After a tiring and dull day, I returned back to hostel and almost slept off. My mom called me and asked “what are you doing?” I sleepily replied “Ma I slept”. She said “Get up, go and have your ginger tea, if you sleep now you wouldn’t be able to sleep at night”. It was 7.30 pm in evening.
I got up and asked my roommate if she would accompany me to have to ginger tea? Usually someone from hostel would come along with me although they don’t like tea as I do. When no one would come, I jog or walk alone to go and have my evening tea, however late I come back from office.
I went and stood there and as ever gave him twenty rupees with the smile on my face as I knew Chaiwala bhaiya would ask for change. He looked up and smiled at me and managed to give me some change with few toffees. I was the only girl, with tall guys standing before me. Bhaiya got the tea cups in big tray, distributed to everyone, last four cups were left and they were all in glasses than plastic cups. I picked one looking at bhaiya, making a face, which a small child would make to the parents when they would deny her of her favorite chocolate or teddy bear.Chaiwala bhaiya quickly took the glass with tea from me, brought a plastic cup, put tea in that, handed me the plastic cup. I smiled and took the cup and sat at stairs nearby when my thoughts went to the kabuliwalla story I had studied as a child.
I wondered how many such people had come in my life. My thoughts went to shunty bhaiya’s shop, which was right next to my home, where he loved to see me and my sister fight to decide on which chips or chocolate we both were to buy that day. We were in 2nd stardard then.
The Chankya “Bikarnerwala” was 15 minutes away from our home where we used to go every alternate weekend regularly for almost 8 years and have our dinner or drive down late night just to eat a piece of Gulab Jamun there! Last year after I got transferred back from Chennai to Delhi , me, my sister and parents had been to Bikarnerwala and when the bhaiya allotted seat , asked me “aap log bohot saal baad aayen hain?”(Went there after 2 years), I smiled back at him and said “humne do saal dusre sheher me te bhaiya, ab laut aaye hain”.
There are some people who become integral parts of our life for some time, yet we don’t have any relation to them. I wondered what is it that drives me to walk all the way from my hostel to Disney Bakery just to have a ginger tea.
I don’t think it’s was the business customer relation management skills of the shopkeeper but the genuineness in the face of the tea shop owner that makes me feel go there every day. Yesterday after a tiring outing, I took my friends to have my favorite ginger tea. One of them who had come there said “chai me aisa kya khas laga, isse better meri biwi bana leti hai”, to which other friend who also goes there every day like me replied “yun samajh le yahan log waise aate hain , jaise roz Mandir maatha tekne jaate hain”. Although we all laughed for that minute, but I realized it was true.
I wondered I go there may be because chaiwala bhaiya could understand my choice in one small thing which was never told directly .We belong to a generation where children don’t understand the feeling of their parents, an era where a husband may not know what his wife likes and would hand over the menu to order the dishes what she would like to have. Thousands of young people come there and he remembers what they all like and he offers them what they like and not what he wants to sell. Well may be that’s the hidden marketing strategy, but that just can’t make everyone run to the tea shop every day.
Well I am not the only one, but hundreds of migrants from north go there. May to feel at home with people from their own place, to get the empathy feeling is why we all go there every day. But then why only to Disney Bakery? Why can’t we go to some other sweet shop or any other shop for that matter!
And last but not the least, people from north call everyone “Bhaiya” and “Didi”, by default getting into a relationship with whosoever they talk to. Recently I and a friend were searching way in mobile navigator standing at NO PARKING. Friend had commented “I like the way you call everyone ‘Bhaiya’ even if you have to ask direction”. I snapped back “huh! What do you call then?” He said “boss! Excuse me! Hello! Or just ask them what you want to ask them”. We saw a traffic police coming towards us to shout for standing at NO PARKING when I sweetly asked “Bhaiya where is this place?” he politely showed the direction and we escaped paying the fine!:-)
I had forgotten the kabuliwalla story and googled it right then to read the story. After reading the story, I wondered what is the real life story of the Chaiwala Bhaiya!We never come to know about them!
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