Tuesday, January 19, 2010

the tale of two personalities!

one, my chai wala and second, my tiffin wala.
……btw I don't drink tea. Yet if my chaiwala has found himself a place in my blog, then there has to be something about his ‘aura’... He's about 18 (just a vague guess…..) and has a rather misgiving look. He strays into your room (ref to workplace and not the room where I stay) with a tray of chai cups, without even making his presence feel, looks at you (if you interact with him by any chance) with great sorrow in his eyes and come what may ever, doesn’t get you coffee...... there's a reason behind writing the 3rd part of the sentence (and that's exactly the essence of my story)....let me elaborate.
He regularly brings tea to my office and since I don't drink tea, a few of my colleagues asked him to get coffee. Now this request for coffee has been going on since the last 4 days (btw, they make coffee in his tapri...we've confirmed that) but all goes in vain.
This is how the conversation went, about 4days back (and this conversation will explain his personality in detail):
11.00am
One of us (OOU): coffee banta hai na dukaan me?
He: ho
OOU: to leke aoge?
He: nod
OOU: ok, to shaam ko le .....by the time we finish this sentence he's gone.
04.00pm
OOU: coffee?
He: ho
OOU: ho? nahi laye?
He just looks up at you with a very pitiful and expressionless face. His small, watery eyes has such a pathetic kind of an expression, that you regret asking him for coffee. Just to cheer youself after looking at his intense expressions, you smile at him (when he serves tea to others and asks me everyday whether or not I want tea....asks means 'expresses' ). Every time you smile, his expressions in return shout, ‘save me. Mai gharelu hinsa ka shikaar hu.’ Trust me I’ve confirmed ‘stuffs’ and all iz well at his tapri…..bt ya, that’s the guy I meet at work: a guy who doesn't get you coffee and who just doesn't talk.

Now comes my tiffin boy…dinner time ka dabba waala....THE DABBA WALA. He must be of the same age as the chaiwala(maybe less) but that’s the only common string between them (other than the fact that both are world's biggest screwed up elements). This dabbawala has a very high pitched voice and speaks with a nasal twang.
DINNER TIME (which does not happen until the clock strikes 10.30, whatever you do….how much ever you shout at them)
There’s a knock at the door and I go to open it. The moment I’ve opened it and taken the dabba from his hand, you realize he’s staring at your face and smiling (why?????).... He takes support of my wall (his body is out but his hands are on the inside walls of my room) and starts oscillating to and fro.
I say: thankyou bhaiyya
He shouts: dhanyawaad aapko bhi aur walcome (and continues standing and staring)
Finally I have to close the door on his face and when the door is just 3inches from completely closing, I can still see him standing there....WHY?

This "knock-hand over tiffin- oscillate-dhanyawaad aur walcome- shut the door on face" routine has been happening since the last many months. Everytime I get the feeling that he wants to say something, I ask him, ‘kya?’
He shouts: kuch nahi….
and then continues standing….so again the only resort left is to close the door on his face.
But a few nights back, the routine changed a bit and he opened his mouth, a few moments before I was going to push the door close.
He shouted: Aap patrakar hai?
I said: Huh?
(and all that time he continues staring, smiling and oscilating....why????)
He shouted: Aaj ki khabar kya hai?
I said: (loudly) pata nahi and (in my mind) WTF….

The night after that my friend came to stay overnight......Again the clock struck 10.20 and he came.....
After staring, smiling and oscilating, he said: Kya kar rahe ho aap (stares…..)
I said: Kyu?
ACT: DOOR SHUT WITH SUCH A SPEED THAT THE TREMORS WERE FELT BY MY WHOLE BUILDING!
I asked God, my friend and myself: WHY???

minimize. TC.......

5 comments:

  1. haha....personalities???? wat an overstatement...

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  2. ahahahahahhaa....dis is some real thing i wud say....

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  3. love ur style of writing girl.... meri social work wali aatma jaag uthi!!!

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  4. the story of the tiffin wala..too filmy re :P

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  5. hey likd ur post....good job...ur interesting

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