~ Pintoo - My Roadside Tailor...~

He is my Ad-hoc stich-man and occupies a pavement on the roadside, always chirping and laughing, his demeanor is effervescent and bubbly – many a time I see him sitting idle and talking to himself with a laugh on his face – I wonder whom he is talking with as visibly I could see no one – a ghost may be or some anonymous being which only he can sense – Alas, whatever may be ‘Pintoo’ as he likes to call himself is a great human being!

He is my new found friend, a trusted human being who is all by himself and does his stich work with perfection – mind you, he is polio ridden and can barely walk but alas, he drives a cycle which he bought with his ‘hard work’ and learn to balance over a period of time – life can be tricky and demanding at the same time and he is a perfect example of both virtue of his living.

How I met him is a tale in itself, just the other day, I was searching for a workman who could alter my kids school uniforms, it was a basic job which any low-end tailor could do and I was not expected to go to a full branded cloth showroom to have it done.

As I was engrossed in my worldly thoughts, I could see a young man sitting with his sewing machine and trying to mend some clothes which his customers had given him – the pile of clothes next to him made it amply clear that he was a master of his art and people had trust in his abilities.

Seeing his visible inference, I approached him and showed him what I was expecting out of him and asked him one stupid question “Will you be able to do it?” [ ‘Kar Paoge Bhaiya!”], he laughed and said “Kyon Nahi, yeh toh Roz ka kaam hai Bhaiya ” [Why not?, this is my everyday job sir!”] – his confidence was a stamp on the work he had earned from me and immediate I gave him the dresses which he had to be mended – as a concerned customer, the next concerned question was “ how much price will you take for this?” , he halted and gave a aimed look at the dresses and quickly calculated the amount of effort he would take to fix and amend the dresses – then he spoke with an unusual trance “ Bhaiya kuch bhi de dena 😊, pehle kaam dekhna” [Brother, give me anything you like, first see the work!]

I was impressed by his confidence or rather overconfidence as only time would tell as a benchmark of his words – as I asked him the time when I should come to collect it – he said “ 2 hours will be sufficient as I have other pending work” – as this worked for me and I was in no hurry, I left and expected things to be rightly fixed after the decided time.

Time passed by as I got consumed with my daily chores, suddenly I was reminded of the impending task and that led me quickly to Pintoo as he was sitting in his usually demeanour stitching and consumed in his own thoughts – though ever smiling – another ‘hi’ started the conversation …

“Ho gayi Pintooji?” [“is it done Pintoo?], as I asked, as his key panache, he replied in affirmative, smiling and reverted …”Sir, please check!” – as his confidence was exuding with conviction, I checked was I was looking and Pintoo lived upto his expectations – his work was perfection executed and he truly lived upto expectations.

He finally asked “Bhaiya, sab theek hai na, koi kami toh nahi reh gayi?” [Brother, hope everything is ok and as per your expectations.], I replied in affirmative and thanked him – as I asked him about his background and whereabouts as till recently, I had seen him occupying this place – his reply was quick …

“Bhaiya I am from UP and was a tailor in my village, now that there is not much work and I have three kids to raise, I cannot afford to be in my native village and is seeking opportunities here.” As he continued, “ I can’t afford a rented shop as of now so I bought my sewing machine along with and have set up a roadside shop to earn my bread and butter!”

Truly, Pintoo was fighter, affected with polio and with much effort, cycling to his ‘Workplace and home to and fro’ ,he was an example everyone can emulate – what human grit can make one achieve – the best part was still his ‘Smile’ – with such decrepit situation life had offered him, he was happy and living a more or less satisfied life….

As finally he was asked the final question “Pintoo, how much for this piece of work…?”, he stood by his previous answer “Bhaiya, jo aap theek samjho who de do…” [Brother, whatever you deem fit, give…], he had conquered me in a way… A man not greedy about Money in today’s world where everyone is fighting hard to earn that extra buck, Pintoo was a genre in himself…

I could not resist asking him one last question “Pintoo, why don’t you have a price of work which you do? there must be people who would give you much less than what your effort is…his plain and simple reply was “ Bhaiya, dene walla toh who hai , aap aur who log kaun hotey hain?” [Brother, who are you to give me, it is HIM who is responsible for what should be given to me], his answer was full of magical prudence and I kept on thinking about my new found friend “Pintoo” …hope what I gave him for his services was adequate and that his faith on HIM remained astounded….

~ Shona Shona....Dil mera Shona...~

 The Pooch is always ready to greet any visitor who gives her a glance and is little affectionate towards her – she is effervescent and always wagging her tail when she comes to you and greet you ‘Good Morning’ in her own style – believe me, it has become a regular feature – if you observe her, she has stories to tell but the language barrier is the only bottleneck which she has far surpassed now –  Just observe her face  and you will see a qualm and at the same time inquisitiveness of living. 

The Canine is a new found friend and she stays in my neighborhood park – her broken left leg is a testimony to the fact that she had to fight her existence between other dogs in the vicinity to make a remarkable space for herself – she is alone and has no partner – confined to a limited area, she can be seen around the open gym which DDA has erected in various parks of Delhi.

Almost everyone likes her for the calm she has and a loving acceptance she bestows when she would meet you – I have lately named her ‘Shona’ ( meaning lovable in Punjabi 😊) and she seems to be a true synonym of her name – now that she has also got used to this new word / sound in her listening, she comes running when called with this name.

Just the other day she was missed as I was looking for her and thinking where she has gone – whether she is safe or has been shooed off by other dogs who have a considerable acumen in the area – as I searched, my worst fears came true – I could see her howling in excruciating pain as visible she was distraught – I could clearly sense that she has been attacked and she must have fought bravely but had clearly been outnumbered by a bunch of bow-wows who didn’t want to add any other dog in the vicinity.

As I neared her, she slowly wagged her tail, sensing that I was no stranger to her, she howled with love this time as I caressed her – she felt a little warmth and slowly tried to stand, which she was able to after some time and much effort – Now that the time has passed and she has recuperated well and is almost back to her true lovable self , I see her roaming fearlessly in the park , now that she has established new found home.

Amongst my good morning friends ,‘Shona’ has become the latest edition , each morning I expect to see her hale and hearty and it is only when I have a glimpse of her that the day is ‘sort of’ to a good start 😊 – my only contention being that she does not like the ‘Parle -G’ biscuits that I intent to feed her with – maybe she doesn’t like sugary things – quite unlike other canines in the area, who always have a sumptuous feast of the poor man’s biscuit. 

May be next time , I would try something better off – a load of milk soaked bread or Chapati mixed with milk – and she can accept my hospitality in all earnest – till then I am cherishing my new friend… a soul which makes me happy in the morning and starts my day with a woosh and energy… Thank you Shona for that presence…!

~ Narayan - true to HIS name...~

Delhi is beautifully filled by zealous people – Lot of happy – Sad stories but in general, life carries on and the razzmatazz of the characters of this city makes this city a lively place to live and die – You get out and you will see people of all Colors, cultures and what not – they are always on the prowl – running in unison and also in a haste – someone rushing to office, some just loitering out and many have self-imposed deadlines to achieve – this is the stirring which one sees and gets consumed.

Just the other day, had to go out to meet a friend who has been back to India after ages and seeing the Rainy season and also the traffic snarls in Delhi, I found it prudent to take an Auto and set the ball rolling – the first halt which was just instantaneous was from a man who just laughed at me and just stopped near by – “Aajao Sahab” – (Please come Sir) – he had already made his first impression…

As I asked where I wanted to go and what my intention to pay him was – he was all inclusive and didn’t argue… a rare phenomenon in todays world – especially in city like Delhi, where you cant have such noble autorickshaw wallas who can oblige to what you say that you will give for a trip !

As the journey began, he himself broke the silence an asked “Sir kahan se ho?” [Sir, Where are you from?... though, I was not in the mindset to face this question as I was thinking about something better 😊 , I quickly replied “from Delhi!” !, he laughed and said “ Me too!” – as if is had asked, I murmured!

I could see lot of ‘Bhagwan’s Pics near his steering and could not hold myself back and asked “Do you believe in so many Gods?”, - as if I had open flood gates of the most profound question of his mind…he laughed out loud and kept doing so – to my embarrassment, I could see the traffic pass by peeping into our auto as if there was something interesting going on 😊 …

After a though, he replied “Sir, I believe in Karma an act of doing things without being adequately rewarded… as I believe in the percept of Bhagwat Gita – Do your Duty and leave everything to GOD..Don’t think about the award of your efforts as that is not in you hand….” – Sounds prudent as I knew this famous saying but then why was he having pics of so much of God and Goddesses on his dashboard – as I asked him again – the inquisition was too much for me to know as the time passed…

Bhaiya – this is for my passengers 😊 – he laughed again- as I am cosmopolitan I can get any type of passengers – of ALL religions and  ages , any customer of mine should not feel the inhibition of not having a pic of HIS faith…, I have had lot of customers , especially old ladies, who believe in a particular faith and if they don’t see the pic of her God , she asks me …” Don’t you believe in so and so?”

I started with one pic and now I have twelve – as I told him, that is why it became cynosure of my eye and I asked you this very question “ Do You believe in So many Gods? 😊 “ –

“Why are you always laughing?” was my next obvious question, he quickly shed the veil of this secret – Sir I am a cancer survivor and now that I am cancer free, I have started to live life with a different percept, I have seen death from very close quarters, and all this life I see around me is a mere drama…people living with false ego of accomplishments, boasting about their wealth, knowledge, beauty and anything they think can make them stand above other beings – all this is worthless – laying lifeless in hospital bed with no one around you and streams of injects in you body everyday , you gain the real knowledge of what life is all about ! “ 

Now whatever life I have, I feel blessed and thank GOD for what he has shown me as this changed me into something better…. My kids are well settled and me and my wife live in a one Bedroom house, - Contented to the core….no qualms and no regrets…! 😊

I immediately went into thoughtful mood – here was a man living in life’s ecstasy and feeling all the bliss …driving in pollution and noise all the time, internally he is so pacified about life and thankful to GOD that external percept doesn’t hinder his smile – as I was in my thoughtful mood , a honking sound from behind our autorickshaw irritated me, as I turned back , I could see a flamboyant looking young blood with his beautiful Girlfriend in a luxurious car  bonking and abusing my Auto driver and zooming past – as he didn’t had the patience to be given the way to overtake….

As a test of time and knowledge – “Narayan” kept quite and smiling… driving in his own sweet mood….” Ah , I never told you that the man showed his prowess as according true to HIS Name… the name of ‘Almighty!”…

~ Are You Rare? ...~

Be Rare as you already are but you don’t know it! – why have you made yourself a scapegoat of situations where you fall again and again – and that you after you give up, something in you again ‘talks’ to you and ‘asks’ you to get up and start all over again – Yes – because you are unique in your own self and that you were surely born for a purpose and are here for a definitive reason.

You are just ‘You’ and nobody can imitate you or replicate you for any good reason – the vice versa is also true – the situations and the life you have been ‘ordered’ to live is yours – it is just like a videogame which you have to win at the end of it – not before steering through its ups and downs, highs and lows – and that you may also loose as there is no sure shot guarantee that success is determined – but again you have to play and carry on , as that is your basic nature of living. 

Each day would be a new day throwing you the possibilities to conquer the world, it is your conscience which would make or break you but you have to carry yourself and keep walking, of if roughness is too much, dragging to achieve a definitive goal – it won’t be always your monetary achievements that would give you the ‘ego’ for something achieved! – but the satisfaction that ‘You did it’ what you had aimed for and that what you had started off keeping in mind.

Many of us would face the ups and downs of life in its certain phases, but that is the true nature of living, some would carry on and keep walking whilst others would go slow and some may call it quits – the last one being too radical but again the journey of life has to be started in some other form – as the Bhagwat Gita so rightly states – you certainly cannot escape to rigmarole of life and its situations.

Live life without regrets- It is only once that you have come as Mr. X or Miss Y and will never repeat such existence – believe in your rarity and that only you could have lived life the way you are living – the perfect gap had to be filled by you. This seems to be easier said than done but this is the way it, whether you believe or no – it is going to happen and is happening. 

All of us would hit mid life crisis at one point of time and it is our individual uniqueness that will make us live – at that stage your ‘Rarity’ and a differential sense of living will save you from the monotony – Peers, friends and even family members will raise questions on you for inculcating such thoughts and executing them – but you are ‘You’ with your own uniqueness and inquisitiveness – Everyone of us have the liberty to question our life which we are living and also the situations we are facing – Why not? It is after all our life , living it once with all the richness and questioning is worth it – this is what will make you ‘Rare’ from the heard of people living along with at this phase of your life…. As I again reemphasize – ‘Be Rare’ and taste the difference in your existence...