Right, so I am back after a good long break.
Have moved to a new city, the capital of India and the life here is crowded!
This happened to be my first move out of my parent’s house and thus needed a lot of adjusting to do.
Putting up with my relatives, it has been a month of working now.
I am in an industry which has extreme working hours (which of them doesn’t these days?)
and with four hours of commute I am left with only some 5 hours of sleep.
Anyway, what prompted me write this time was a stranger… again!
Day in and day out, hectic running, at times, leaves me with no clue of time or date.
New work place and a complete shift of location also occasionally make me a misfit.
So one of these days when I was really trying hard to go back home early (a failed attempt), one of the guards at our compound gates made it all worth it.
This happened two days back, 11 at night, I was rushing out and quickly demanded the ‘out’ register to sign and get my ass out. What added to my impatience was the fact that the group of guards were too relaxed to be proactively responsive. And yes they did take their own good lot of time. But no I didn’t mind. Why?
That is because one of them asked me to have tea.
WEIRD.. I thought .. tea from a stranger, no thank you ! And so I said. However somewhere it did make me happy. Trying to look every bit the no-nonsense type, I took the register and signed, thinking of dashing out of the situation. As I was handing over the register, one guard extended a disposable cup of tea towards me and said “Madam chai peelo” (Mam Please have some Tea) . How was I supposed to say no to that I still do not know. So I took it and tried my best to look grateful with a smile, even though I am no tea fan.
As I thanked him and turned around to leave, he inserted a line “peeelo peelo ab kahan milegi is samay” (Just have it… where will you get one at this time in the night) that is when it hit me that he had offered me his cup of tea! He had actually given the one he had poured for himself to a total stranger, all so impromptu. All this in a matter of ten seconds!
And I fell more in love with the common man, the caring, sensitive, trust worthy, limited in means and unlimited in gestures, human.
On my way back I must have finished it off in five or six sips, yes I was hungry at that hour and somehow it did taste really sweet 🙂
