Chotu!!

So many people come and go in our lives! only a few leave a mark behind! those people are not necessarily high profile business men,scientists,superstars, they need not be very intimate,work together or have many things in common!They can be as ordinary a person as chotu!

Lemme tell you who this Chotu is :

He was the assistant chef(I dont find a more appropriate designation) in our guest house at Hyderabad!Aged between 16-20 years,medium built.I wish I had a snap of him,what I can remember is his confused face and the green T-shirt which he used to wear most of the times.He would welcome me with a wide grin after I used to return from 8-10 days of b'lore visit!

I saw him for almost more than 3 months! his activities would be like this :

1.Assist in chopping vegetables etc(I doubt he did that, there were 2 others for this)

2.serve breakfast and dinner to everybody who come there.It would take 5-6 foot steps from kitchen to the dining table.

3.Serve tea

4.clean the table and dump utensils in the wash basin.(Another maid will come to clean that)

5.Visit all rooms with cleaners,change bed-spreads once in a week.(I'm sure he'd not change for months together in other rooms where people are not there wen they come for cleaning).

What he would get :

1.I am not sure abt how much he was paid.

2. 3 times meals a day

3.Comfortable place to live

4.Color TV - he could watch it rest of the time

One fine day, Chotu went missing along with another boy!The supervisor there said they have gone back to Orissa to celebrate some festival and would come back.

But there were lots of suspicion as they had took that months salary and all of a sudden went in the afternoon!

I really missed his presence for a long time! one day I was surprised to know how much everybody missed him too!!when we sat for dinner,began the discussion :

Everybody went on telling their unique experiences with him, how he used to react, how angry he used to get to serve extra roti!! how he used to look with corner of his eyes, how differently he used to behave with different guests!( Yes, he used to be nice to those who treat him with respect, others who used to order harshly used to get a stint of ignorance!),how he used to fight with supervisor!

days passed,week after week, and months rolled, Chotu never came back! he'll never again !

Sitting alone this sunday evening, I remember him! God knows why....I was then thinking about 2 points :

1.Why he would have fled : The first thing that come across is may be he was paid less! a little hike in his salary would have made him stay. Each one of us irrespective of our jobs feel that we are paid less and always expect a hike right :)

2.Was his life really comfortable : Sometimes I think, man! so easy and comfortable his job was.....no pressure, no tension, no competition, no deadlines! Once in a while I wish I had that kind of job :D with salary, food, accomodation, entertainment, what else u need....

But later, definitely I would not be happy and satisfied with that....

Now more thoughts come....

Did he feel disappointed to do this kind of job, where people a couple of years older to him used to come there, live with all comforts, earn a fortune!

Did he realize he didn't have a bright future with that job

Did he realize the importance of education

Did he want to explore something better for his life

If the answer is Yes, I am extremely happy for him.

So many youth, due to lack of awareness, poverty, and helplessness end up with mediocore jobs and can never go beyond it :(

Such a simple character, yet so many times has been the point of discussion between me and my husband!!

I dont think we'll ever again meet him,but again who knows!world is a small place....wherever he is, I wish hes doing something better and is more happier than he was here.

All the best Chotu!!

A craft mela ??- not just

I always get excited when there is a art-craft mela somewhere! One such exhibition that was so amazing and beyond all expectations was the shilparamam mela.

This time we entered it to come out in the next 20-30 mins.Came out too....but with the decision to visit again the coming weekend, morning at 10.00 AM so that we get ample time to look at everything there!

It was hard to believe that what we are seeing are clay and mud works!!

It was 3 PM when we returned home.

Bye Bye 2010

Time to say goodbye to 2010

2010 has been a one big year in my life I would never ever forget.A great year in which I have accomplished "big" things,uncovered soo many realities,come to know so many peoples' true colors ,rediscovered what is "work" "life" and realised again how beautiful the world is!

Year started with a vacation,car,house,jewel,promotion etc etc followed.Change in lifestyle, adapting to new place brought excitement.Many false expectations were flushed out,could understand my weak points,felt happy abt my confidence,dare.Determination and motivation(is it really?? yes I think so,more on tht sometime later) have come in for a new task

So many learnings,bad thing - I couldnt make a note of everything then and there;however nothing can be forgotten !

With so many agendas, looking for a still bigger year!

Welcome 2011

Weak in courage is Strong in cunning!

How true! Saw this line on my friends chat window custom message,and it paused me for few seconds but mind was running asking isnt it right.Of course,it is.With experiences I say,those who fear to accept truths,face what is right,and feel guilty,will over react to everything.They fear to hear anything,listen to what some1 is saying because they might be put in fix.Instead they shout,scream and just dont allow the other person to speak.In the background will be running all these wars and to overcome that,they become cunning.Speak nuisance,do non sense all with disturbed state of mind caused by themselves.With anything and everything there will be a selfish agenda,their inabilities,dissatisfactions come out in various colors :)

People,why fear to say what is right.Why fear to say,you are wrong.Take courage,with clarity in thought commuicate what is your problem.Rather dont do stupid actions and screw your lives!

Narrow escape!

It so happened,after moving to B'lore for my work,riding my 2 wheeler was once in 3 months or so!that too that weekend,if we planned to go out,and I decided to ride than sit and watch!

Without my knowledge,I would raise the accelerator,only to realise I was exceeding my limits and Mysore road speed limits,only when my sister used to shout at me.This was all because,I was accustomed to b'lore traffic and used to move by sq.cms and at Mysore,I felt the roads were almost empty!!

It was one such day,me and my sister were out and I was riding.I told her,there is something wrong,literally there is no other vehicle on this road....IS THIS ONE-WAY

She confidently said,"noooo....I saw no such board....I did look for them"

ok,happily I moved,only to be stopped by a cop at a cross...."banni madam ee kade"

I with full confidence,"I have DL,Insurance done,Emmission test done,and I am wearing helmet,and tried giving all of them to him"

He,"adella beda madam,one way nal bartidira!"

Me,"IS it one way,there is no board"

He,"Ofcourse its there,and moves the branches of the tree to a side"

Shit,he was standing there to hide it and catch people!

I,"Oh sorry,I didnt notice that,as I was new to this city"

He,"From where do u come"

Me,"Bangalore"

He,"Ok pay 100-00 and go"

I to myself - "No luck....100-00 is not mine from now"!

He,"This fine is valid for this whole day

I,"so it means I can go in all wrong directions today??"

He,":D"

I,":X"

Next,it was another day,I was riding with my husband,explaining all roads,buildings,parks to him as we moved.

I suddenly halted at a signal,noticing its red!

A policeman started signalling me to come to his side.

This time,ok I didnt violate the signal,I did stop,may be a 2-3 footsteps ahead than where I should have been.

I was confused.

My husband got down.

He again asked to getdown and bring vehicle to side.

I signalled my husband to join me.He was laughing!

I tried to explain the cop,I saw the signal a bit late,and then suddenly slowed down.

He laughed,"Still u dont realise why I have stopped u"

I really didnt.

He helped,"This is one way madam"

howcome!!!!!!!!

Same story again,

I,"Oh sorry,I didnt notice that,as I was new to this city"

He,"From where do u come"

Me,"Bangalore"

He,"Number plate says,its registered here!"

I,"haan its not my vehicle,my sisters"

He,"U have DL"

I,"ya ya I have,abt to show him"

He stops and laugh"Its ok,but dont repeat this.I am leaving as you said u r new to city,turns to my husband,"I would not have left if he was riding,now turn and go!"

We started backwards,now we laughing,"If at all I had to pay the fine,its 100-00....if my husband was the rider,it'd have been definitely 500-00.He didnt even have the DL!!"

Next,where is the board here that reads its a one way.We stopped and looked for it....finally to find it again behind a tree!The tree protects it u know!!