We had an evening meeting that went on for a few hours. Around 5pm my stomach usually begins to make a few gurgling sounds. It’s my abdominal alarm clock that reminds me its time for a snack.

Suddenly, we get a call - ‘Don’t eat anything, Pani puri is on the way!’. About 20 minutes later, half a dozens puris, a jug full of minty spicy paani, potato masala filling and chat-pata toppings show up on our table. And then lovingly she stands there and ensures that all of us have our share, and then some more. Not just the stomach, but the heart is filled with love, and we resume our meeting with renewed energy.

My friend Jyoti is someone who truly knows how to make people feel special. This is her winning habit. She thinks about other people all the time - what they like, what upsets them, what would excite them, what would get the best out of them. She knows that some people like to be remembered every now and them, some like a foodie surprise (thats me!), some enjoy a warm hug, and some would love to meet for a coffee now and then. She makes it point to do it, inspite of her busy schedule and intense work commitments. And she is good at what she does. In fact at our office, she is known as ‘The boss of all bosses’. She is a hard task master, and a sweet pamperer rolled into one.

All of us love to be pampered! It’s makes us believe in ourselves a little more. It makes us believe that it is all worth it. It makes me want to be a better me.

Beware, there is good pampering and not so good pampering. Pampering the ego of someone is bad pampering. Pampering with a intention of getting something in return is always bad. Pampering the goodness in someone is good pampering. Pampering to make them feel strong is great pampering. Pampering to reward them for something beautiful they did is awesome. Pampering to express our gratitude for their presence in our life is simply divine.

Here are 5 things that have worked for me (although I admit I need to do this much more often :-)

It’s simple, and I want to do this more often. My wife, my parents, my in laws, my children, my colleagues, my close friends, my teachers, my students… I won’t spare anyone!

Did you someone pamper you and it made you feel oh sooooo good?

Do you intend to pamper some people this week and make them feel totally enchanted?

Do share!