~ Mohan - The Artist of the Peel...~

Its and Art that he learnt all by himself and that nobody actually taught him. He has been peeling the pineapple with equal fervor for almost a decade now and the expertise has become his benchmark - the zig-zagness of the peel gives it an artistic style and no wonder it gives you a feeling of goodness and taste when you have it! Mohan describes himself as a man with an artistic bent of mind - earlier when he was in his hometown - a remote village in north India, he used to be a craftsman working along with his ailing father, who was a fruits seller. 

He quickly adapted himself to the dire situation life demanded and thus took the onus upon him to work with his father in his “fruit Business” – it’s been now almost 20 years that he is selling fruits, seasons change and so his Mohan’s sell! Sometimes he is selling Pineapple,, in summers he would be selling stack full of mangoes – with all shapes and sizes – his best bet is the mega “Alfonso” Mango which he brings for super special customers as per him “Sir, It is very costly for an average customer to have it and I find not much takers for undisputed king of Mangoes!”

It was his stark charm that captivated me for the first time almost an year ago – when I enquired about some fruit and he said “ for you, it is half the price, even if you don’t pay me, it would do!” – now that was a statement to make me fall for his marketing trick – no wonder I had twice the kg of fruit which I did not intended! 

Mohan is a self-motivated man and dances with the tune of life, what life offers to him, he just obeys. Every time I meet him, I see a spark in his eyes, a new zeal, he would wish me with the same zeal and smile which I fell for almost a year ago – I see him always contended and happy and self absorbed in his peeling of the pineapple fruit. This Saturday was a little different as I could see him making different designs on his peel – as my turn came, I enquired why this change – he had a philosophical  answer to my question “ Sir, change is life!” – it was bang on, as to a thinker, it had a deep meaning and substance to corroborate to the life we all life – we don’t want to change for better but it definitely happens!

He further stated “ making different designs make the fruit attractive and many customers fall for the fruit – just the other day I was thinking to do something different , so this idea clicked… now wonder he has bought the PayTM subscription as well as he wants to be with the changing time and doesn’t want to miss the technology bus all the vendors are going through – I tinged him with a simple sentence “Mohan, you have got tech savvy too…”  to which he replied “Sir, customers want to send money via online- it was my son Raju, he gave me this idea to go digital… business has surely improved and there is no argument and tension of change too…!”

His articulative answers and his reading about the pulse of the business is what makes him different…more so his style and zeal of life is totally engrossing to a readable mind…Manoj is a hero in his own self… doing his Karma with truth and devotion… no sulking and making the best use of what situation he has been put into by God…though his last words this Saturday were truly an eye opener “Sir for me Karma is God!” … I am still in my pensive self, there is much much more that what meets the eye with Mohan…

~ Life - We Will Win...~

 So we have again regain our faith on the almighty, that unknown power that is the wirepuller of this world. An uneventful and tragic natural calamity makes us route to our energies towards that great invincible force that we have given different names – for some it is simply “GOD” for others its “Destiny!” and for the rest, it is plain simple “Grand Design”.

Scientific community would owe this explanation to a scientific phenomenon. The movement of tectonic plates beneath and the convergence of mega energies in fault lines which after some years of accumulation gets released causing massive havoc. Humanity has suffered much in course of its existence on this planet, earthquakes, floods, Tsunamis, and other devastating natural occurrences have wiped out happy go lucky families.

The current Turkey earthquake rescue operations have shown tales of miraculous escape and endurance – newborn kids, old people living for days without food and water under the debris and darkness – in a constant anxiety of thought and a unwavering faith on GOD – that they will pass this turmoil with human grit – they actually did and we see such exemplifying tales of valor….

So what is the underline learning point of life from such calamity – in fact, there are many – first and foremost I can think of is “ Anything can happen to anyone and anytime!” – you can plan your life but cannot plan your destiny, the future is under veil, be whatever your are cautious of- there are things which have been planned for you which would cause you suffering and agony at times but also happiness and laughter!

The silver lining of death and destruction of current calamity on humanity in Turkey has given us all hope and cherish beyond reason – that people will fight back in unison and get back to their regular living , though it will take ample amount of time – buildings will be reworked and many would be constructed from scratch – life will get back to normal over course of time but not without the people who were not lucky to survive and were caught unawares …such is life for everyone as it would be… There has been bigger chaos the world where there were nothing to hope for at the end of the tunnel, but humanity survived with a singular hope and that is “Days would change for better and I would overcome it!”…

I want to quote here an interview of a famous Bollywood actor who was incarcerated in solitary confinement in all the darkness of a room where seeing a human being was considered to be a luxury – the constant banter of the mind and the feeling of loneliness took a huge toll on his consciousness and body but GOD did gave him a reason to live and also a company to wait for everyday and that was a bird that used to knock on a small opening for natural light and air – though he did not have a watch to map the regular arrival of it but as per his estimates it was regular for days and months…. He used to wait for the bird now as it became a habit for the Bollywood star to converse with it… days passed and situations of life changed…finally he survived the incarceration and is now resumed his career ….

The underlying current for life for most of us should be “Keep Walking….”… situations would come and situation would go… our grit would be severely tested … the zeal to live a complete life is what we all should strive for…this is the greatest learning I have seen midst of all the images I see of people coming out of heaps of rubble after days …without food, water and light… close your eyes and think yourself in such a situation… comparison would scare you…but at the end as I again repeat…”Humanity will win and set great examples of human survival to be published in books for the Next-Gen to exemplify…”

~ Boredom Motivation ~

 Boredom is really boring...Is it?  I certainly don’t think so, on the contrary it can be as therapeutic as meditation and motivation, the choice is certainly yours , how you take it perceptively!

Just the other day I met a classy soul – as by now you must have recognized, my writing muses are the below the common man, living life in his/her own style and is certainly a class apart from the rest of the razzle and dazzle of urban living.

The subject was unique in his own character, as she was a sandwich- burger stall owner – Yes, you just glanced it right, “SHE” was just one of the youngsters who had taken up this choice not out of economic compulsion or for that she wanted more pelf – but it was out of curiosity of doing something else – She was certainly a subject to be conversed with. 

The Tea- addict that I am, I chanced upon her makeshift shop for a knack of having something which could satiate my belly – the pavement shop I noticed was "HER'S" - the name seems to be unique in every sense where I could see an adolescent woman running it solely. She was oblivious about her surroundings, deeply engrossed in her day to day happening – with couple of customers standing and looking eagerly at this entrepreneurial girl making hamburgers for them – Her dedication was also a subject of whispering amongst them, though I could fully understand that in daily parlance many of us wont see such social experiments being done by teenagers – that too a singleton female who was poised to do something different from the situation she was currently in.

As my turn came, she asked me “What you would like to have Sir?” – As earnestly expected, I knew she was educated and with a smile I replied “Maam, what is the specialty of your stall, I Would certainly have that for sure!”

“Sir it is Aloo-Ticky Burger, many of my customers relish this and that is my specialty – should I?”, She promptly replied.

“Yes Maam, would like to have the specialty!”, I said.

A few minutes of waiting and there it way, on a disposable plate with a mustard and Peri-Peri sauce – I was about to taste the flavor with all sumptuousness, more so from a lady who had broken the fetters of boredom of an office job and started from the ground level.

As we further conversed in the midst of me biting the so carefully mad snack “ What you did prior to doing this and where are you from, you seem to be an educated lot, unlike other street vendors!”

Believe me, the answer was too surprising – “Sir, I am an English(hons) graduate and was a content manager in Gurugram – a strong sense of doing something else pounded me over time and I resigned and took this plunge! It was sheer out of Boredom of routine work and lifestyle”

My eyebrows went up – the surprise element was evident – “Great Guns, you seem to have knack for cooking Maam and the taste of the burger is a fine example of it” – I said.

Laughingly she smiled and with a little sense of pride, the young business magnate thanked me for the feedback, though there was another shock that was waiting for me to unfold! 

As I asked about the payment, she said – “Sir, the first burger is complementary for the life you are living !!!” – I could sense the deep meaning of her thoughts….

Still I strongly insisted to pay for such a sumptuous feat, but took another step of ordering the ‘Second Burger’ not for the sake of paying back but to honour her commitment and that the taste qualified to be ordered once more!

As she hurriedly packed another one for me (there were other customers who lined up for the snack!), I said “ All the very best for your taking the leap forward – 99% of us would not do so as we are certainly in our most comfort zones of living!” 

Leaving the place, there were varied thoughts creeping my mind – firstly about the huge risk she took in life, a well settled professional breaks the fiefdom of her mind and starts to do something which she loved – it certainly is a huge experiment with life – the second was intriguing too – how she is managing the first burger free?? 😊 – many of her first customers might take one and skip off – what could be her cost equation – these questions would be answered only when I visit her for the second round…

Nevertheless, she certainly was in tandem with my thoughts as she nodded in affirmation – the meeting ended but she had certainly made a tinge in my mind – as a result of it is that she is being written about in this blog….!!!