Emphasising kindness through global perspectives

CHENNAI: The Kindness Foundation is back with the second edition of The International Kindness Festival to highlight the impact of kindness across various aspects of life. The fest explores the quality and acts of kindness, empathy and compassion on themes such as science, politics, art and education, among others.

Divulging the need for this fest, Mahima Poddar, founder of Kindness Foundation, says, “This festival focuses on making the world a kinder place to live. Most of our problems could end if we concentrate on empathy and self-respect. I believe that every human has goodness in them. We have to find a way to bring out the inner goodness to make them see the morality around them. The International Kindness Festival aims to create opportunities for people to discover this. Rather than being aggressive, we can create a more calmer society.”

Mahima delves deep into self-love, and adds, “Being kind to others starts with being kind to ourselves. This concept can be misused as well. People can misinterpret the same and become selfish. Self-kindness means truly acknowledging and accepting our flaws.”

The wide range of topics covered in the fest includes Inside a Champion’s Heart: The Soulful Journey of How Athletes Think, Train and Thrive, Kindness in Architecture: Co-Living and Co-Design for a Harmonious Environment, Tuning Hearts: Music, Kindness, and the Gift of Knowledge, Virtue Signaling Through History: A Satirical Odyssey, Thriving Futures: A Youth-Centric Wellbeing Discussion, Meeting Senior Needs with No-Nonsense Kindness and Sometimes Shaken Never Stirred: A Standup Cocktail of Comedy, Inspiration and Philosophy, among others.

One of the speakers at the event, psychologist Anjali Thomas explains the connection between empathy and understanding. “The act of kindness starts in the places we do not think about. It is how we treat people at home, our colleagues and similar ones. Kindness is and should be about empathy and understanding. In the global perspective, there is no difference in viewing kindness, but the way it is expressed differs,” she elucidates.

Anjali is a forensic psychologist at a women’s prison in Rikers Island in New York. “I am often asked how I work with such people and they are evil. My answer is, no they are not and I meet humans who come from difficult circumstances. And that is where kindness enters. Kindness expands more when we start asking questions instead of just making assumptions. It is crucial to ask someone how they are and what is happening with them,” states the psychologist.

The festival also has various workshops to make use of the knowledge gained practically. “Kindness is not just charity of money. It is the charity of thoughts and being non-judgemental,” remarks the 49-year-old founder.

Showcasing talks, discussions, workshops, live performances, food stalls, book stalls and many networking opportunities, The International Kindness Festival 2024 is scheduled today and tomorrow at Sri Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall in Harrington Road.