The central pipe of the umbrella refused to remain intact in its folded form. Yesterday evening, my brother and I decided to take it to task along with other works and hence were trying to locate a man who repairs umbrellas. Upon enquiry, we reached the place. Wowie…. I was dazed to see the open air professional repair shop under a tree with the background of license number plate and a big portrait of a god mending chappals.
The expert man checked the umbrella and told my brother that the pipe needed to be changed. My brother agreed too for a labour cost of Rs.35/-. Immediately, the man gave Rs.100/- to someone to buy pipes since he was running short of them. And he got 4 pipes and some change in return in a few minutes. Upon arrival of the pipes, the professional started working on our umbrella. In a minute, he turned our umbrella into a featherless bird and started working on it quickly fitting the pipe, springs, strings, rods etc one by one.
In the meantime, a clean and freshly bathed woman of middle age (must be his wife) came with boxes of food, sat on a stool nearby and started stitching the edges of an umbrella silently.
There were regular stream of visitors for umbrella repair and also to make calls on the four local telephones that were kept in front of him. His hands were working deftly raising his head only occasionally between umbrellas and telephones and also to answer to enquiries about bus stops in between. I was absolutely fascinated by his professional approach and multi-tasking capabilities.
Yes, India really rocks…..... This spirit of India which we can see in every nook and corner so casually is what I am thrilled about and proud of.
I wish some day we would find at least a week to stay in a rural village of Tamil Nadu during Pongal and enjoy the festival in its natural ambience, homely treatment and local delicacies (of course it must strictly be lacto-vegetarian food for all meals throughout the week). Not to mention actively involving in their non-stop candid talks and long walks along the river/lake side.
But we need a host on the first hand with our requirements fulfilled mentioned above. :D
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Talking of India and her talented children, I was deeply moved by a performance of one Sunil in “India’s Got Talent” show being aired in Colors between 9 & 10 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. You may ask why he deserves this applause in this space when there are so many talented artistes from small villages, towns & cities who have moved on to the next level (about the judges, some other time I shall write if I feel so).
This young (barely educated) man became deaf and dumb by accident in his childhood. He has no connection to sounds at all in his life. But he dons the make-up of a woman and does Lavni as dancing is his passion, breath and breadwinner. And he dances and emotes without hearing the background music or beat with great perfection and timing.
How does he do? He has a very dedicated guru who is teaching him steps with 1, 2, 3, 4 counting. The teacher sends the student at the right beat on stage and with just 1, 2, 3, 4 counting, Sunil performs a full length dance sequence for one full song with right emotions on face. From his performance, you cannot believe that he is deaf and dumb nor is he a man. He is a true talent indeed and I rate him the highest score!
The teacher identified the passion of the poor student towards dancing and with great difficulty has taught him voluntarily sparing his time and efforts. No words can explain the dedication of the teacher and the ever fixed smile of the student. I value this ‘success’ & ‘achievement’ more than corporate balance sheets or any show business successes.
Without the teacher, dancing would have remained just a dream for the student. Without this student, the teacher would not have tried something so challenging in his life. This is called strength, determination and will power.
My salutations to both the teacher and the taught for their perfect understanding, respect, faith, patience and love towards each other.
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You can imagine the inflow and outflow of people near a local station in the evening hours. Unmindful of who is watching and who is not, I ate fresh hot ‘vada pav’ yesterday evening standing on the road. I must say that both the enjoyer (me) and the enjoyed (vada pav) were very faithful to each other, as I relished the roadside delicacy after one year. :D
And the enjoyment that I got for just Rs.8/- ....... awwww… heavenly. I don’t have any other word to describe more. :)
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4 comments:
Dear Padmaja
Wonderful! The trivial issues have been written so experientially and enthusiastically by you.
It is nature's bounty to compensate for the temporary handicap. I have missed to watch it.
I am glad that you enjoyed your vada pav. Next time haveone for me too. :)
Trivial issues and simple joys make one's life interesting, isn't it?
Thanks for enjoying this write-up.
I enjoyed the 'Vada pav' portion, whereas I haven't tasted the Vada pav. I think rather than the taste of Vada pav, the childhood days memories and nativity brings the joyful feeling. Somehow I was thinking about the "Pathaneer" (water taken out from Palm tree) in the afternoon. Even thinking about the peculiar combined smell of "Pathaneer" poured into the instantly made bowel of Palm leaf brought a special feeling.
I cannot think of 'India Rocking' as I cannot think of isolating my body parts from my whole body.
:)
Simple joys of life ... :)
I had stopped watching these talent hunt shows for all the drama involved. But will try to look up youtube for Sunil's performance! Must have been astounding! Goes to show how much can be achieved despite our handicaps. And often, for those who are blessed with better health, their biggest handicap is that they have none in the physical sense!!!
Lots of love,
Anitha
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