He has been around for more than three decades doing the same work and always wearing the same smile as he always did when I used to see him as a kid. The shanty he made as his shop resembles the same emblem and also that nothing has changed in it either. As it is a small 6X6 meter makeshift space that he made it as his workplace, that time was different and that there was only a flower bearing a shrub which has not blossomed itself to be cascading all around his sitting, it does give a marvelous look.
Coming back to my original theme,
Salim sits in the same posture, on the elevated ground, cuddling himself to comfort
– for that is the best posture for him to do his work type with precision,
after all, there are some costly footwear repairs which comes his way and any
scope of error would be a fallibility on his part and he would loose his
customer and brand of a top cobbler in the vicinity – mind it , at his level
too, the competition plays its part.
As I sat along with him in his shanty,
the talk of good old times started to come up – as we exchanged our past lives
and what we have been doing since years passed by, I was wonderstruck to listen
to his story of life. His two sons were working in Gurgoan in top MNC’s in CAD
(computer Aided design) and were English speakers, unlike him – his eyes
widened up with profound honour when he thus spoke of them, I was seeing the
proud feeling of a father who could not do much in his life but silently
focused on his work and towards his aim to make both of his sons a English speaking
gentlemen – his dream was almost fulfilled as he had one wish (which is the
wish of a father across the globe) – to get his sons married and make them
settled in life.
“What after that, Salimji?” as I asked.
“Nothing, life would be same again
but with a difference, I will have the honour to take a break out of this shop!,
I have chosen Sunday as the day when I wont come here and be at home.” – this opened
a pandoras box for me as I asked “ So you have not taken any holiday or an off
during these times?”
“Yes, Almost, I can count my days
on my fingertips and tell you when I was on off, hearing about such commitment
made me stand still – the man truly deserved honours, a silent worker just like
India’s mountain man’ “Dashrath Manjhi” , a labourer from Gaya,Bihar, India - who
silently worked for decades to carve out a way by manually doing labour work
with a chisel and hammer.
As Salimji had repared my
slippers, it was time to go and say goodbye – the penultimate gesture which
touched me was his fees , still he asks his fee with a sentence “ Bauji, jo
sahi samjho dedo!” [Whatever you deem fit for my work, give it.], the thought
till now keeps me mesmerized with such souls in and around you, especially in
the world of people insanely running about wealth and possessions , though they
have done more harm to themselves that anybody else… Salimji is an example of
focus of life and the way one should live it!