~ “ 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!