~ Chai - as my last supper...~

It has given me an adrenaline rush when I am down, the zest of life gets diminished through everyday rigmarole of life – having a cup of tea makes me start over again – It has been my best friend over three decades, the only ‘Bad’ habit one would say that I have, but I just cant leave it…as I would certainly like to have the last tea cuppa before I depart….

Be it late evening or early morning saga, not having a cup of tea as my noble companion does give me the push to perform – the lethargy gets encrypted till I gulp my first sip of tea after the wake-up.

I wake up daily and embrace my morning partner – a cup of tea which gives me life to move on and accept the challenges of the day.

Come afternoon, again I have a rendezvous with my best friend and foe, foe- as it has become a queer habit, I miss the tea cup when aloof and it certainly gets me back during the snooze hours of summers now a days – Of course, with a long lasting relationship that I have had with this unique beverage, I also have found close fondness to various cups which I like to have my ‘Drink’ .

Of late, I have been addicted to ‘Kuhlad Chai’, as it gives a certain degree of fragrance when you sip it slowly – the whole aroma is filled with its magnificence – no doubt, it takes time to fall in love with such a habit, more so as we are mostly accustomed to having tea / coffee in regular ceramic cups.

The taste of tea magnifies if you have a good company – the sip by sip conversations leads you to a sense of peace and tranquility – the exchange of thoughts gets inversely proportional to the diminishing tea in your cup- though a sense of poignant charm surrounds you and you would certainly like to have another back to back cup but the lethargy in you wont make you get up and go to the kitchen to action another cup on the burner!

My relationship with Tea is since time immemorial – thanks to my father who was a complete ‘Tea-totaller’ – and thus was fond of this magnificent drink of his lifetime – the habit galvanized unto me and during my study years, I used to have a pot filled to the brim and with each passing hour, would pour it in the cup and gulp it , matching the timeless hours just passed by…. Those certainly were the times of Delhi’s foggy winters - today as I again had the privilege of having this unique drink in an earthen cup – called ‘Kulhad’ – I went into a reminiscing trance… those days came as a flash and time certainly stood still… I wish, to the last day of my breath , I would like to have ‘Tea’ as my last supper… till then, its again time to have a nice sip…the smoky cup is enticingly calling me to kiss it and enjoy the tea-moment….

~Kaveri, a lone warrior...~

 Everyone was talking in vernacular English with exceptional drawls with a view to dominate the conversation – the parents were well off and of course they were educated, maybe they were lucky to have received quality education from prestigious schools in Delhi. A bit showoff was evident though not a deliberate gesture.

As I was a mute observer to all of this charisma, suddenly there comes a family which catches everyone’s eyeballs – the family is unique in its own way – as the society calls them the ‘EWS’ or the ‘Economically Weaker Section – the tagline is munching of its dignity but we as a society have castigated them. 

From the visible appearance the parents of the girl seems to be not highly educated and this was proven when the father asks the guard sitting near the aisle “ Kapde and Kitabein Kahan Milengi?” (from where will we get clothes and books?), the guard showed them the way sitting on his chair. The gesture of the guard was profoundly different as he seems to be entertaining them as just another like him – as he did not stand from his chair whilst he answered them, a distinct gesture which he didn’t do for other ‘highly educated and rich parents’ of kids coming to school to fetch books and clothes.

While the parents continued to talk in marvel English with occasional tongue roller verbatim, this girl’s father just stood in complete silence as he was bluntly ignored by others – I could see the cold feet the society showed to such people – distraught on the behavior of these educated parents as for them it didn’t matter who he was and that they knew him for sure to be from an EWS strata of society.

Suddenly the twist of tale happened, as the father was confused to ask for the free books and clothes which such parents are supposed to have under government’s concessional scheme, the girl rose to the occasion and went inside the school bookshop and started to talk in a tone which astonished many.

She started to converse in impeccable English in a clear-cut vocab to the surprise of everyone – her contrast clothing and the background seems to be just not matching the tone she spoke of. As some moments passed, her mother came into the room and voiced her concerns thus - “Kaveri beta, dress aur Kitabein mil gayi kya?” [ Kaveri, did you got the dress and books?]

She was quick to respond, ‘Nahi Ma, abhi nahi, bola hai bhaiya ko” [No , I have told the shopkeeper, he is taking it out]

Everyone started to have a conscious look towards both mother and daughter as if something extraordinaire had happened in that moment, surely it was something extra ordinary, something momentous – the icy silence was broken when one student’s mother greeted Kaveri’s mother “Namaste!, meri beti aapki beti ki dost hai…” [Hello, my daughter is your daughter’s classmate], suddenly this gesture made Kaveri’s mother comfortable as she forgot her opaque personality amongst the group of parents standing there…. The two ladies started to converse with equanimity withstanding the prodding eyes of ‘high-class’ parents who still seems to be from a different planet, but surely, they were in the receiving end as they were made conscious of what education can do to anyone be it from EWS family or otherwise…

A lovely lesson was given to many such parents and to my kids – that be whatever you are in the outside world, in the institution of schooling , your worth is your pure play knowledge and education – as it certainly is the power which will take you across many hiccups life shall offer you in due course – your image and dignity will not subside by your current habitat but the power of your mind shall base your competition with resourceful students who surely have an edge over you – don’t be subservient of their status, once inside the school you will have the power to subside them by your knowledge…I truly believe that little girl had been given this life lesson by her circumstances if not by  parents… truly Kaveri was the hero of that moment, no doubt!

~ Apostle of Simplicity…~

Simplicity has its own power and it truly gives the inner feeling of contentment, In the daily chase of life, when one gets tired under the burden of running around to make ends meet, it is the feeling of let go which makes life simple. Sitting in that moment of solitude I could sense the simple things life had to offer when we were young, there were no big dreams and life’s happiness lay in simple gifts.

Even a Rs 20 haircut was a big happiness moment, I did visit this moment of contentment when I saw that decades old decrepit hair dressing salon open after a long time – passing by, I peeped inside the curtains, as the saloon is a makeshift shanty now and does not have a proper door to save its belongings. Once Inside, I was lost to altogether to another world – a time which I had lived almost two decades back, same old chairs, the rusty look and aura of that place – I was transported back to an era where there was no internet and no mobile phones – Cable Tv was an advent for youth like us – we were surpassing the era of Doordarshan. 

One thing had surely changed – Krishna- that old friend of mine who has been doing hair-cutting since times immemorial. His salt and pepper look was a testimony of time to be carefully looked – for his life and him, time had just stopped in the 90’s. He wore the same style clothes, no dawn of jeans or Tees , but only simple terrycot fabric Shirt and pants, time actually had stood still. I had seen him after a long time and could interpret the Gap between two era’s. His calculated smile and the simplicity of his life and living was so presentable that I could feel the difference in that bygone era.

The best thing about this meeting was ‘Instant recognition’. He even remembered my name and addressed me on the first go – it was a testament of sharpness of his memory – nothing he had forgotten, those talks about cable TV and new movies to be released on Friday – we both started to cherish those eventful days which we had live in our youth – to the merriment of other customers who were in the midst of their shave – I could sense they were living the moment too as their conscious looks could tell.

Soon the talk steered to families and kids – he had gone to his native village for long and had come back just few months back to resume his ‘Business’ – Krishna didn’t want to come back from his place of birth but circumstances just didn’t allow him to settle down midst his close ones. As my turn came to go for the haircut, we chatted as thirsty beings as if we wanted to make up for those lost years – Krishna’s originality and humbleness was his forte, he still stands by the same value system of life, no wonder he has his own struggles to follow but the testament of time tells me he is surely a man of honour and simplified dignity.

As time elapsed, my haircut was done, pleasantries exchanged with enthusiasm we bid goodbye to each other not before promising to meet again in a month’s time, subject to my shabby look – which would certainly urge me to visit Krishna not only for a decent haircut but to meet him and learn the most important technique of today’s living – ‘Simplicity!’…

~ En Famille...~

The morning walks are no longer sultry and alone, I find many people with different contours of life. Kids who skip school and oldies that await their death, almost the entire gambit of life comes in front of me. People rushing to office and the unemployed sitting in a surprising calmness – the world is surely a place with all its tipsy topsy curve….

In a aloofness of all this I encountered three kids totally engrossed in their small world they were living in, happy they were ridding a rickshaw being driven by their elder sister ‘Rani’ – They turned out to be a shy but with a cute smile on their faces they somehow broke the silence.

“My name is Kavita and he is my younger brother ‘Sumit’, they laughed in tandem and were again adorned by shyness – I could decipher they are in their own world and would not communicate at ease with anyone who want to form a friendly bond with them. 

The magnitude of their happiness was touching the sky as they had got their father’s rickshaw to drive and play around – jumping around in it and pushing it to the fore was what made them unmindful of the surroundings around them. As I could not resist and wanted to talk to them, they started to drive fast and almost tried to avoid them – adamant that I was, I again asked “Kavita, don’t you guys go to school, now that schools are open in full swing!”.

She smiled at me first and answered in a low pitch tone, “Today, we have taken off as Papa and Mummy had to come to park for mowing overgrown shrubs and there was no one at home to take care of us, We usually go to school regularly.” She started to paddle fast in order to oblige the shout Sumit was making as he wanted to be ridden on  the Rickshaw fast and didn’t like to be stranded.

Sumit seems to be enjoying every moment and was a naughty child as it seems to be, the fact that was proven by his younger sister Kavita – “He is very naughty kid, hardly studies and doesn’t like to go to school, he wants to become a Gardner just like his father!” – I seem to have broken the shackles of silence with Kavita as he seems to talk to me with much less inhibitions now.

All three of them had a slice of innocence on their faces, certainly they were loving the ‘workplace’ of their father and mother – both were contractual gardeners in the Municipal park. The coolness of the shadows of trees were their playground and they were loving the ambience as they smiled and cheered. 

Suddenly their was a loud shout from their mother, as I gathered, the shout was a frantic call for ‘Breakfast’ which was going to be held under a bench placed under a tree – the coolness of air and the serenity would certainly add value and impose a challenge to such ambience across any restaurant in the city – As I walked passed, I realized the joyful nature of life this family was enjoying whilst just looking the other side of the fence, I could see a total chaos of speeding cars and Scooty’s aiming to surpass missing timelines….As they say, life has many pictures, the same held true today....