~ Football & the Virtues of Life...~

 As the Soccer world cup begins today at Qatar, I reminisce the game I used to cherish and play for insane long hours, never to be told when to come back at home. The neighborhood park is a mute testimony to what time I have lived and cherished whilst I was a striker of my team.

Football for me  and for that matter for all of us is just not a game to be played for fun, It is a way of life and formulates our character to what we really are in real world…it has much hidden life skills that it so subtly teaches if one has an open eye. The game can be personified as a life skill if one decides so.

It is brimming with key leadership lessons to name a few, leadership, selflessness, planning and execution and most importantly accepting the outcome, be whatever it may be when the game is over. All these virtues are much needed in living a decent and sane life today. 

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. As a planner and a perfect executioner of moves, your leadership character is what is put to test whilst the game is on. Your leading by example is what your fellow teammates are looking upon you – I once remember the game in which we were being pushed and mellowed by the opposite team as they were playing rough but our leader took upon himself to judge the track of the game and changed the strategy to play short passes and make quick moves for them to not entangle with our key visible front enders – the result, they were exhausted running to trap the ball and injure the key players as all were getting the ball in equal intervals!!! – the outcome was inevitable….

Sacrifice is another great virtue which this fantastic game teaches … there may be occasions when your selfish interest will make you take control of the ball and you in all probability will try to steer around to score a brownie goal for audience to cheer the newfound Ronaldo in you  - having done so , you may score or you might not but a good player would always ‘Sacrifice’ your chance to score if you realize that your fellow being is in a better position to hit the ball to the nets… that quick decision of yours will cascade your character and that is what the game does to you…

No doubt the game is full of enthralling moments and it tests your patience and your strength, there may be moments when your body is in no mood to run that extra inch but the lure of getting so close to the nets and scoring a winning goal is what keeps you going - It is so much similar to life, at times when you plan to quit or are hellbent to not go that extra mile as you are not sure of the result, a tinge of thought that may be I should try for that last time as I did in that match winning game...who knows I might succeed this time....

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. After all, 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!

~ Man's Best Moments..~

He is a regular in the park and his sack is full of various goodies for his little friends – ants, dogs, pigeons and birds and I see him doing this for quite long.

He surely believe in the idiom “ Giving is Receiving” though he has no qualms if he doesn’t receive anything in return – he has lived a noble life although and does not carry the burden of swelling debt or children not settled or not having a good health at this juncture of his life – He surely has it all in his kitty.

Just the other day, I conversed with him to know about his act of doing what he does every morning and he had some revelations to make – “Son, I have been doing this since decades as it gives me a feeling of immense satisfaction – these speechless insects and beings of GOD have been are living partners since ages and we trample them under our feet – uncaringly as if we rule the roost of this universe!”

His thoughts had a valid point and comprehensive to talk about what we all know about the working of this grand design we called UNIVERSE where everyone is sought equal and have right to life as we humans do but this is not the norm of the day necessarily.

As we further conversed, uncle ( I didn’t know his name though) spoke -

Our being on the top of the food chain surely have given us an edge of sentinel beings around us – many cant converse, many still are fearful of our dreaded size and many are in awe of our existence for what we have done to this planet.

I suggest you do a social experiment, start talking with the pigeons, crows and squirrels who are part of this ecosystem – try to make them friends – you will see that they will start making noise in a convenient way which is there way of accepting your presence for a good reason – and that is – you have come with some goodies, food, water for them.” 

His advice was a bit late as this has been norm of the day for me for quite some time – I have seen this happening in my daily morning chores in the park – as I enter the park, I start to hear crow’s cawing, dogs come up wagging their tail and squirrels happily run around – a clear sign of they being happy to see me alive and also that now they would be getting their breakfast 😊 ! 

Surely, I have made friends with them, as now they have accepted my presence and me being some part of their unknowing existence – they are not afraid of me and they hanker around what I have bought for them …it is their inquisition and love which takes me to their groves every now and then…

Whilst we parted way – Uncle’s sack was getting almost emptied as he had shared his brought to his animal and insect pals…. The dogs were wagging their tail around him, the squirrels and crows were having their sumptuous breakfast…the whole scenario seems was treat to one’s eye… here was man who was segregated from the daily rush of morning hour and living and sharing his life with nature’s true creation….Surely the idiom “ To give is to receive” was all that I was seeing in front of me…really in the working….

~ Kiss of Death... ~

“I am alive and my eternal belief in the existence of GOD has been exemplified by the pain and trauma I went through for almost two months that I have solely lived on the edge in a ICU of a Delhi hospital.

The worth of human life was at its nadir, with not a single day I would not see my ICU neighbor dying whilst gasping of that next breath and suddenly collapsing – at its peak, Covid took the toll on many of us but this is the firsthand account of a gentleman – my ex-office colleague who still has not fully recovered and is a victim of Long- covid. His lungs have contracted 40% and he can’t brisk walk or can do any heavy stuff in his day-to-day life.

“Sir, I have understood and have started to believe in this idiom “Health is Wealth!” – as I used to see young and old coming to ICU and becoming my next-bed neighbors and staying with me for about a week before resigning to their destiny – Doctors were helpless as there seems to be no way out!”

The bodies were quickly wrapped in body bags by specially designated hospital ward boys, who were un-emotional in handling the body bags as the stigma of the disease was at its peak – there were almost no family or friends who used to come to collect the bodies as they seem to go directly to the cremation grounds without any “Last Rites”. 

“I became suicidal in the 4^th week of my stay at hospital, as I could not see sun entering in the ICU , beams of tube lights and blinking machine sounds had cast away my sleep and had made me a zombie who was solely surviving on artificial induced Oxygen along with daily dose of injections which I now am bearing the brunt of – I have lost natural immunity and a slight change in the season leads to me getting sneezing attack and periodical fever- though I am alive and thank GOD profusely as I was lucky to surpass that turbulent times from grit and faith in tomorrow!

Life has surely given me another chance and a meaning to explore the beauty of living – earlier the chase of career and promotions, power and pelf was the only aim of life – not getting my next streak of oxygen became my top most priority and now that I am recovering, I view life from a completely different perspective.

How can I convince people who are abusing there bodies and taking it for granted – thinking they can dodge death – they are befooling their living and their existence, for they don’t know that body can soon become a liability when not taken care of! – but they wont understand as I was a bit unlucky to get caught in the vicious circle of Covid and had to be hospitalized as when I tell my ordeal to my friends, they laugh it out as they were cured in the premise of their own home having to take almost nothing.

I still thank GOD for his magnanimity and divine grace when I came out of the ICU to general ward and when I was granted leave, my mom and my wife were in tears – being covid victims themselves, they were not allowed to come to see me in the ICU as they had restricted mobility.

Phones were only way to connect and that too with a limited amount of time as I could not talk due to air exasperation – either I could see the dead being siphoned off or tell the hellish condition I was in, there was no reprieve.

Each day bought new problems as I was heavy on intravenous steroids, the pain and the trauma were me to record as I had nothing to do. Being in ICU for almost two months, Death became a friend as everyday the Doctors pronounced their decree without any human emotions.

So what was the take away of this episode – ‘Respect the nitty gritty of life, the family, friends and every such relation which you have made is for a purpose – no matter what, be humble and obey the command of ‘Time’ and accept things – everything is for a reason and a purpose’ – Taking me as an example and my youthful exuberance, I never valued anything much and took almost everything as granted – Not anymore, whilst I speak to you , every intake of breath I consciously breathe is being thanked by me internally, this is what Covid has taught me ….

~ My Diwali Dost...~

He was my Diwali man – living a secluded life in a petrol pump on Diwali night when all of Delhi was busy in the festivities of the Diwali moment. Deepinder had his own way of enjoyment as someone had given him a packet of sweets along with some candles which he had lighted near a dilapidated tyre shop which he worked in.

A big time KGF fan, Deepinder belongs to a village in UP and has been an inhabitant of Delhi since last 4 years as his father didn’t have the resources to make him study further – he is class 8^th pass, smilingingly he told me as if this was a sort of achievement for him. As I asked him if he wanted to study as I could help in a way, his blunt answer was “No” I want to have my own business, the time and my years for studies is over”. No wonder his answer was quite an accepting shock to me as he seemed to like his passion of business.

It was Diwali night of fun and frolic, of sparkle and lights but he had lit a single candle and a string of lights on his tyre puncture roadside shop cum living shanty – he was alone and ‘on the job’ of filling deflated tyres , it seemed to be a regular evening for him. There was a bit of uniqueness though, he had lighten a small ‘Diya’ (earthen lamp) in front of his favourite diety’s pic which he had placed on a dilapidated wooden podium.

I asked him” Deepinder, where are you from? And when almost half of Delhi has gone back to their native villages for Diwali celebrations, why are you still working in this city – you could have taken a break from daily rigmarole of duties which life offers us.”, he candidly replied “ Bhaiya, everyone took leave and there has to be someone managing the ‘Business’!, probably I will go on holi. We take turns whilst taking holidays, so my holi holidays are certainly booked.!”

“So don’t you miss your natives, friends on this special hour, when roads are almost empty ( a rare condition in Delhi!) and that everyone is eating, burning firecrackers and making merry – he replied “ I am happy as I have had a whatsapp videocall with my sisters and parents in Bihar” – though they were missing me but they understood the need of the hour.

No wonder, those 10 minutes of meeting Deepinder pointed certainities of life – that be whatever, there are silent workers for us who are at best making sacrifices to comply with their daily duties, be it festivities or a regular day, they are always there working to bring smile on people’s’ faces!

“Happy Diwali Deepinder and God Bless you!” were my last words of acknowledgement whilst he completed the task of inflating my car tyres , a job which he did without any qualms. A final adieu with all smiles was the last scene which made me see him for the last time before I headed to my destination, not before thinking about Deepinder till I reached my final home for Diwali Celebrations!...

~ A Life Different ...~

In this vast sea of heads counting, we all try to find our own identity – we are unique in every sense but still we are intrinsically alone and aloof. Have you observed there is something in you who converses with you for many singular topics – who is that? It is your conscience or the hidden ‘God’ which keeps you giving the hint to do what is right and in accordance with the laws of living.

Such deep thoughts were echoed with one my childhood friend who has had a spiritual bent of mind from the very beginning of his childhood – no surprise that he has made spirituality a seeking profession for himself and found ways to earn through it whilst he enjoys the company of many elated souls who are always in conversation with him on varied topics of life and its living! 

“Opening a small hut resort was my passion and my seeking from the very onset of what I realize who I was!” – as my friend met me this Diwali, I saw him after ages – his face had a radiant smile and he was balanced in his approach of life -spewing positivity and a contagious grin – he was surely a class apart from a typical “Delhiwalla” who I always see has bunch of complaints to fall upon!

As we conversed further, my friend started to tell his stories about some of the unique guests who have been a part of his journey – there has been some “Aghori’s” too! As he told me.

“So, what was your experience too with them?” as I asked him with lot of inquisitions.

“It was quite frightening but as they conversed, I felt quite at ease with them – believe me they are a class apart and what we have heard about them is not a fraction of what they are!”. As he further told me “They also gave me Ashirwad (blessing's) for a long life and a good future. It has been almost a month that they visited me and since then, I have been immersed with their positive aroma – business has also grown since then.”

There have been other visitors too, they are fun and frolic people from the plains – Mumbaiietes and Delhiietes throng his hut houses with equal fervor – “they just love it – the peace, the calm, the shinning stars, the serenity of atmosphere and above all – No messy Noise” – they feel at peace…

As we exchanged Diwali pleasentries, it was time to say goodbye and with a promise that I shall soon be visiting his small resort in upper regions of Rishikesh – the countdown for me has begun – surely everyone needs a reprieve from this madding crowd and the noise that hounds us although the day – to find your own being – this excursion is for sure on a “to-do-list” – time is the best testimony of when that happens….

~ The Couch Legacy ~

This is used to be foreground of discussions of all the roadside vendors – be it chaiwallas, Rikshawpullers or just souls who lost their way in life but now it is a dilapidated looking wearied out old couch set being discarded beyond any measure and left at the mercy of Delhi’s inclement weather.

The couch is an ode to many important discussions on myriad subjects of life – favorite was Indian politics, but not less was other important discussions regarding India’s growth, the changing value system of society, the religious debates in the country etc…

The nearby ‘Shyam Tea Stall’ is still there but no one sits on the couch anymore as it is in no condition to be sat on – it has endured the test of time and has weathered all seasons be it rain or storms, it remains intact but not without the skin. Surely, seeing its dilapidated condition, there is a talk to renovate it and again bring it to use. 

The favorite timepass of us Indian’s rolling over the subject of ‘Politics’ non-stop, we can have arguments and counterarguments till ages and yet cannot come to a conclusion – this sofa seat is a testament to those long standing discussions and timepass rendezvous – many of the proud inhabitants who have domed the this ‘throne’ has been a witness to some of the finest razzmatazz of talk, though with no certain end!

Nowdays, when I bypass the Tea stall, I could see some of the new occupants of this sofa seat, they are happy sitting on it and cuddle amongst themselves , for they are the street canines who have found temporary refuge in it whilst in the evening and night the change of weather has bring forth gush of cold air.

Surely, the couch has become a blessing in disguise for them as they play and make merry to everyone’s amusement and has thus become the benchmark of all life forms making good use of it with every passing day – in the morning, it is a makeshift point for labourers and passersby, in the evening and late night it gets occupied by dogs and cats sometimes …

As a testimony of time, it will wither away to its newness only when ‘Shyam ji’ will take the complete control and ownership of it and give it a complete facelift and given many of his regular customers to sit on it and again gaggle in endless discussions about life and its being… till then, it will be a standalone benchmark of his makeshift shop being evenly guarded by canines in the night…

~ Power of Silence...~

 Both mother daughter duo sat in the aisle of local market engrossed in a cheeky smile. Being a festive season, they had put up a makeshift stall for the comfort of their seasoned customers, a PAYTM tagbox was all that was kept to receive payments along with a small box for change (if customers wanted to pay in cash).

The sell was all small festive items, from diyas to designer candles and other decorative items such as earthen lamps and handcrafted pastel stickers. The intriguing part being both mother-daughter duo was chatting and gesticulating in a particular way – ‘Sign language!’ – at first instance it didn’t make any sense to the causal onlooker as one is not interested in a small shop with inadequate flashy signs and bereft of any flashy marketing but on a closer look, one may see that the daughter seems to be deaf and dump and that in particular the mother was making a happy effort to communicate with her in same parlance – one could surely conclude that she must have learnt the language as a need of the hour!

Suddenly a female customer turns up to enquire about their sell and the daughter (about 30 years of age) welcomes her with her intriguing smile and a folded hand ‘Namaste’ – the gesture surely touched the customer and in ignorance she starts to ask for price of the items displayed – in nick of time her mother jumps in and steer’s the talk to her favour and tries to answer customer’s query – the daughter still showcasing her smiling face.

It was my turn to approach the makeshift shop and started to enquire about an item which probably was not displayed – the mother asked her daughter gesticulating in sign language, post which frantic search was initiated by the daughter to find the missing item. The search bore fruit and a pack of decorative candles were found to everyone’s satisfaction, the smile on daughter’s face was captivating.

The shopping soon turned quite interesting when the Aunty told me that all these items have been dedicated been made by her over two months’ time, she employees two likeminded staff – both deaf and dump, I asked “Aunty how all of them communicate, especially they have a white board and markers, whatever they cannot share while gestures, they communicate via writing and drawing!” – the parable, ‘Need of the hour produces a man’ proved on dotted line… She still sits on her makeshift shop in the evening with her mother , every time I pass through her small shop, she smiles and does greets me with a customary ‘Namaste!”, the best thing is that everytime I find more tempting items to be bought…. The next shopping spree is just round the corner with a certain hope and pray that one fine day I want to see her with her own permanent shop to sell her items, time has the only answer to this question….

~ As Luck would have it...! ~

 The discussion became intense on the ‘Luck’ factor of life, as the group argued with their points and counterpoints. Many in the group were arguing as to who was lucky and where luck played its part to get to a level of life where they are now. Considering the life many of us have lived, the ups and the troughs have been the part of the game and this is bound to happen for everyone, many of us would fall through the headwinds but many would take those as the opportunities provided by ‘providence’.

Today, as I met the diehard survivor (Manoji) who was purely ‘lucky’ to survive a disastrous streak of a life-threatening disease, he didn’t have many qualms of why he got it at the first place, all he his focus was on how to overcome this impediment of life course and tag himself to be lucky to have done that!

Talking of luck as a biproduct of effort and daily labour, he was much affirmative of the thoughts that come by when a tragedy strikes us, the daily living has its own set of questions to be answered and the luck factor remains elusive in most of them.

He was simple in his rationale and his “What if?” was admissible in our discussion. To name a few, as he stated to augur his point,

“What if you were born without limbs or partially blind?, how would your life have been OR, “What if you were born with mental disorder?” – you could not have comprehended the beauty of life OR “What if you were born in a situation of utter poverty and had no means for a two meals a day? – how would your life be in these circumstances?” – the radical of his thought were profound , as was his wisdom.

We surely ignore the daily lucky instances that have been bestowed on us in our day-to-day life and are more focused on something great to happen through “Luck”! – surely there have been super lucky people in this world who just by their instincts have done some acts which has given them much pelf as in the case of a Kerala Auto driver winning Rs 25 crore in Onam lottery on just an instinct of choosing a ticket!.

As Manoji  says “don’t worry, you wont be so lucky 😊!” – but as all was discussed in length and breadth, we are all lucky in one sense or the other, for those who have perfect health – they are lucky against those who have timely minutes left to leave the world! , for those who have loving family – they seem to be lucky against those who are left alone ,especially after the Delta wave of Covid!

“Just living hale and hearty with a loving family and managing our expenses with our own house makes a ‘PERFECT’ definition of being lucky in this material world, for the rest, chasing incessant dreams will take away things which you have always taken for granted! – the last guide to living as spoken by Manoji is just prudent enough to be lived the ways he has felt….the results will mesmerize you…

~ A Cobbler's Life...~

 He has been around for more than three decades doing the same work and always wearing the same smile as he always did when I used to see him as a kid. The shanty he made as his shop resembles the same emblem and also that nothing has changed in it either. As it is a small 6X6 meter makeshift space that he made it as his workplace, that time was different and that there was only a flower bearing a shrub which has not blossomed itself to be cascading all around his sitting, it does give a marvelous look.

I met ‘Salim after ages, I would say so, he still smiled on seeing me and always welcomed me the way he used to do when I was young enough. Salim is our local cobbler and he has been around since time immemorial, now that many of us don’t visit such places and repair our broken / wear-out footwear, the mall culture has tamed us to use and throw our buys in quick succession – after all it is the time of impulsive consumerism!

Coming back to my original theme, Salim sits in the same posture, on the elevated ground, cuddling himself to comfort – for that is the best posture for him to do his work type with precision, after all, there are some costly footwear repairs which comes his way and any scope of error would be a fallibility on his part and he would loose his customer and brand of a top cobbler in the vicinity – mind it , at his level too, the competition plays its part.

As I sat along with him in his shanty, the talk of good old times started to come up – as we exchanged our past lives and what we have been doing since years passed by, I was wonderstruck to listen to his story of life. His two sons were working in Gurgoan in top MNC’s in CAD (computer Aided design) and were English speakers, unlike him – his eyes widened up with profound honour when he thus spoke of them, I was seeing the proud feeling of a father who could not do much in his life but silently focused on his work and towards his aim to make both of his sons a English speaking gentlemen – his dream was almost fulfilled as he had one wish (which is the wish of a father across the globe) – to get his sons married and make them settled in life.

“What after that, Salimji?” as I asked.

“Nothing, life would be same again but with a difference, I will have the honour to take a break out of this shop!, I have chosen Sunday as the day when I wont come here and be at home.” – this opened a pandoras box for me as I asked “ So you have not taken any holiday or an off during these times?”

“Yes, Almost, I can count my days on my fingertips and tell you when I was on off, hearing about such commitment made me stand still – the man truly deserved honours, a silent worker just like India’s mountain man’ “Dashrath Manjhi” , a labourer from Gaya,Bihar, India - who silently worked for decades to carve out a way by manually doing labour work with a chisel and hammer.

As Salimji had repared my slippers, it was time to go and say goodbye – the penultimate gesture which touched me was his fees , still he asks his fee with a sentence “ Bauji, jo sahi samjho dedo!” [Whatever you deem fit for my work, give it.], the thought till now keeps me mesmerized with such souls in and around you, especially in the world of people insanely running about wealth and possessions , though they have done more harm to themselves that anybody else… Salimji is an example of focus of life and the way one should live it!

~ The Walk…~

My morning walk saga has changed a bit and that is due to an unaccustomed mate who has joined me. I don’t know him nor does he know me, as I have seen him since two days sitting in the muddy water, cooling himself of this humid climate. Just the other day our eyeball-to-eyeball contact led him to follow me rigorously as he was my obedient fellow pal. Surely, this act of his made others walking on the aisle a bit nervous and uncomfortable as the was after all a street dog!

As I also started to observe his gestures with adamant care, he had followed me in a unique way. Testing him was the only way I could have had a glimpse of his loyalty towards me. I steered away from my usual path and so did he, when I stopped, he stopped too wagging his tail quite often. I don’t know what past life connect we both might have, his expecting eyes were intriguing and just looking at him would make him happy, all I could guess was that he just wanted to be with me and I was too loving my just found company!

Suddenly, I stopped as it was time for my stretching exercises, he stopped too and to my amazement started to softly meow as if he wanted to walk more with me – his tail wagged non-stop. I immediately sensed his want and swiftly did my exercise with a motive to walk as the cannel so wanted – I realized that I had just formed a bond with him and wanted to keep that for long , so soon I started to look around for him as I walked, a clear sense of ‘sensitivity’ had dawned upon me, knowingly fully well that there were so many other street dogs in the part who could pose a real danger to my friend, citing so that he was frail and not that strong to defend himself of any eventuality.

Then the time came that I had to leave as time was pointing me to start my daily chores though internally, I was in no mood to say ‘adieu’ but the situation became so. I turned around and caressed him, he too obliged and sat on his haunches and incessantly wagged his tail showing his sweet nature and love for me. The whole gesture became a timeless moment and in that I gave him a name “Milo”.

He kind of loved his newfound name as when I started to walk he had sensed that it was end of today’s meeting as he could see the exit gate of the park. He stopped and when I turned back and voiced ‘Milo’ he came running towards me.

I had surely overrun the time for my daily walk but was in no repentance, the time I had spend with Milo was a memorable one, the Cynophile that I am, my love for dogs (especially street dogs) is no secret, almost every canine who lives in my vicinity knows me and wags his/her tail when they see me.

Now I wait for the sunset today when I will again be meeting my friend ‘Milo’ and would thus walk with him – thinking of even talking with him even if our languages are different but ‘Love’ being the bridge will fill the vacuum…

~ My Coconut Friend...~

 He has taken a vow to make people healthy and he is totally committed to this cause. ‘Dayanand’ as he is called with love amongst many of the early bird’s aka ‘Morning Walkers’ many of whom make it a point to have “narial pani” [Coconut Water] after their sweat chocked walk. 

He is dot on time and that is 6:00 a.m. and mostly is accompanied by his son who is a helping hand in his morning chores. After corona, people have risen to one reality of life and that is , “Health is Wealth!” – they have seen human deprivation and death as never before, helpless people who earnestly wanted a life were not given a chance to take the next breath! – All this becomes a glimpse reminder of the near past and this probably is the main cause of many people flocking our neighborhood park to be fit and remain healthy.

bnDayanand is adding to their resolve and bring with him a cart full of about 100 odd coconuts to be distributed on ‘discounted’ price. Some ask him to slice it so that they can have it there and then, many of the morning walkers make it a point to take them home. Just the other day, a gentleman proposed Dayanand if he can bring an icebox to keep some coconuts in it so that many of his customers can enjoy the coolness of the coconut drink.

Dayanand is a humble businessman and is not very strict about pricing his ‘product’ – he knows that many of his customers are his friends and he is in a thorough conversation with him – selling coconuts is just a time pass as he laughingly says sometimes 😊!

His son “Sagar’ was the main reason he switched to selling coconuts – earlier he was a vegetable seller for many years as he tells me. “ Mera beta bahu bimar ho gaya tha, doctor ne jawab de diya tha, nariyal peene se hi theek hua…[My son became seriously ill, he was put on liquid diet, coconut came out as a life saviour for him!] , ever since I have switched my product and started to sell coconut – I now know its therapeutic qualities and is generally good for health – As he spoke, I contemplated that the man who was not so much educated was a degree-less doctor who had taken upon himself to make people drink coconut water for he knew that is good for their health!

To many of his customers, he jokes “100 saal jiyoge agar mera nariyal pani peeyoge 😊!” [ 100 years you will live if you will drink my coconut water!], for sure he is a good marketeer, his laugh is contagious , though he himself is soaked in sweat as his work is purely manual, but he always has an alternative and that is his “Break time” wherein he slashes through on of his ‘Malaaidar Nariyal’ [Cream Coconut] and sips through its content, side by side conversing the benefits to his customers…

Thanks Gayanand for making us connect with the benefits of this drink, I have taken a complete U-turn of having my morning tea-cuppa with an aim to live 100 years as my morning friend vehemently so voices…!