Tuesday, February 15, 2022

~ In Guard of Honour...~

 He stands at an upright position to prove his loyalty towards his employer, whether assisting in parking of customer cars which come for shopping or when it comes to counting of sold items whence the customer is exiting the gate, Khem Chettri is at its best – his short height and marooned looks sets him apart from other mall guards.

His smile and comfort looks is what made me feel to chat with me whilst I came out of the mall ,but I had kept him in my mind beforehand as he was the one who came out running to assist me in parking my car. As I observed him, he was doing his duty diligently and without any much tantrums, a rarity now a days. His conversant aura was the next best thing which broke the silent between us….

As I initiated to ask about his name and from where he was …

“Sir, I am from Assam and spoke up in length from a small place called “Duliajaan”, as I had a friend who was from nearby place, “Jorhat”, the conversation got to its gravity as his eyes lit up in sparkle and he beamed his ear to ear smile as if someone from his village was speaking to him in this concrete jungle of land and buildings. As the conversation matured, khemji became more friendly and started to talk frankly about the place and its natural arena, I accepted his thoughts in tandem as I knew for sure that what he was talking of was pure nature.

When he stopped, I asked “Where do you live Chettriji?”, to which he reverted “Sir, I sleep in the mall and have a small room attached, I use the bathrooms for washing and other sundries. I have been staying in the mall for last eight years! the Malik (owner of the mall) is a nice man.”

I asked him about his family whereabouts, to which he vehemently espoused his feelings and thus spoke “Sir, I have a son and he is doing engineering and my daughter is in 12th grade, both of them as good students.” I appreciated his stance and congratulated him for doing so much for his family, he nodded with a grin and felt happy at my words of appreciation, though quite internally I could sense that he was proud father to his kids.

Suddenly, Chettriji had a task in hand and there were customer bags to be scrutinized whilst they made way to exit the mall – a task he did quite conscientiously and with sharp focus , as any misses could lead to loss to his ‘Malik’ – he was a truly honest employee, no doubt.

At last he finishes his adhoc task and makes efforts to accommodate another car which is trying to adjust in the compact parking. Finally saying a temporary adieu, I make my way towards the final exit, keeping in mind the conversation that I had made with my newfound friend, life’s best instances is actually found in beautiful conversations …. Today it proved true for me….

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