“Awesome treat, dude. Only he can
offer such a thing. It cost more than I expected, yet I enjoyed” – My friend
hadn’t then come out of the Havell Effect of eating at Pizza Hut. That
had been the birth day of one of my schoolmates. I was angry for two reasons:
First, he hadn’t called me for a treat. And, the second; two people have
emptied 1200 bucks altogether in a rash fashion. But there was consolation for
me as I learnt both of them had to pay for it since there was not enough dosh
in the birthday baby’s card.
I mulled on it. 1200!!! 10 movies
could be watched convincingly with a first – class ticket in multiplex
theatres. For people like me, who are content even with second class, it was
worth 24 movies; About 25 hours of entertainment had been spoiled to the
fullest extent. My whole class could have comforted their stomachs with that
amount, had that treat taken place in our college canteen (CEG rockzz!!
:P). Two idiots, that’s right, no mercy for even friends, two idiots
had burped 1200 rupees, for which they had travelled from Cuddalore to
Puducherry (about 25 kilometer span) by bus in this red hot climate.
Now, let me list what all amounted
to waste after that: Four hours of valuable time (worth sleeping.. What?
What else do you do in such weather conditions?), 1200 bucks + bus tickets
and finally health (P.S: The non – birthday guy was already suffering from
digestion problems). This sent my mind back to schooldays and those so – called
‘birthday bashes’ (Can somebody tell me by what name this disease is called?
I am taken back often to the past when I start worrying about something. Maybe,
Cheran has affected me so much through ‘AUTOGRAPH’).
During 11th and 12th
standard, we were always packed up with a tight schedule for each and every
day. Morning tuitions, followed by special classes (they even termed this
extra hours in school as ‘intensive coaching classes’), regular classes,
and finally evening tuitions. They would take about 14 hours in a day. When we
finally get home tired and exhausted, dinner would be ready. A quick bath and
dress change, over to the dinner table. No talking, no watching TV. Maximum time
allotted for dinner was about 15 minutes, with a grace period of 5 more
minutes. Then, we had to revise for the tests to be conducted on the next day.
Imagine a man who had to travel for about 10 kilometers (5+5; to and fro, nah?)
in bicycle and then experience 14 hours of ‘enlightenment’. Even Sachin
Tendulkar’s ‘Tennis Elbow’ problem seems negligible now, right?
So, this was the situation. As
sleeping hours could not be reduced at any cost (Already, there were only 5
to 6 hours per day for sleeping), we had no other option but to bunk either
special classes in the evening or tuitions during birthday parties. Our parties
were grand, yet simple. We would always go to some pani puri shops. Especially,
those mobile Kaiyendhi Bhavans near the Cuddalore Stadium are very
famous. They mix the ingredients in right proportions and serve us with smiling
faces. If you had little more money to spend, there is another option. There
were some lavish and luxurious guys, who would offer treats at Valli Chicken
Center.
I can still remember my birthday
party during the 12th standard. We were about 15 in number. As I am
a vegetarian, Valli Chicken Center was not the plausible choice. So, we all had
to prefer the ‘Thallu Vandi Kadai Pani Puri’. One man in particular was
very affectionate towards us. Called Annachi, he offered an extra plate
on that day just because I asked him about his family and business. Of course,
my budget was very limited and I hadn’t expected 15 guys to turn up altogether.
So, I was kind of making ‘indirect, strategic, friendly deals’ with that man.
But, he was really moved. I can’t recollect what exactly I asked him but my
problem was solved without any hiccups, as he charged comparatively low rates
for our gang (Oh, maybe I have strategical diplomacy!!!)
I have, since then, teased him many
times and some of my friends were even stunned at how I countered the
situation. But, some of them had money and I could have very well borrowed it
from them and repaid it later. But, that was a huge prestige issue. Moreover,
that wasn’t the tradition. The birthday boy had to spend the whole money from
his pocket, whatsoever. Seriously, after nearly an year, I recently went in
search of that man to repay the money I owed him. But, he was nowhere to be
seen in and around that area. There were pani puri shops still operating out there,
but that particular sentimental person, who, on my birthday looked like
Duryodhana offering a small territory to Karna, was not present.
I literally cried, wept and sobbed.
In how many shops and hotels do we see this real concern? There are numerous
Bhavans (vegetarian hotels) in the town, and I haven’t seen at least one person
sitting at the cash counter with a smiling face.
People speak about developments in
technology and urbanization etc etc. But, where do we really stand in terms of
humanity? Where are we with respect to inter – personal relationship? What is
our position in helping others? There are no chachas to offer a piece of
Jilebi free of cost to children, in bakery and sweet shops. There are no
akkas, whole – heartedly wishing us ‘Happy Birthday’ when we buy
chocolate packets in their shops.
Present situation is different. Gone
are the times when we were given extra candies on our birthday with genuine
wishes by the shopkeeper. Nowadays, you cannot get 1 or 2 rupees returned from
any shop. “Sorry Sir; no change. Take this chocolate.” This started with
50 paise, went on to 1 rupee, and today, some guys even do this for 5 rupees.
Even the fridge in my house contains some 50 chocolates with varying values
from 50 paise to 5 rupees. Not one out of them did I intentionally buy. I wonder how a shopping complex of such a
vast reputation could never mind about such petty things. Dad explained me, “There
are 1500 – 2000 people, who visit this shop daily, son. Assuming that each
person is given a chocolate instead of coins, imagine the profit.” Yeah, I
imagined then and, oh gosh, you could even build another small grocery shop
within two years only with the money you earned by this ’nahin coins lekin
candy’ marketing strategy.
Even
Annachi could have gladly done that on my birthday. He would have earned
some 60 rupees more. But, why? BECAUSE HE IS A HUMAN BEING. What are
we going to achieve in this world by working in MNCs and earning millions and
billions if we don’t mind about these trivial yet taunting things?
