~ “ Sahab Chai”- The Call Of The Morning ~

He has been at his usual best since quite some time – asking him about the time he came and set up his makeshift camp – a small Tea Shop shanty , his eyes glitters and he tells me that it was in mid ninety’s when he came from his hometown Allahabad that he thought of doing something worthwhile in this ‘Magical’ City. But what made him bring to this life of razzmatazz and hush-hush living? Rajinder thinks a lot and then after a careful analysis he states - “ Sahab kuch apna karna tha!” – I had this fire in me to do something of my own and that is what made me come to this City. He left his small family comprising of his mother and father and a younger sister and took a train to Delhi – he came her ticket less and just ran from his home.

Rajinder did odd jobs for some months to put food on his plate, he slept on pavements risking his life at because of brazen and drunk drivers in the night – he sailed through tough times due to chance meeting with his soon to be ‘Lifelong friend – Shankar’. As Rajinder tells me ‘Shankar was the guy who I made friends with in this city, he is an absolute Gem.” He now shares his small room with his long lasting friend – both are in their mid-40’s, unmarried and living to fulfill their aspirations in this land of opportunities.

                                                                                        

“Don’t you miss your parents or young sister? Are you in touch with them? “, I asked. He was quick to reply “Haanji – I go regularly to my native place, though my father is no more, I have got my sister married 5 years back and she is well settled in Allahabad having two kids. – She even visited me last year and I made them roam around India Gate!” – The excitement to his story was quite palpable and I obliged to his eagerness of sharing his personal life to me.

With every sip of Tea, I asked Rajinder Bhaiya, “Don’t you think of getting yourself married and start living a life of complete settlement?, what are you waiting for now?” He slowly whispers with a clever smile ( he becomes a little shy on taking up that question) – Sir, ab shaadi kya karenge, Ab budhhe ho gaye hum, time nikal gaya hai !” I was a little aghast first on listening to his answers, but as I convinced myself, it was his life and he has to make smart choices what he wants to do with it.

Now that I have befriended him – we converse daily on life post covid times – he is quite skeptical about situations changing for good, though he thinks that it will take time – he has lost considerable business due to this pandemic and hopes that situation fast changes for his betterment.

All I can say is that Rajinder Bhaiya has also become a purpose for me to go to office in the morning and have his tea cuppa sans Sugar but with lot of ginger and unconditional love which he pours whilst he makes Tea for me –- thus knocking on the office door every afternoon after I have reached office - I am in inquisition of a familiar voice “Sahab, Chai” – the day thus starts….

~ Zer0 – the power of it! ~

“Anything above a Zero in my bank balance would be acceptable to me!” – this quote of my friend whilst I was conversing with him the other day was significant enough for a motivational recording for future references. The guy in question did his Bachelor’s of Science with Mathematics as a honours and went on to do his Masters in finance and statistics from a top notch university in Singapore .

The current Covid situation made him kneel down the footsteps of destiny and as due to unforeseen circumstances lost his source of income – a recurring finance to run the show of everyday living. A chance “Hi” on WhatsApp lead us to a video call after some time – It was almost a decade that I was seeing him, he had changed in appearance, looked mature but handsome and had developed as thorough professional in quick time. The initial formalism just vanished after we started to talk frankly and thus got reminiscent of our childhood we had spent together. It was a beautiful time again for both of us as we started to pin point each other’s tangent moments of childhood – our wives listening to such talks and giggling on circumspect of things they never got to know about us!

Suddenly the mood changed when the topic of jobs and living came to forefront – my friend had just lost a job and was in complete dilemma about his future prospects of living in a country where everything was judged on monthly balances in one’s pocket. Though he seemed to be down, he certainly was a fighter and he was hoping to get back to business in quick succession. His positive attitude and remarkable thinking and philosophy about life enchanted me to the core – He had not told his family about his current situation and his wife still thought that her husband was doing work from home. He was pretentious enough to login at the same time as he was supposed to be but now the purpose had changed for good. He was doing job search in lieu of his normal office work. He was determined enough to land himself into an earnings stream and positively thought about it with no hiccups whatsoever.

Finally as the talk culminated with exchanging pleasantries of good wishes – he told me one last thing which made him passed through his state of mind – When I lost my job , I had one thing in my mind , that I should not have a ‘Zero’ credited to my bank account next month. Anything above this number is acceptable to me as my pay-cheque – The tricked worked – may be the grand design liked his positive and humble attitude towards living. An unexpected call from him today to share his moments of joy said it all – He was happy and thankful to almighty for testing his waters and faith upon situations, after all the concept he strongly believed in actually did wonders to his life – not to mention the salary he got, though a zero but lot of them after a natural number!

~ Akash & the Art of Shoe Making ~

Sitting in my office, I sometimes venture out for a tea cuppa, the urge to have my favorite beverage is synonymous with the weather we are living by. Calling for one such urge, I happen to meet a young kid – a roaming cobbler with the name ‘Akash’. Whilst having my tea, he happened to come to me with an expectation – whether I would give him a chance to clean my sport shoes ( white in color) and if that can be done, it would be his first earning since morning – time had already clicked afternoon by then.

Though I was not in that mindset, but a general chit-chat opened between him and myself. Earlier he was very hesitant to tell me his whereabouts – what was his name and from where he comes but after putting him at ease, he was able to shun some light on his life and his current situation. He told me that his name was ‘Akash’ and that he comes all the way from Noida – now that intrigued me , as Noida was almost other end of the city and what made him travel so much to come to work in this part of Delhi. He told me that he has been coming here from 2 years now and he is quite familiar with the place – he started to come with his friend earlier just to loiter around but soon learnt that the place is bereft of any cobbler or a shoemaker. As his father is into this profession since long, it was the best choice life had to offer.

His bag seems to be heavy – stacked with paraphernalia which is of use to him in his day to day discharge of his duties. He wears a mask which he bought himself of his own money – a fact that he was very proud of. I asked what made him work at this stage of his life, he quickly replied ‘Paise kamane hain Bhaiya!” – I saw a sense of self-esteem and hope to live a dignified life in brightened eyes of this lad. As his school is shut due to Covid, he goes back by 4 pm and reaches his home by 5:30 and thus helps his mother in her household chores, thereby in the late evening he gets time to study – He has made a life of discipline all by himself with no pressure from his parents.

Nudging further into his life, he told me that there are about 4 members in his family and that he is studying in class 7^th in a ‘Sarkari’ School in Noida. He has a younger sister in same school in class 4^th. Also, that his father is a cobbler and his mother a housewife, probably he has learnt the art of shoe servicing from his father as I presumed rightly so.

By now we had become good friends and Akash was feeling confident in being conversant with me – he quite coyly asked me if I can provide him with water – the request was immediately executed and I could see him gulping down the liquid as thirst had almost overpowered him. Having done so, he thanked me and said if I had any shoe-work to be done at that moment – my reply was in the negative.

As time slipped by, the moments had come to close this chance rendezvous with a hope to meet next time – till then , I made Akash a promise that I shall give him a virtual treat coming Monday and make him a show-time hero to be seen on this platform – With a laugh on his face, I now fulfill my promise with a prayer and hope that Akash would one day be doing good for himself and his family…God Bless Akash!

~ Jyoti and the Morning Water Saga ~

Coming to office today, I chanced upon an unusual call from behind “Bhaiya Pani hai??” – as the call came apparently as I was holding a Coca Cola 2 litre bottle – chilled enough to be creating thirst to any soul – today being a humid day. Turning around, I could sense the decrepit situation the woman was – I have been noticing her quite some days, she wanders around many offices, having to fend for herself. Her shabbiness speaks about her condition.

May be she is not more than 45 years of age and with no family – kids or otherwise, she is always loaded with a gunny bag on her shoulder trespassing from one office to another and observing people and situations around. May be she is recording and observing acts of life. Sometimes she starts to speak to herself in a sublime tone and hearing her one can mark tone of rupture of life’s tribulations.

Turning back when I started to oblige her call, a sudden surprise shook me, she opened the throttle of her plastic bottle – rag-picked and cleaned from somewhere and stated “Is it chilled enough?” . Hearing a sudden change in her vocab, I stood still and started to converse “ Didi , how come you know English – considered to be a language of elite ?” , My question was juxtaposed with quick answer “ Yes, what you think, I am a graduate.!!!” – Almost all hell broke loose inside me and a certain element of revere surpassed my consciousness, I felt shamed at first to have asked her this question, but a decree of inquisition lead me to go ahead…. She is a graduate and what life has offered her! 

I have seen her before in vicinity of our office quarelling with a restaurant owner as she made her make-shift sitting place outside. She was at her best arguments and gave a befitting reply to the restaurant manager - " Tere baap ki jagah hai, yeh footpath sabka hai!" was her pragmatic argument.

Having no words to say, I said “Didi, whenever you want water or anything else, come to our office which is nearby.” Showcasing the route, she quickly said “I know where you work!, I have observed you quite some time, I know many people in area around as I stay here.”, then suddenly she tells says “ My name is Jyoti.” – as if she read my mind – as that was the next question begetting my thoughts.

Whilst having my lunch, a bout of thirst engrossed me , gulping down water from same bottle, I could again start to sense the morning meeting with Didi, the bottle got symbolic preset of her presence around me, though I was no judge of trials and tribulation of life she might have gone through – her predicament was a living testimony of that – she must have gone through her ups and downs of living and finally had accepted the situation as it is. No one would think of living a life on the street after doing a fair degree of education.

Vow! What a conversation it was today – passing through an aisle, a chance encounter made my day and gave me a boost to live with equal zeal as she was… My urge to have a long conversation with Jyoti remains an enigma, as I don’t know when she would meet me or come to our office – also , maybe she will be around our office complex, these questions stand open ended with no definite answers – only time is a the best advocate of such situations!

Till then , all I have to say is – May you stay happy and healthy and be strong to live life in a better way than the current one – with a heavy heart I say “Thank you God for turning me around towards such a personality whose 2 mins conversation has had an edible mark on my being!“

~ Rehman – a Doctor in the making ~

Rehman has been a curious student since I have known him for about 4 years now, his mother works at our house and has been working hard for a purpose - to make her son something worthwhile in life. she herself has only one anguish in her heart, that she came from a poor family which could not afford to pay for her education - she is educated up till class 8th.

A victim of early marriage followed by motherhood, Fatima as she likes to be called, has been doing maid work in our block for about a decade. On a sudden day, she talks to us about her elder son - Rehman, who is a good student and studies in class 8th - He has been a class topper and wants to be a doctor in life. Her son is a matter of pride to the family - consisting of 3 younger sisters who are mediocre in their studious pursuit. Two years hence, I had an opportunity to share time with Rehman and make him go through Science and Math’s lessons on Saturday’s and Sunday’s - the time we shared turned out to be a phenomena of sorts - Rehman turned out to be a real concept grasper - he could memorize equations and mathematical tricks in quick succession. For him, he used technology to his pursuit – mobile phone was a virtual tutor for him – quite unlike many kids I see loitering around with gadgetry and pondering over useless stuff. He has no flavor for being well dressed – a simple T-shirt and jeans along with slippers is all he wants to look comfortable – his only greed was knowledge and books!

Our talks started to compose towards concept of higher education and about challenges which such downtrodden students face during their educational journey - though the government is doing its best to have 'Prized Catch' students who secure good grades in class but considering the extra investment higher education needs, it is far beyond the economic reach of such class of society and thus it creates a vacuum for such students.

Nevertheless,I knew Rehman is class apart and would do well in his 10th Board exams - he didn’t let me down, took science and also was able to convince his mother to enroll him for a pre-medical tuition institute ( with great difficulty she did - borrowing money from close acquaintances and also taking advances from all and sundry).

The result  paid off - Rehman has done wonders in his 12th class by securing 92% marks and is all confident in taking up NEET this year - A chance conversation on phone with the lad made me think of the reminiscent 4 years since I met him. He was all a visionary and had a single minded aim of being a doctor - I guess, he has been heard and all of his efforts and dedication towards his aim has started to pay off. As we draw towards the end of our communication - Rehman assured me of one thing - 'Bhaiya, I will meet you next time when I shall be able to secure a Medical Seat in College and on the way of becoming a doctor!".

His resolve resounds of his grit and gumption and sets an example for all of us - Hard work pays - Rehman - I just want to say Good luck buddy and keep your head up to face any adversary - you are the chosen one – next time we meet , I want to see you wearing a doctor's apron next time we meet and I address you not as Rehman but Dr Rehman.....!!!

~ A living Parody ~

His life of aloofness and mediocrity makes him look different on the street. Captivating though, he is always engrossed in stale vision overlooking the passing traffic as he sits on a chosen spot on the pavement as I have always seen him since quite some time now.

Living a life of comfort-ability and with nothing to do, he just sits and sleeps on a pavement under the metro pillar whilst we pass through him daily and see his eclectic glance towards the passing traffic. He is always in the thoughtful mood and reminiscing his life lived by as I presume.

What made him live a life which he is bound to live - maybe he took some wrong twists and turns which life generally offer to every one of us, this may have made him recluse and cut off the wilderness of daily living. He has no targets to achieve, no plans to follow, living a mendicant's life, he eats what passersby give him. He has a little living paraphernalia to boast of - some torn clothes, one or two water bottles always half-filled and a set of worn out clothes which he always hangs on the metro grill nearby.

Engrossed in his own sense of thinking and his own intriguing ways of acting on the street, his unknown existence is mesmeric to passersby – there are some dedicated givers of alms to him – he chooses them with aplomb and cherishes his acceptance with much delight. Seeing his choice of acts  - a question begets my mind – How come he can be so choosy when life has made him bring to a level of no return – Can beggars be choosers ?.. This idiom has been demolished by his example in my dictionary of words.

He takes life as it comes every day and ‘Planning’ has no place in his daily living. Come what may, he is seated with equal composure be it rain or scorching sunshine.

Seeing him through it makes me believe that he has not had a hair-cut or a shave since ages - at least of six months and it is certainly not due to current pandemic but his self-induced poverty. I see no reason for him not to work, as he is able bodied - though having mediocre built. Sometimes he gets up and talk to street hawkers and shares his side of life and makes the street urchins laugh and giggle – his stance makes me believe that he is in conversant with kids and he must have had good experiences with them earlier in life – may be of his own kids. There are many such questions which shall besiege your mind and bring it to a point of no valid answers.

An inquisition has set up in my mind to have a conversation with him and ask about his life and what made him wander through his share of trials and tribulations about life. There are certain question which beset my eyes on him - does he have a family, where he is from, what brought him to this predicament, the meeting thus is awaited…