~ Santosh – Woman of Substance ~

Sitting on the pavement, she is not hesitant to call out pedestrians walking by to buy fresh mangoes which are ‘Sweet as Sugar’ as per her. She has arranged her sell in a adroit fashion as it captivates ones eye at least once. When asked as to how much a kilo she is selling her ‘product’ she is quick to answer Rs 50 a kilo – though the price seems to be on higher side as compared to the market economics but she is firm and is not ready to negotiate. She further describes her sell as class apart and a wise choose from piles of mangoes in the wholesale mart. Further she adds, “Whosoever buys from her comes back to her next time – often buying double the next time.” Her confidence exhorts from the sale she makes most of the time. 

Santosh as her name what she tells me , was a clear cut housewife, sitting in confines of her dwelling and raising her kids – 2 of them, a girl and a boy and wants to fulfill her wish of sending her kids to a good school.  Her husband Vikas – a cycle rickshaw driver has not been able to make ends meet in last few months due to the present Covid-19 situation – as per her, he used to leave home by 8 a.m and be back by 6 p.m but now though he goes to ‘Work’ at the same time, he comes back by noon with not many customers he is going into sublime depression day by day.

She took the plunge seeing the economic condition of her house deteriorating – there is rent to be paid, children to be fed and not to forget she is inculcating a dream to educate her children par excellence – a forte she could not achieve herself – though she is a 10^th pass and portrays herself to be an educated woman amongst the clan she lives with.

With her prudence and budgeting , she has now started to look confident and have actually started to contribute to the family kitty, though a lot of hard work goes behind what ‘profit’ she is able to make at the end of a tiring day.

Reluctantly telling her story, she gets up by 4 a.m and rushes to the nearby Mandi ( a wholesale vegetable mart nearby) and scans good quality Mangoes herself and finally negotiating her way buys her today's sell with firmity. Coming back home she prepares breakfast as well as lunch for the family who are still asleep. Both husband and wife leave for work by 8 a.m sharp and the ordeal begins for both. Sometimes she is lucky to sell her stock of mangoes in quick succession, if she has a lucky day, the entire stock is sold and her cart stands empty to her merriment. There are days when she is not able to make enough profit due to meager sale.

Asked what her future plan is for her working life – she cherishes the current Covid situation and says that this has actually come as a blessing in disguise for her as earlier she was restraint to work by her husband. Now that things have got tougher, they have no choice and she is experimenting with her new found love for entrepreneurship.

Her only inhibition is that post Covid scenario, will she be able to enjoy and work through her new found freedom? Having said that, will her dedicated customers be able to have a sumptuous feed of Mangoes that Santosh so proudly sells, only time has answers to these questions of mine…

~ Kaku & Shower of Nature ~

It’s a rainy day today and I have been fortunate enough to be alive and healthy to see and enjoy the sounds of raindrops dripping on sun soaked mud - the fragrance of which embellishes in the air. Taking a deep breath to consume the maximum of such attar, I was chanced upon a street urchin who took shelter in a nearby shop-roof. Fully drenched, he wore a mask to protect himself from the current pandemic – seems like he had no liking to wear the mask and was doing it under duress as being asked to do so.

All of 9 to 10 years of age as I presumed so, he was looking and desperately wanted to play in falling droplets but was being severely restrained by his acquaintance accompanying him. I could sense a deep feeling of desperation of the kid and how his best wish of the moment was being blanketed by a sense of ownership of his fellow being.

Suddenly, he took a stand and started to run in chaos into open aisle of shops near our office, as if freeing himself of bonds of solitude and obligation, he just won’t listen to the calling of his name ‘Kaku’ by his probable elder sister. She starts to severely reprimands but the shouts fall on deaf ears. Kaku resorts to ablutions of his body and soul as if freed from bondage of humanity – for him it is a moment of lifetime which shall be written as test of time for him to cherish as memories. His dance and acts of joy makes people look at him with interest – he has no caring for what people would say or react to his gestures – he is just dancing as a free soul and enjoying a just moment with nature’s bounty.

Having no slippers and a holed T-shirt ‘Kaku’ is the king of times, he looks at his sister who is all red faced and wants his younger brother to come back in shelter – but in vain. Then suddenly something unexpected happens, a nearby shopkeeper comes up with a cup of tea and a bread-pakora, best snack for the time.

Having offered so, his eyes sparkle as he receives the goodies. Kaku grabs his offerings and finds himself a corner, he sits on a pavement and quickly starts to munch – his face expressions showcase his feelings of ecstasy and happiness – life for him stands out complete as he gets his favorite weather, a nature induced shower and a sumptuous munch, what else does he want.

Finally the rain mellows down and Kaku has gulped down his snacks, running back to his sister he clings onto her hand and starts to walk away to his daily chore – begging , for which he has been thoroughly trained. I hope to see Kaku again in his wits but without an open palm to beg – for him life has to offer much more than what it has offered him till now…. Somebody up there must be listening!!!

~ The Scooter Uncle ~

Just to pass the red light, I had to screech my vehicle due to an unexpected halt – a suddenly turned Red light which just a while was showing 10 seconds to happen but as we know it, the precarious conditions of our traffic management system. I had to halt in an abrupt manner but those 90 seconds of stoppage gave me a profound lesson of my life and it came as a blessing in disguise to follow for the times to come.

As I stopped, there was only one scooter which had taken a halt beforehand, an elderly gentleman was just somehow trying to balance this two wheeler as its engine was not starting in spite of multiple kicks he had done with. It was almost sometime that I was seeing this situation and suddenly a pupil to pupil contact with uncle made me ask him if I could be of help to the elderly gentleman. His reply was on expected lines as his condition in this scorching heat was not good – as according to him he has been trying to kick start his erring scooter since 10 odd minutes but in vain. Getting out of the car, I also tried my luck and started to apply incessant kicks to the machine – to no avail.

Time was passing by and I had to somehow call the situation a quit before I could see the signal turn green – post that situation, I could have seen myself in a precarious situation as I was to be blamed the cause of a traffic jam!

I quickly told my new found elderly friend “Uncle there is a scooter market nearby and you can easily find a mechanic to repair this dilapidated age old machine ( I could strongly sense that the scooter must be 15 years of age ,well past his modest running capacity, but somehow uncle was in love with it for the reasons best known to him.).

After my hasty suggestion, Uncle did not reply but started to again apply kicks to his scooter with a hope that it might start via a divine intervention. I again reiterated my suggestion but this time he was point blank and told me “Beta I don’t have much money to get it repaired, I was going to my shop which has been closed for almost 2 months now due to Covid situation.” He further wanted to share his pain of economic losses that he might have suffered but his self-esteem and adamant ethos combined with lack of time stopped him.

All this reminded me of my toddler days, when me and my father used to ride a scooter with so much pride, and many a times it used to fail us due to abrupt machine disruptions – the fun of dragging and trailing the two wheeler cannot be expressed in words! , though the situation this time was too different considering uncle’s age and the strong situation which led him to get out and start working in order to live a dignified life.

Finally the money was offered to him and with much convincing he took the same though with much reluctance – but with one catch, he took my phone no and promised me to return back the same in due course. Today as I happily jot down this piece of a situation, I did get a call from uncleji with a token of big thanks for the other day – soon I shall be meeting the noble soul who taught me the virtue of “Honesty” which many of younger lads have forgone with fast changing societal degradation, till that time, I pray for him to be again up and running his business as a BC – Before Corona era and show his life skills to all and sundry whom he touches with his elegance and never say die attitude.

~ Shambhu – The Toy Man ~

He often strolls the streets to sell his prized possessions and timely cleans them up with an aim that he can meet his next customer anytime and anywhere.

His diminutive structure is a stark reminder of the life times he has lived – well accentuated with the fact that his hair has turned salt and pepper, the ‘Toy Man’ has certainly lived the test of his lifetime. I can spot him every now and then in the by lanes of the commercial mart and his prawning eyes looks towards all and sundry. Sometimes he sits on the pavement and takes out a goodie ( a pack of biscuit or a cake rusk) and cherishes it to its hearts content sipping a bottle of water afterwards to mellow down his gulp.

He is particular familiar with children and sometimes bestows her magnanimity by offering them gifts free of cost – can’t imagine a man in penury with such a golden heart. He himself struggles to make ends meet but still gives himself a leverage to bestow such gifts to his own pacification.

Asking about his genre and from where he hails – his eyes lighten up and he tells you his journey to this city of his dreams and aspirations. He claims to be a 12^th pass from Gorakhpur and has been in Delhi for almost 2 decades now, living in nearby LIG flats with his family. Interestingly so, in the night Shambu turns a night watchman for an ATM kiosk and also steals some sleep to be ready for the next day’s grill. He leaves the marketplace by 6 pm daily and takes some rest before his next duty by 8 p.m which continues till 7 a.m. next morning.

Talking of his family, he proudly mentions his two star kids – Gopi (his son) is described as a student prodigy – as per him he always secures first position in his class and Jaya- his daughter is also good in studies and helps her mother doing household chores, both study in class 8 and 6 respectively in a nearby government aided school.

His main aim is to see his kids settle down in government jobs and then he aims to get retired and sit with his wife and spend time.

Suddenly, a toddler fancies his sell and prods his mother to buy him a toy which Shambu is so eagerly waiting to sell, the negotiation begins and Shambu in his art of selling wins and passes on the toy ( a small plastic car) to the kid whose eyes just glitters with excitement.

When asked as to where he gets his daily to be sold articles, he gives a bleak answer – “Sir , I have to buy them myself from wholesale market out of money that I have saved and this is how I buy them.”

The cycle of buy and Sell thus resumes significance as as In between he economizes his household expenses, I guess he is a perfect balancer – be it switching between his jobs and also managing his household in perfect balance.

The Dusk has befallen and it’s time for our Toy man to go back to his home to prepare and dawn on a new jersey – that of a night watchman and thereby taking intermittent sleep before meeting all of us next morning with his new articles to be sold.

~ What a Friend ~

Sitting in mute silence and absorbed in aura of time, Ashok - a societal recluse comforts himself in a small shanty he made out of torn leftovers by the world. His prawning eyes looks at the speed of life and the traffic which passes every now and then. It seems like he has done his part of the ‘rat race’ everyone is engrossed in life, he has taken to his stride various vilification's life had to offer. At an age many of us peak in our working lives, Ashok finds ample time to adjust himself towards doing nothing and being a beggar as per society’s definition.

For me he has been a visual delight every now and then as I tread myself to my office near my dwelling.

The market is full of mendicants and vagrants but Ashok stands a class apart amongst bunch of them. Seems like life has thrown starlets at him at one point of time, but has now decried him of time and space. How he finds himself in the newly found pittance seems to be an inquisitive question for me.

Breaking the stagnant silence I take courage to speak to him at times, the first such approach lead me to believe that he was a graduate from Delhi and had been working in an office as an assistant but the cruel dance of destiny snatched away his parents and sister- in an accident and he was left alone in this lonely world full of betrayal and opportunism.

At first, he hardly used to talk to me and would just sit in silence and had a watchful eye towards the world passing by, but as time passed he has made friends to me. His words of prudence and deep dive observations of life has an edible mark on my thoughts. How can one be left over like this in our society with no compassion and gross ignorance? Does not a human life has a meaning and honor to be helped and assisted if someone in our society gets unfortunate?

Of course, these questions make me fill up with anger and insensitivity towards our society and doctored world we all live in, running after inanimate accomplishments, we have only decried humanity to our own whims and fancies.

Now that Ashok has become my everyday meeting friend, he wears no mask as he has no qualms of dying and is indifference to what world goes through. Fancy enough, he has much regards towards stray dogs which hover around him as these canines have become his everyday passion to be fed. He adamantly denies clothes or money as help, but asks me to buy him a Cigarette as it is the only ‘habit’ he throngs on.

His only askance towards me is to give something to his “Best Friends” for that is what he calls them his family. I know Ashok you have been let down by all of us and we are your culprits – we have to swear by destiny’s wrath one day and the sooner we mend our ways the better – for one phrase which I truly believe in this time of uncertainty is “ Karma Bitches”

Hope one day I become your confidant and we share good memories in this phase of our life and if possible you can be more useful to society and I feel so much proud of making a friend who has seen the decree of rise and fall and what providence can do to all of us!

~ A Chance Happenstance ~

Out in the mart to buy stationery for my kids, I could see myself standing in the queue as a standard practice now a days as part of the social distance phenomenon due the Covid-19 pandemic. Oblivion to the fact that there stood a little girl, all of 10-12 years of her age anticipating her turn to buy a set of pens for herself.

Holding crumbled notes and a coin of Re 5, she voiced “Uncle 25 rupees key pen de do." - The shopkeeper knew her stance as she was a regular acquaintance to the shop. By her aura and dressing sense she stood to be below the lower middle class but her appalling confidence and her oratorical voice was brewing with something coming her way in times to come. Getting her set of pens, she grimaced and looked at all of us with a sense of friendliness.

Quite unexpectedly, she opens the set of pens and asks me "Uncle kya aap ek pen khareedenge?", I was flabbergast as I didn’t expect her to simply do this! In fact many of us standing there were put into questionable stance not comprehending the girls act.

The conversation thus broke out between the little queen and me - " Beta, I thought you had bought these pens for your own self to study, but here you are immediately trying to sell them off- what made you buy them at first instance?"

With a smiling face, she replied - "Uncle, I want only four pens, two i shall keep myself and two for my little brother, the rest of them I would sell and earn money for two copies that I want to write on! “I could really sense the art of salesmanship and a buddying entrepreneur was standing in front of me.I inquired about her background and got to know that she was a class 5 student of a Govt aided school and was going home after doing household chores with her mother. Upon further prodding, she told that I have a knack for studying and would surely want to go to College and be an educated woman!

Her sense of self-esteem made us all felt proud of this little being - Help started to pour in , the pen's bought in a peculiar way - the money was returned to her and the Pen-set was given to her as gift. Seeing this, she jumped with exuberance – “Yeah” as if she was given the gift of her lifetime J. The girl was wished "God Bless" and was thus embraced and made to believe that it is her confidence and self-esteem which would lead her to big destinations in rock-n-roll of providence.

Enquiring with the shopkeeper as to what her story was -" Bhaiya,Iska naam 'Kavita' hai and yeh kaam bhi karti hai and padti bhi hai , padai mein bahut achchi hai, bahut bari humarey yahan se stationery lekar jati hai."

Brimming with self-confidence, the girl crossed the road and went into oblivion of time, but the chance happening became a time-stamp to be remembered and written upon.

~ Friend To a Banker ~

My Banker Friend, not the Manager but the Guard, a 60-year-old frail man who extols the exemplary of everyday life with a BIG smile every time I enter the bank.

His effervescence catches my eye, his zeal to live life his own way is a challenge to my understanding. How come at this age and at this tiring time when he should be guarded by his family member I seek him otherwise? 

Asked as to he has been on the bank duty everyday where else the bank comes to office in rotational shift , the quirky answer which came my ways was “ Sirji, I am the only Guard of this bank, I have to come as there is no replacement or backup of me.!”

Enclosing himself in a plastic PPE kit, synonymously looking like Medical assistant, he checks every new entrant to the bank with alacrity. 

His Magnum Opus was his agility to stand rock solid at the bank gate with his usual fervor setting an example, come what may, one has to do his duty, though now with more careful precedence.

Sitting on an almost broken wooden chair at the entrance, he holds his gun with honour and dignity of life which he has led – his best ornament which suffix his personality. Over the years, I see him roaming inside the bank with a watchful eye on customers and also guiding and sometime reprimanding them to not use mobile phone as per bank’s rules. 

He is called with a “Ji” as a suffix to his name by various bank employees, when they need him to do some petty task – such as moving a cheque-book or keeping a stack of forms from one chair to another.

Asking about his family, his face lit’s up in glory as he exemplifies his family’s history – “Sirji, I am a Jat from a nearby village and have enough property to fend for myself. I have three children and a lovable wife. Two of my sons work in fields near Najafgarh (a rural suburb attached to Delhi NCR), and my only daughter is studying in college.” 

Suddenly he starts to share about his plans of retirement from his working life. As per his plans, he intends to get to retirement mode next year after his daughter’s marriage – distinct set goal for a father of a Girl who turns out to be of a marriageable age! 

Jawahar Singh - as his name is, taught me life’s lessons though quite un-knowingly as it might seems to be. These Life lessons can be mesmeric and a guidance for all of us to be humble and simplistic approach towards one and all after all know knows time might kiss us with its ill-bound teaching and we get to learn these lessons the harder way!

~ On Father’s Day ~

Why Dad always Lags behind…                  

Mom carries for 9 months, Dad carries for 25 years, both are equal, still don’t know why Dad is lagging behind.

Mother works without pay for the family, Dad spends all his pay for the family, both their efforts are equal, still don’t know why Dad is lagging behind.

Mom cooks whatever you want, Dad buys whatever you want, both their love is equal, but Mom’s love is shown as superior. Don’t know why Dad is lagging behind.

When you talk over the phone, you want to talk to Mom first, if you get hurt, you cry ‘Mom’. You will only remember dad when you need him, but did Dad never feel bad that you don’t remember him the other times? When it comes to receiving love from children, for generations, we see that Dad is always lagging.

Cupboards will be filled with colorful saris and many clothes for kids, but Dad’s clothes are very few, he doesn’t care about his own needs, still don’t know why Dad is lagging behind.

Mom has many gold ornaments, but Dad has only one ring that was given during his wedding. Still Mom complaints of less jewellery and Dad doesn't. Still don't know why Dad is lagging behind.

Dad works very hard all his life to take care of the family, but when it comes to getting recognition, he is always lagging behind.

Mom says, we need to pay college tuition this month, please don’t buy a saree for me for the festival whereas dad has not even thought of new clothes. Both their love is equal, still don’t know why Dad is lagging behind.

When parents become old, children say, Mom is at least useful in taking care of household chores, but they say, Dad is useless.

Dad is behind (or ‘at the back’ ) because he is the backbone of the family. Because of him, we are able to stand erect. Probably, this is the probable reason why he is lags behind....!!!

~ What a Life that was...~

As they say,"Time outshines every moment of your life."

Reminiscing my past, what has been the best moments of life's journey?

Sans money and with loads of time, your true self was at its best. With no accountability and responsibility, you were a true "King Of Good Times”. Those playful moments when you used to spend majority of your time with childlike precedents and hitting your nearby playground not to return for hours - enshrined in mud and with reprieve of hunger and thirst, the day was spent with all its effervescence. The little pocket money now looks better than our pay cheque and the way we used to splurge on it, the way we want, the way we loved…

We had our key comrades with whom we used to share our idiosyncratic ideas and plan our time for the next day. The quirky fights on menial issues, the eclectic glance and peep through one’s houses and a shout to call our gully friends to play were the norm of those days.

School came to be a big detest, getting up in the wee hours of day (specially in foggy winter mornings), it became a humongous effort to leave the quilt (as it still is..). What let us all get going was the wait of time when the final school bell rang, and we call came to our naughtiest best – getting back in dirt of clothes and getting the usual reprimand of our grandfathers / grandmothers!

Life as it slowly rolls its plans changes true nature of our daily living, but what cannot change is the esoteric childlike qualities that we still carry and would love to do -some do it as bold initiatives in front of crowd and many in their hidden confines.

With many of us having kids in a milieu , now we observe our true childish behavior – the vernacular talk we do with our little ones, our playful gestures and drama on which our kids laugh and make merry – It is you in the real sense that makes you live apart from the mad rush of existence of today!

Thinking now of those golden pedestals of time went past, we all wish if we can we all live in those moments of history. With many of us loosing contacts with our best pals, we can only remember and cherish those golden era.

Probably, with all of us, those moments must have put in an edible mark on our memories – never to be erased until we leave this planet, those memories will depart with us...!

 

~ The Ant Story ~

Sitting idle on a chair with my kids – laughing and giggling on our childish talks, I was made to realize and look down on a serpentine streak of ants marching towards a common goal. Headed by a presumably wise ant, which was bestowed by knowledge of sight and direction, the followers were just treading the shown way. Suddenly, one amongst them saw a grain of food (a small piece of biscuit lump) which was noticed and quickly attracted attention by the insect.

Now began the test of time, as the ant dissociated itself from the queue, she wanted others to join and take the food probably for their night fiesta, the problem being she could not do it alone for the sheer weight of ‘food’ was much bigger than her own weight. As ants are known for their patience and diligence of work, she began to probably ‘think’ and define her next plan to have this pie of biscuit at her dwelling during dinner. Suddenly we saw her racing back to her companions with a view of finding help and with a single-minded aim of lifting the crust and take back home.

 In quick succession, she was accompanied by 15-20 ants and all of them started to strive for a common result – how to move this piece of biscuit to a safer place – ignorant of the fact that the whole episode was being watched by big giants (Myself and kids).

During this feat, there were innumerable occurrences that the group of ants were swayed by exhaustion and stopped for longer times and probably take rest and start again for the better .After some time, the effort started to pay-off, the piece of biscuit started to move and after some time was taken in close vicinity to a small hole (1/2 inches in size).

Having arrived at its due destination, it was soon creeped by 100-200 ants which almost attacked the surprise bestowed on them – In no time the piece of biscuit grew small in size to be vanished in next hour. The whole story came as a big teaching for all three of us.

The ant had showed remarkable sense of observation and patience to enjoy a common goal through their effort in unison.

Other ants showed good sense of camaraderie and showed up strength and a combined sense of effort and direction to achieve a common goal. Their feeling of help towards each other, led by a principal Ant to show them direction made them achieve the almost impossible feat.

Another lesson learnt was, come what may, though slowly and steadily, the ants were able to achieve their aim with their single-minded focus, sense of leadership and working in tandem.

Penultimately, when the food reached its destination, every ant in the group rejoiced in unison and thanked and kissed each other for the common effort they had put to achieve the result.

I hope that the lessons which these insects have taught all three of us are kept in mind embark us on a journey of life – though such minuscule in their appearance, they taught us life’s best teachings which we can inscribe in our day to day life and live in accordance with our true self!

 

~ Football – The Game of Life ~

 

What became as my liking of an outdoor activity, Football as sport which I loved became my everyday binge. Hours were spent in sweating on the ground and besmirching clothes with mud.

But as growing up years were spend getting absorbed in the game, I unknowingly fell in love with the sport – so much so that I happened to think of serpentine moves and arcane tactics to score a goal. The next day and hour was thoroughly awaited to hit the ground. My Naani used to be precarious of the time when I had to step out, never to return for hours of sweat and toil not to forget the dilapidated condition of clothes and bruises on the body.

The key question being what football has to do with "NOW" when I have well surpassed the age one can play it with equal aplomb. The answer is ‘Football’ has made me the Shakespearean character that I am in the world stage. The game is a strong interlude of maneuvering passes and strict discipline. It makes an individual a strong and forward-looking thinker with an ability to think beyond the rational. It bestows on you a sense of ownership and teamwork, cascades along many boundaries to show your true character as a leader and a playmate.

Finally, it makes you ponder with the game you played and gives you an opportunity to ascertain your follies today – those selfish instances that you were close to the goal and by all possibility you could have scored had you given the past at the last moment to your teammate who was left unchecked and in a pole position. The best part of the sport at the end of those ticking timelines is the analysis which one gets into – with heated debates and no potential outcomes, the bond with the team gets cemented – you also get to know individualistic weaknesses and start to work upon them slowly and steadily.

As they say the passion never fades away, life comes back at different times – There have been many instances that you still shake a leg and dribble past this young generation (in a par nearby before the Pre-Corona Era). You test your agility with the skills of years you have acquired on the field. If not, you have left your position to be a forward (considering the demanding position it is), you can well equip yourself to be a center half and be a strategist and give formidable passes towards goal conversions. The rhetoric of passes, the deliberate fouls, the friction between players of opposite teams all still becomes the part and parcel of the razzmatazz, such is the charisma of this Game. I have realized that I am in awe with this game and it is the on top of my list of to-do things when I will next spot the street urchins playing at their usual self in the park. Afterall, age has nothing to do with your love of life – I love football and would continue too do so till eternity!

The best part of playing this game is when people ask “at this age, how you maintain your sprint, focus and quick thinking on the field?” My quirky answer is “The football does not know how old I am. All you need to do is to stop yourself to stopping yourself to play the game.” – I thank football not only as a game but shaping myself into a person which I have become today!