My new best friend!

After a tiring fifteen minute run around the colony, I decided to take a much-needed rest by getting myself seated at the public park. My doctor had advised me that I should not in any circumstances be running for more than fifteen minutes - and for the first time in my life, I took his advice seriously. With headphones on both ears I listened to music at the loudest possible volume my iPod could provide me.

The park, though not huge in size, was packed with people from all walks of life. Some came to fall in love and some to revive their long lost love. Some came to kill off the usual boring evenings while some came for leisure.

I ordered a chai (tea) from a chai-wala who strolled around the park probably the whole day with his worn out cycle, dressed in khakee-coloured shabby clothes. A cylindrical shape steel jar was attached to the back seat of his cycle and that was where his chai was. A medium sized polythene bag filled with plastic cups and local baked biscuits or cakes were tied to the handle. He poured me a cup of his chai with a happy smile.

"Didi." (elder sister)

That was how he addressed me. I told him to take rest as judging from the sweat he produced, had it been me I would have been already lying on a bed of some famous hospital around. He rejected flatly and prepared to leave. So I offered him extra twenty rupees to follow my request for taking his much-needed rest. He gave me a faint smile. I added another ten rupees and we settled for that amount. He parked his cycle and sat down on the grasses telling me the grasses were much cooler than the iron seats where I was seated. I watched him as he took out his loin cloth and wiped his face. He was feeling relaxed. At last.

"Uncle, how old are you?" I asked him.

"Fifty-six years old now."

"But then why "didi" earlier?"

"Oh. Beta, I am used to it. I have been in the profession for the past 40 years. I hope it doesn't offend you."

"No...not at all,"  I assured him with a big smile.

I gave him a bottle of mineral water and made him drink by all means because he needed it and that gesture broke the ice. He became more comfortable with me and it was nice. I had a new friend. A fifty-six year old chai-wala. First, he asked me if I were
from Nagaland. I told him how I was transported around the Northeast while growing up and he had a good laugh listening to my story with my super pathetic Hindi with 'eimi' accent. It was like two Korean people going out on their first date as seen in some of the popular Korean dramas though my version was a little different from theirs. There was no 'proprietor' of a multi-million company and a cute looking girl. Mine had two people of which one was a man who sold tea to make a living and a jobless good-for-nothing, super-clumsy penniless girl. It was his field of work that had made him very strong, both physically and mentally. He showed me his right foot 
which has a scar from the toenail right up to his knees. His story of the scar was indeed extraordinarily painful being fully convinced that it was a fact. Here was the story:

Eleven years back his only child, a son, who was 24 years of age at that time had graduated from one of the most prestigious college in town in English honours. He was a proud father and his wife, a proud mother. They did walk around their neighbourhood in their free times breaking the news to jealous neighbours and strangers. That, to me, sounded incredulous because I had never heard either of my parents talking about me and my sibling's little achievements to anyone known or unknown to us. They were never happy with our grades and achievements though how big or small it might be. All we got to hear instead was that we can do better than this and that child. But this man, this particular man was more than happy that his son actually graduated and that he had no clue what percentage his son scored. It reminded me of my exam days when I intentionally flunked my exams so as to show my parents that I was not capable of achieving what they wanted me to. I remember telling them that when I finish my graduation I will open a 'Paan' stall near our house and yes it gave them good nightmares. But this man's son made him proud by giving his best, fighting against all odds, despite his unstable financial background. After his graduation came the horror. He applied for all available government jobs in town for five consecutive years with no luck. According to his father, he studied at least six hours a day on top of serving as an English teacher in a local school which paid him a sum of 2000 rupees per month. In the year 2011, a rich neighbour approached them to send their son to coach his two sons three hours a day, six days a week offering them a sum of 12,000 rupees per month as his tuition fee. It was a blessing in disguise for them, he thought. They persuaded their son to quit his job at the school and coach the two rich kids instead. After the completion of one month, his family eagerly anticipated their son to bring home the money. He was expecting a new dress for the diwali and so was his wife. There was no news of money. One week passed but still no money so he finally he decided to go and hear what the employer has to say.

"I will pay together for two months next month" was the answer.

So despite facing all sorts of financial problems, they kept on eagerly awaiting for the huge sum of money to arrive.

"That time I was expecting a new cycle you know."

I could see tears in his eyes. He then continued.

"After the end of the second month, there was still no money. So, my wife and I stopped sending our son for the coaching. The next day our super busy neighbour appeared at our door with such an angry face. He demanded to know why our son had stopped coming. I told him that it was because of the dues and all the financial problems we were facing. Our neighbour said, 'Okay fine,  I will not pay the money as you stopped sending your son. I will get myself a new tutor this very evening.'"

"He then stormed out of the house, got into his car and sped away before I could say or do something about it. The next day after returning home from work I went to his place but I wasn't even allowed to go through the gate. This continued for about a week until one evening I decided to wait for him outside his house. I saw him driving his car and coming home. I stood in the middle of the road blocking his way telling him to come out of the car but instead, he geared up and drove straight toward me. I thought I moved towards the pavement but I wasn't quick enough. The iron rods from the under-constructed building nearby managed to get into my feet straight from my toe up to my knee. I was bleeding profusely and crying in pain but none came forward to help. I had somehow managed to crawl to my house and then my wife and son got me admitted to a hospital. I was told that I need to be hospitalised at least for a month but I left as soon as the surgery was over because we didn't have the money to pay the bills. Sadly we failed to convince the police and so we didn't get our money back."

"And the hospital fees?" I enquired.

"My wife's family were kind enough to lend us money for the surgery and the medications. Thank god we had managed to clear all our dues last year."

He gave me a big smile.

"And your son?"

"Ah, my son. Poor boy! The school where he had worked earlier refused to take him back, thanks to our neighbour who had a good connection with the principal of the school."

"So? Where is he now?"

"He gave up his dreams of a government job and now he is working as a private teacher in two schools earning 12,000 rupees combined. He's doing well...married and blessed with two sons. My grandchildren are like you. All the time curious about everything," he laughed.

"All the time! Thank you beta for a good time. It's getting late and I have to rush home. My two little monkeys will be happy to hear about you. I am telling them about you tonight."

"Yeah, sure. Thank you, uncle. What is your name by the way?"

"Amitabh."

I watched my new best friend Amitabh leave,  driving his cycle with his disfigured foot yet a heart so big - and left this super curious girl with a million questions on her head. I took out my phone. The screen showed '14 missed calls from mom!' I was literally flying home. Everyone with a mom like mine knew what that means.