The Gift of Kindness: What If We Made the World a Little More Like Family?

November 06, 2026 Shweta Baxi Tyagi

We spend Diwali making our homes beautiful, exchanging gifts, meeting loved ones and celebrating togetherness. But what if we allowed that circle of togetherness to grow a little wider? 

This year, at Beyond Words, we decided to take our Diwali celebrations beyond our office and our homes. Through our #TheGiftOfKindness initiative, we wanted to remind ourselves that the joy of a festival is perhaps best experienced when it is shared. 

We decided to spend time with children from a nearby community of slum dwellers, sharing food and gifts and, hopefully, creating a few moments of happiness. 

It is a small gesture. And perhaps that is where we need to begin. 

When I heard it the first time, I loved the word Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family). But what does it mean to practise it? Perhaps it begins by looking beyond our immediate circles. By recognising that happiness need not be confined to those we know, and that kindness need not come with a relationship, an obligation or an expectation of something in return. 

We often think of giving in terms of how much we can afford to give. But sometimes, it is less about the size of the gesture and more about the willingness to look beyond ourselves. A meal shared, a little time given, or a child made to feel special. A moment of genuine human connection. 

I don't believe we need grand gestures or elaborate campaigns to make a difference. We just need to expand our definition of ‘us’. 

At Beyond Words, this is our little attempt at doing that. Not a lesson in giving, and certainly not a claim to have made a difference on a grand scale. Just a reminder to ourselves that there is so much more joy when it is shared. 

Perhaps the world really can become one family, one small act of kindness at a time. 

And perhaps the best gift we can give this Diwali is the feeling that nobody is forgotten.