Hii..
I would like to
introduce Mr. Ashok Kumar that I have come across whom I found a very
interesting while I was in the general compartment of an express train while
travelling from Bangalore to Vijayawada.
Actually he sells “chana” that we usually see in
trains.While talking to him for sometime I found him humorous and started to have a general conversation.
Before that what was my observation is that when he came shouting “
chana...chana...ek plate dus rupaye..” no one even looked at him and then he
passed to the next berths and there most of them had the chana from him and he
was returning happily.
Actually before while he was passing my brother asked me if
we could have it.Then I said if at all a person dares in our berth then we can
but no one did so does we. But while he was returning my brother out of his
likeliness to such kind of food asked me to have two plates for both of us.
Then started the actual sale. All the
fellow passengers started to have it and some people more than one.
That made him double happier and out of it finding us to be
telugu people he opened up making us know that he is of Andhra too. Then slowly
he started to relax as he can’t get to the other compartment and there he lied
and started to make a conversation with me and my bro. Actually it was fun
talking to him.
He said all the chana that he sells will cost him 200 Rs and
the full sale means 1800 to him. And also he added that it wouldn’t last for
more than 8 hours so we should make most of that time and sometimes the sellers
might sell chana that lasted for more hours which meant danger but said he
never does. Even he could throw it to dustbin or donate it for free if the time
is running out but never made fun of lives of people.
He also added comedy by saying chana is good enough to eat
but the butter milk packets that will be sold in the train are hilareous and
suggested us not to and added that those who knows it they will never but the
Marathis are quite interested in the butter milk packets than any other people
and they even have 2 or 3 and at regular intervals. And they feel very happy
after drinking. That makes the sellers laugh internally. And also added that
sometimes they praise them and offer rewards also. This just was enough to
bring a smile on my face.
But then suddenly came out of the conversation the actual
secret of him. He was an employee in the Dellcost company which deals with ITI
works and he had an agreement till Dec 2013. And he earns a handsome amount of 18,000/-
per month but still he sells chana. I asked him out of eager why ? And I
doubted if any problems or any troubles made him so .
Then he said his work comprises of electrical and mechanical
fittings and it was 3 days per week job. He was free for the remaining 3 days
of the working days of the week. So he felt as if instead of sitting in home
for those remaining 3 days and spending money why couldn’d he make money out
of those days and started thinking how ?
Most of us feel money is a mystery and always search for the
ways to find it and most of the times we end up at where we start. But he out
of his friends work wanted to try to sell chana in trains for the remaining
days. But he kept it as a secret to his family and makes sure that his relatives
were not in that train.
The other angle of him is humanity. He said when a girl from
Kerala can’t get back to the train after getting down to fill water in a
bottle. She not knowing the local language ( Telugu ) fell in trouble to
communicate with the public. And we know the average Indian public doesn't speak
English either. But he being at the spot and finding her in trouble and out of
his known English made her talk and understood what her problem is and
immediately called his relatives. It took 2 days for them to come and meet her
but till then he took care of that girl and hand overed her to her family very
safely.
I know most of us too wanted to be so nice as such and help
in such situations but when it comes to application we fail but not this man.
And he never lost the dignity of labor.
I liked him because he was there actually as a chana seller
. But, the way he made all this conversation with me just made me to have a
snap.
