I see this man regularly in our locality and today I couldn’t resist talking to him. His Bermuda and smile always fascinate me. I think there’s a strong transmission that connects us or maybe it’s some contrast.
Buddhiram Saroj comes from a small town in the northern part of India. The northern part is quite popular here in the middle-south part. He’s a small-time but self-reliant tea vendor. His tea promises a fresh breeze.
His tea sometime becomes a companion, sometimes becomes a stress-buster, and sometimes becomes an idea for a break and the list can go on. Different people drink his tea — wealthy, poor, broken, sad, happy, hard-worker, free-bird, etc. but everybody loves it.
He sells his tea @ Rupees 5 per cup. But I got impressed when this man was offering free tea to a bohemian saint the other day. I asked him why and he said संस्कार. He believes living is giving and does random acts of kindness whenever the situation permits.
He was quite happy in sharing his story from a young brat to a watchman to a self-sufficient tea-vendor. He is happy doing his small business because now he gets time for his family and himself. And, just as a naughty thought, when I asked him about any inclination towards alcohol. He said:
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Maybe this is the contrast that we share. He remains far from such things and enjoys the company of little children he said. He wants to see a beautiful India for the future generation. People like him always inspire me.
We shared a good talk until his heart was broken when he offered me tea and I said:
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
