Jalebi yani Khushiyan...

I had sufficient time before meeting my mom near HDFC Bank. she had some cheque to submit in the branch. I decided to walk down the lane to reach bank. on the way, i was attracted by the smell of bhajjias. I went inside the shop & ordered some crunchy bhajjias. while having them with a combination of green & red chutney, i saw the shopkeeper taking out some shiny yellow jalebis out of the frying vessel. Yummy...i said & immediately a flashback rolled in front of my eyes.
My dad use to bring these juicy jalebis at the time of his salary. it was like...Jalebi ghar me aa gayi matlab dad ki salary ho gayi hai. Thus having Jalebis resembled to us as moment of Happiness & Contentment. Once we asked Dad, why is Jalebi consistent in your salary celebration platter. He immediately replied that his Dad use to celebrate the day of salary in the same way hence he wanted to continue the tradition. At that time, Jalebi was the only sweet item made fresh in Weekly Bazaars. My Dad as a child also had the same feeling of happiness when he use to have them.
My younger bro, Prashant had a sweet tooth. He loved Jalebis a lot. The biggest contender for Jalebi portion was him followed by my mother though she preferred a day old jalebis which were more soft & juicy.
So when I saw those jalebis ready in the hotel, I ordered a half plate of them. I took a couple of pics of the Jalebis displayed near the shopkeeper while paying bills. Looking at my glittering eyes, the shopkeeper smiled at me & asked "Kya hua saab". I winked at him & said "Kuch nahi, Thodi Khushiya apne Camera mein kaid kar raha hu" :)

Pat on the back

Dad worked in Central Bank of India for major portion of his career. We have been to all the branches where he worked from Kurla, Kalyan to Wada, Dapoli. He was good with numbers & use to communicate well the bank schemes with benefits involved to his consumers. He inturn made many business wholesaler friends, who use to call him to buy their products namely fruits, vegetables, grains etc.

I had visited many times with him to buy fruits, grains at wholesale prices. Just because of dad’s good nature, we use to buy less quantities but at wholesale rate. Those were the days we use to have cranes of seasonal fruits. They were really yummy treats. During one of such visit, it came to my notice that while leaving their places, Dad use to touch their back & simply give them a smile. I saw him doing this to all who had helped him in some or the other way. This was his gesture to say that “Friend, I really appreciate your services, I am always there whenever you need my help”.

Later on, after frequent such incidents I tried to understand on how the others feel on his gesture. They felt connected with a thread of mutual respect. Some even started reciprocating in the same way. At times if he was not able to do this gestures then he never missed to say that “ accha hua tum the nahi toh hum log kya karte” & to this handy compliment which he use to give to his friends there was a common reply..

”Arey bhau..dont bother, this is nothing in turn of help which you had done to us”

I frequently ask myself did ever I missed someone whom I have not acknowledged by such gestures

Pickup from school

I would like to recall an incident which is one among my fond memories. the first ever when i felt the warmth of my dad. the scene was such that i was returning from my school, i found my dad had came to receive me. this was the first time, he had came to pick me up. i was glad to see him & began running towards him. My sandals were in a torn conditions & because of running they got more torned (I am careless by nature right from my childhood & didnt cared about anything except books which were to be passed to my younger brother). after reaching to dad it were in more shabby condition. dad leaned to pick me up but paused to see my sandals. the next moment his eyes were filled with water. he controlled himself & asked why didnt i got a new pair instead of wearing the torned one. i smiled & hugged him. he took me to the shoes store & buyed me a black colored sandals. i was very happy & showed my new sandals to all. after discussing the incident with mom, i asked her " Mummy, why was dad crying when he saw my sandals torn?". she said to me that he had no sandals when he was a child. he used to go to school barefooted. he actually remembered that time & had made a promise to himself that i will study & earn a lot that my son's will not be deprived of anything they require & i dont remember any incident where he had refused us anything which we required genuinely.

To recall an incident from my Engineering days. My Dad came to know that i was not carrying a bedsheet while travelling in a train (as usual..careless Mr. Amol Shende). he immediately rushed to a nearby store to buy one & then came hurrily to give me the new fresh bedsheet when my train had actually started.