Writing after a long time, but this incident is so compelling
that I could not stop myself from sharing it with others.
It's a regular Sunday morning when I wake up only to
let the maid in to do the basic chores. Other days, I don’t have that luxury
and I'm already up and ready to leave for work when the maid turns up for
cleaning. And maybe she was waiting for this day, she quietly mopped the floor
besides me while I read the movie reviews. Then she politely asked me,
"yeh jo aapka compooter hai woh dusre se alag kayon hai" (why is your
computer different from others). I looked around and found that both my Ipad
and laptop were kept on the dining table (somehow dining table becomes the
gadget desk on weekend when I just use stuff and leave them for charging)
As I gaped at her, she pointed at the laptop "yeh
wala" (this one). I understood she was talking about the laptop. I told
her that this was a computer and was light and mobile and was called laptop.
Then I probed into her query and realized she wants to know the difference
between desktop and laptop.
I thought the conversation would end here, but it went on to
an interesting point. She disclosed that her youngest daughter is studying
computers (probably doing a basic course) and wanted to practice it further and
hence wanted to buy the cheapest options available!
I have met her daughter at two instances, then I simply gave
her some eatables and nodded happily. Now my respect for my maid has gone up by
many notches. She works all day to ensure that at least one of her daughters
has a better life. Two of her elder daughter are already married and they work
along with the mother to earn their bread and butter. This is the third and the
youngest daughter and is in Class 10th. Anyhow, I told the maid about assembled
systems and how she could get a cheap deal at Nehru Place, especially if she
gets a used desktop.
My this bit of information seems to have worked like magic on
her and she has been asking me for more information and probably a reference to
buy on old, used desktop. She's trying to save up her money and she has made me
a mentor for this assignment. Two things that struck me -
- Your parents will slog their asses off to give to the best
in life. They are not God, but just next to God.
- If you want to make it big in life, then no body (not even
God) will come in your way
I don’t know what further turn this story takes, but incidents like
this make my blog title more endearing and apt - "Life Just Couldn’t Be
Better" And how many of you agree with me?
