what goes around comes around, both good and bad; the universe rewards us when we do something kind, or cuts us off when we do something terrible. Every time we think, act, breathe or feel, we put out some of our energy into the universe, and this energy later gets converted into events that affect our lives. Although we may think that a situation is random, it might just be karma playing its role – after all, according to the law of the universe and the law of gravity, a boomerang always returns back to the person who throws it.
We’ve asked some community members to share with us some karmic episodes that have played out in their own lives or those around them, both humorously and otherwise.
NAINA D KUNKUDATHARN, 40
Founder, Shoe Cocktail
Karmic Episode 1
Like most teenage girls, I wasn’t a very pleasant daughter. I slammed doors, always had an answer to give back, and everything in between. Everything that my mother said was wrong and whatever came out of my mouth was venom. Today, I have two daughters, one of whom is almost a teen. Oh dear, forget about the door slamming, the words that come out of her is actually me standing in front of an animated mirror, looking at myself! And without a doubt, I answer back like my mum! My mum doesn’t look like she’s cool, but I’ve realised that she’s actually quite open minded and unorthodox. Today, I wish I could take back all those venomous words that I spat out at her. When my daughter strongly argues withme in front of my own mum, her face lights up with the expression that says, “Ha! Your turn!”
Karmic episode 2
“Yeh taklu kya sikhyaga humeh?” (What will this bald-headed man teach us?), yelled one of my friends in Hindi to our Thai instructor in our Quantitative Analysis class here in Thailand. He was standing in front of the whiteboard as all of us broke into laughter in unison. Silently, the instructor, Mr. Prasert, smiled and continued drawing the graph on the whiteboard. It was now time to point out the y-axis. In an era where we get instant noodles and instant gratification, there’s also instant karma. Mr. Prasert then asked my friend in pure Hindi, “Idhar aao aur yahan pe ek bindilaga na” (come here and put a dot). She and all of us froze. It turns out that Mr. Prasert studied in an Indian boarding school, and was a Delhi University graduate! Our instructor’s Hindi was even better than ours. What were the odds?
NISHA KASATRI, 38
Stay-at-Home Mum
Karmic Episode 1
One of the most applicable sayings I teach my kids is that, “in a world where you can be anything, be kind.” I, for one, firmly believe that we all reap what we sow and that a sprinkle of kindness and a good deed goes a long way. There was a recent incident in my life that has reassured me that karma does exist and can manifest itself in the most amazing way. In April 2022, I was travelling with my family from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, while our rented car suddenly broke down in the middle of the motorway. It was 41 degrees Celsius outside; windy, dusty, and not to mention, scorching hot. My three kids and I were trying our best to be patient while my husband and the driver worked their best to fix the engine and flag down moving cars for the desperate assistance we needed. After about an hour, a Nepalese man in a tiny car but with the most ginormous heart pulled over and offered to drop us back to Dubai, a route totally out of his original plan. We don’t know what we did to deserve this, but karma definitely played a role that day.
Karmic Episode 2
On the lighter side, I grew up not being a sporty person which led me to be sun-averse and always choosing indoor sports such as volleyball whenever possible. I avoided sports such as athletics and swimming at any cost. However, today as a mother, both my boys only play football which means that most of my weekends consist of standing under the sun with an umbrella in one hand, a fan in the other, while carrying the strongest sunscreen in my bag – karma at work once again!
LAKSHMI SRIKHANDPUR
Makeup Artist
Karmic Episode 1
Bangkok is known for its crazy traffic and wild motorbikes zooming from side to side down the road. While driving in the city a while back, I saw this man in his Mercedes who got stuck in the U-turn-only lane. He decided to cut the motorcyclist behind him and of course, the motorcyclist honked at him. Now this is a usual, daily scene in our city. However, at this point, the man got out of his Mercedes and started walking
towards the motorcyclist. He started swearing and cussing and didn’t realise that there was a cop a few cars behind him. The cop saw all of it and as soon as he saw the cop walking towards him, he knew he was in trouble. He was one of those people who probably thought that the law – and karma – didn’t apply to him.
Karmic Episode 2
Another karmic incident took a turn on me. Once I was having a rough day and while playing basketball, I threw the ball into the net and shouted, “I hate basketball! Such a stupid game!” As soon as I said that, the ball hit me hard in the head. I’ve learned to watch my tongue from then onwards!
SUVIT SINGHSACHAKUL, 44
Business Owner
Some years back, I hired a freelance social media consultant for my business. Despite her professionalism and unwavering commitment, the work began to deteriorate rather quickly as she was new to the industry, having only theoretical knowledge but no hands-on experience. Several missteps and budgeting overruns later, I requested an impromptu meeting to terminate her services. Throughout the debriefing, I spoke with utmost empathy and respect, offering her words of reassurance, encouragement and a promise of positive reference checks for her future career. Some months later, I was looking to acquire an “Official Store” status for my company on one of Thailand’s largest online portals, but to no avail. Despite meeting all the stringent criteria, every attempt met with corporate red tape. On the verge of having a complete meltdown one sweltering Tuesday afternoon, I received an unexpected phone call. It turned out that my ex-social media consultant had just landed a prestigious position as Head of Seller Relations at that very same online portal. I was the first one she thought to call to invite to be an Official Store. I was dumbstruck. She fast-tracked the application and my company got the coveted status within a week. I remembered asking her later why she even thought about contacting me. Her answer remains at the forefront of my mind to this very day: “Even though you had every reason to be furious, you left me on such a high note when I was feeling so low, how could I not?”
