The Generous Indica Man

This one is again coming from the roads of the maxim city. I really don't know why Mumbai got this name "Maxim City". May be because here everything can be found in excess. Maximum number of poor people, maximum number of rich people or for that matter of fact maximum number of people any city can accommodate.
Anyways, this story is not about how Mumbai got its new swanky name but about a generous man I found on the roads of this city. That day, I left home at around 10 am for office. It hardly takes half an hour to reach my office as there so many buses, shared taxis available to commute. There are also many drivers driving luxury cars of their owners who offer a lift for a minimum charge of Rs 20. So, its pretty common for commoners in Mumbai to have experienced the interiors of Toyotas, Fords, Hyundais and if you get luckier, you might find yourself in the back seat of a Merc or BMW.
So, I got a lift in a Corolla and reached almost halfway to my office. I stepped out of the comforts of this luxury car and found myself standing in the scorching heat of the early days of May.
As a routine, I started looking out another share taxi or auto or bus. Suddenly an Indica stopped dangerously close to my feet and the driver asked me to jump in. Now, the driver here was neither a well dressed chauffeur, nor a Bihari bhaiya who usually have their entire life written all over their face.
He was a 70 year old man dressed in a white Kurta-Paijama and had a long beard. Donning a cap which Muslims wear, his appearance was of a religious God-fearing man. As soon as I took my seat, he started demonstrating his exceptional driving skills. He was exceptionally fast for his age and he was no where close to being rash and dangerous.
It took him hardly 10 minutes to reach my office and as soon as I gave the money to him. He politely refused it by joining both the hands and asked me to open the door cautiously as its a busy road. Now, 20 rupees is not an amount that will make him any richer or make me any poorer. However, it's the reaction that came out when he was offered money which was very real and hard to find in these times where people are ready to slit each other's throat for almost anything
I didn't knew what to say. Since 6 months. I am traveling in these shared taxis and chauffeur driven luxury cars but I never encountered any such man who offered me a seat just out of generosity. I am sure there is no chance I would meet this Mauli Sahab looking like driver again. However, the generosity that he had in his heart for the strangers will stay with me forever.

A mile wide smile

It was yet another hot & humid day in the month of April and Mumbai was living up to its reputation of torturing and draining out the last drop of water from your system. After a hectic yet fun-filled weekend, I had to catch a bus to reach to my house. Sunday was about to come to and end and Monday blues were getting even bluer by each passing second.
Lazily, I picked my stuff from a friend's place and reach the bus stop. By now, you could imagine that there was nothing exciting about the proceedings. After standing for about 15 minutes, a bus came and to my surprise there was no rush in it. I hopped on to it and as a custom, chose a window seat so as to make myself feel a little better. In Mumbai weather, water and wind does help and makes you feel strong enough to bear the painstakingly slow traffic. Today, was however different, no traffic jams and no rush in the bus made me feel a zillion times better. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard the ticket collector's voice, Ticket Ticket. I gave him the money and got my ticket. Out of routine, I took a look at the ticket collector's face and saw an unusual smile on his face.
Sporting a smart cap and a genuine smile on his face, he was asking each and every passenger for buying tickets. He was also shouldering an additional responsibility of helping people with the directions of their destinations. Even when the bus got crowded and there was very little space to move around, this guy with his cap still on his head, felt at ease and never frowned on anyone.
His smile as genuine as a copy book cover drive out of Dravid's willow was good enough to force many a people to smile back at him.
In hard times when there are so many reason to frown over, this simple guy with a not-so-dream-about kind of job is teaching the people, how to smile. A very basic trait of human kind which is so vital in today's time is to smile but we never do this or deliberately chose things which makes us feel sad.
Hats off to you, Err, Caps off to you, Mr. Smiling Ticket Collector!!

Urgent: Indian System needs some fresh blood

Shall I? She shouted at the top of her voice, Shall I? The audience echoed the answer she so deeply wanted to listen, YES, YES and even more resounding YES!! She smiled and left the stage. No one can miss the resemblance of her ancestors that provides a grace to her otherwise Non-Indian face. She walks with elegance and keeps herself gracefully away from engaging in any childish games that her younger brother so eagerly gets involved in.

However, this is all I or a common voter in Indian knows about Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Bored with same false-promises and media frenzy to jump to conclusions, I changed the channel. It was a co-incidence that the other news channel was not engaged in the same coverage and a young journalist was interviewing the probable future PM of Pakistan, Imran Khan.

In his talks and Ideas, he sounded a friendly gesture that he would extend towards India if he is catapulted  to the top. Nothing new, I have heard Nawaz Shariff, Lady Bhutto, and even Mr. Musharraf echoing the same thoughts whenever they crossed the fence and indulged in enjoying the Indian hospitality. However, one thing that was strikingly different was his response when he was questioned about Kashmir.
What he pointed out was that no military can ever solve Kashmir issue. Again nothing new, we have heard this Love-Hate, Peace-War rhyme a zillion times. However, he said that when I say that this issue should be solved on table, we require strong leaders from both the sides. Leaders who can take big decisions, leaders who can face the criticism of the non-conformists, leaders who can gather the support of the masses and can own their mistakes. Very true, I cannot see, minister like Manmohan Singhs, Rahul Gandhis, Sharad Pawars, Mayawatis, Jayalalithas, Mamta Banerjis ever taking any such bold step and back themselves when faced with opposition.
I know that we don't need any Imran Khans or Shoaib Akhtars to teach us how to solve Kashmir. However, what we won't do ourselves any harm by electing strong leaders. People such as Digvijay Singh, Sharad Pawar, Shibu Soren, Mamta Banerjee should give way to Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia and even Pranab Mukherjee (as his slate is still unblemished).
I am too naive to understand the politics which is governed by so many factors such as Castes, Creeds, Reservation, unemployment, Inflation blah blah blah and a further blah blah blah. However, our system desperately needs some fresh blood.

Happy Birthday Magician!!

Magic, yes magic is the word and that's what we created whenever we joined our hands. Time used to fly past like a seagull and we used to sail sommothly over the ever-rising high tides. Worse things used to appear less annoying and good things used to masquarade as best things. The day has come again when 31 years ago, the magician with his magic wand was born in a dusty little town of India.
I remember him asking me once,
Magician: Hey Sid, what's your date of birth?
I (As reserved and reluctant as ever): Why are you asking that?
Magician (Grinning as if he has seen the future): First, Tell me
I:  17th Jan, now tell me, why are you asking that?
Magician: Oh wow, see I knew yours would be closer to mine, i.e. 12th Jan
Magician (Again):  Capricornians share this unique chemistry. I hope we will have great times together too
I: Happy to find a fellow capricornian in one of the worst phases of life. However, great times? you got to be kidding. We are about to sink and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Forget light, there is not even a tunnel here. Doldrumsm yes we are in the doldrums, happily sinking and going nowhere.
Magician: May be this is your first day in hell. Don't worry, I will make sure, you have your share of fun.
 
Little I knew that he will really stick to his words. That worst phase really passed away and without my knowledge, he had built a special bond with me and then we departed for a long long time. Magic spell that he created was broken. Things again started to look a little less rosy.
 
Two years later, I called the Magician.
I: Dear Magician, how are you and what are you doing?
Magician: I am no more a magician, a witch came and ran away with my magical wand. I am nothing but a cipher.
I: No, it cannot happen. Your magic wand is still safe with me. I thought, you had mutilple wands and thats why I kept one with me. Of course, I lied. I had no magic wands with me.
Magician (Almost crying): No dear, I have just one such wand and I am nothing without it.
I: Ok, can you come and collect it from me. However, you need to fly with me to a place where that wand is kept.
Magician: Sure, I can go to any part of the world to get my beloved wand back.
I: Ok then let's fly to London and you better start creating some new magic spells as your old ones are stinking.
Magician, You bet, I will and he laughed a hearty laugh
 
We lived two years like a magical spell which was so real yet its reality seems to be stranger than fiction. Then, one day, I decided to mve away and break that magical spell. Magician was feeling the pain and so was I. However, we never spoke that pain. Later, we briefly joined hands to re-create that magic again but it never clicked again. And then the magician realized that the magic wand that he possess is not a real one and he was devastated by this loss. Broken to the core, he decided to move to an altogether new place. He never spoke of it to anyone. Magical spelss were breathing their last breaths. He just broke all the shackles, threw away the dummy magical wand that I gave him and tried to shout my name but his voice echoed and there was no response from anyone.
He took a look around and saw everyone happily involved in their own little magical worlds that he once built as easily as snapping a finger. He bid his last adieu to very and departed forever.
Every 12th January after that unfateful day will never be same again. Wish you a very happy birthday!! Love you my magician!!

Anticipation, Tiring yet Tempting

There is something very innate in the heart of every human being that it keeps on anticipating the good things that the future promises to hold for us.
Showing a dumb and blank face to the teachings of our holy book GITA, we keep on anticipating. No matter, what the end result turns out to be, anticipation keeps us on our toes. Even when the odds are against us, its just that tiny little ray of hope that makes us to do all that we can possibly do to turn the tide in our favour.
We sulk, we crib, we even go on to the extent of passing a judgement that this whole world is so damn unfair. However, somewhere in the darkest corner of our persona, there is always a hidden hope. Over the ages, several adages have been coined to keep the act of anticipation alive. "Every dog has its own day", "Light at the end of the tunnel", "Were it not for hope the heart would break" and several others reflect the conscious effort of the entire mankind to keep the hope or the behavior of anticipation alive with in us.
I agree that sometimes, we fail and repent the day we started to anticipate that particular thing. However, wouldn't we all be Saints of Himalayas if we eschew all the worldly pleasures including hope and live as if nothing could make or break us.  Imagine if two saints who live in the neighbourhood are having a chat.
Saint1: How are you Saint2?
Saint2: Oh, I am extremely happy, I was just looking after my kid while my wife was doing daily chores and my kid just ironed my dog, so he is not well, no no he actually died and my wife has beaten me up for being so careless. And, Saint2 has all the joy of the world on his face while saying this.
So, to maintain the order of the world, let's not try to be saints, let's try to be humans and let's keep anticipating.