Serendipity..

This post is about an interesting event that happened last weekend..
Its 21/5, ~10pm.. I am returning back from Airport to Gurgaon.. The following are the sequence of events that take place..

• Me in a shared cab a pretty gal sits next to me..
• The cab goes from airport to Gurgaon
• Lots of silence initially...Finally when gurgaon seems to be nearby she asks the driver about some hotel.. Driver doesn't know..
• I step into the conversation.. She tells me about the place.. Even I dont know.. but I tell her to ask Justdial and give her the no.
• Fortunately or unfortunately justdial doesn't give out any concrete information..
• So I call up a friend of mine to know where exactly this hotel is.. And he knows..
• I tell her about it.. 
• She agrees to take an auto with me to the metro where.. I had kept the bike, so i tell her about it.. I tell her that I'll drop her to that hotel on the bike .. she agrees.. 
• So after the auto ride and some talk we head to the bike..
• Even on the bike I get to talk to her and all.. and even she's like talking rigorously and all, like lot of the gals do..
• She tells she is an airhostess and is new in gurgaon..
• She's searching for a PG..
• The hotel arrives..
• She says bye..

Eventually I dont get to know her name.. Also I could've given her my cell no. coz I could've search for PGs on the internet and help airhostesses you know.. ;)

But I'm just happy I helped a gal who was lucky enough to find a decent guy like me.. at the night.. or else things can get pretty dirty and bad here in gurgaon/NCR when a gal who's alone meets gone nut case people at night..

Such interesting things should keep on happening.. But I shouldn't be screwing up as I did this time..

Learnings from punctures and Lassi's - Note to myself.. :)

I've always loved learning new stuff..
I've enjoyed learning stuff which I find interesting, mostly things which are logical which have some kind of pattern..
Be it programming the computer to do useful stuff or learn playing the guitar..

The quest for learning should never die..
Coz when learning stops I guess life stops.. 

This post is about an interesting learning I had about learning today..
The series of events start off day before yesterday..

1. I found that the bike which I use for commute from office to work and vice versa (Thanks Hims :) ) was punctured when I was leaving the office to go out and swim... 
2. I go to Mishraji who's an ever helpful and differently awesome colleague in office and I borrow his huge Royal Enfield Bike.. 
3. I swim and return back to office.. 
4. And then Mishraji drops me to my home too.. 
5. Next day I'm back to office with Hims my flatmate.. 
6. Now starts off the struggle to get the puncture fixed..
7. I borrow the activa from the only female colleague in office at 5 pm with a 45min timeline.. 
8. There was this puncture shop which I go to, and I ask the approx 35yr aged guy, who runs the shop, to get someone to come with me to office and remove the tyre from the bike which was parked at my office instead of me getting the bike to his shop..
9. Now here comes this kid quite young but he's got a smile out there.. 
10. Me and this kid we head to the office.. 
11. This guy is into his work of removing the tyre etc. He leaves the tools etc there in the office parking in the basement itself..
12. Now we take the tyre back to the puncture shop..
13. He fixes the puncture and we headback to office..
14. Now comes the challenging task for him to put the tyre to the right spot.. He seems to try out all the ways he knows..  But he doesn't succeed.. 
15. There's a combination of anger and pity in my mind.. Pity is coz of the fact that this chap is so young.. He shouldn't be doing this.. So even I go in try to set the tyre at the write place.. But even I cant do anything.. I was wearing a new shirt that day and I was very conscious of the shirt not spoiling..  The guard uncle in the basement who's been observing the whole fiasco also steps in finally, even he angrily questions the kid.. The kid unfortunately has no answers.. He mumbles probably he has to call his 35 yr old uncle to fix this.. But I summarily reject that option coz the activa and the lady who gave me the activa has left for the day and I dont have any vehicle to take the kid from office to the shop and vice versa.. I communicate the same to him.. The guard who had come also started helping the kid out and boom.. Finally the tyre is set into the right place.. I praise the guard.. He scolds the kid.. 
16. Next, when all the final touches are done I take the kid back to his shop.. This is when I start being curious, I ask him all kinds of questions.. 
1. What's his name? Ashok
2. What's his age? 13
3. Where's he from? Near itarsi, MP
4. Where do his parents stay and what do they do? No mom, Dad works as a daily wager.. 
5. How did he get into repairing punctures? Parents told him to do so.. 
6. Who's the 35 yr old uncle.. ? His answer - He's ustaad.. He teaches me.. I love learning.. 
7. How much are you paid? Nothing .. The ustaad uncle gives me food twice daily and I am learning something every day.. :) .. This is something which made me happy and sad all at once.. 
8. Tum school jate ho? Silence.. 
17. His silence creates silence in my mind too .. I hate it when I cant do anything.. 
18. I am scared that coz this kid took extra time for getting the bikes' tyre fixed his ustaad uncle might punish him.. But all I do is go pay the ustaad money.. and return back home.. 
19. Next day is again normal.. I go to office in the morning.. Its some 6.30 in the evening,  I head to the bike to swim again.. After about 200 metres I again find to my despair that the same tyre is again punctured.. 
20. I again drag the bike to the Ashok's shop.. When I reach there.. This kid again smiles .. He's again into fixing the bike.. He reveals that the walnut itself has torn away from the tube so the tube itself has to replaced.. Now I'm reminded of the fact that the kid had not tightened the nut of the tube to the tyre properly.. But I now think that its coz of him and his inexperience and also the society which makes many kids do work they dont deserve at their age.. These and many other thoughts like these keep my mind preoccupied.. In the meantime this kid has again set the tube into the tyre.. Its again his task to set the tyre into the right place in the bike.. I again ask him .. Can you do it? He smiles I'll try if I cant I'll ask ustaad uncle to fix it.. The ustaad finally fixes the tyre I pay him and he leaves for some time.. Now again there's a conversation which starts off with this kid Ashok.. 
1. I find that there's another kid who's sitting in the shop.. This kid is dressed better.. He's combed neatly.. He's managing the cash.. So I ask Ashok about who the other kid is .. He tells that the other kid is the ustaad's son.. 
2. Does ustaad's son go to school? Yes he does.. - Hmm.. That saddens me.. Double standards..  
3. Where do you stay? He points out a house nearby.. 
4. What did you have for lunch? - Roti.. 
5. Take this extra money.. Use it when you want.. - He says no I cant take that..
21. I see a juice corner nearby .. I tell Ashok to come with me.. Luckily he comes with me.. I ask him what would be want to take? Juice or lassi.. - He says lassi.. 
1. I again find that the Juice corner guy is also some 16 yrs something.. 
2. I tell him to make two glasses of lassi.. 
3. He starts off preparing .. I again converse with Ashok.. 
4. Now even this juice corner guy springs up into the conversation... 
1. He starts off saying how much he likes Maths.. 
2. Juice guy - "If some1 teaches me Maths 1 hour daily I can do well.. I can learn all the other things and finish my tenth.. "
1. I dont know what comes in my mind I ask him.. How much is 13*7? - He promptly says 91.
2. 16*9 - 144
3. Ok.. 19* 19? -- He starts thinking and gives up.. He says.. he can do it.. All along Mr. Ashok is smiling .. When he hears 19*19 even he asks the juice guy ... Bolo Bolo.. 
4. Finally the juice guy says .. 19* 19 bhi ho jayega.. Take this lassi its done.. 
5. I give the lassi to Ashok.. 
6. Think what I can do .. And I just leave after paying for the lassi.. The juice guy is like.. Apka bhi ban gaya hai.. I tell him you have the lassi.. or give it to Ashok.. 
22. I just quit the shop and all .. I drive to the pool and just with lots of thoughts in my mind.. There's helplessness.. Lot of it..
23. I had just learnt free style properly some 2-3 days ago.. I decide that its time to learn some other stroke.. I ask the trainers there about the toughest stroke out there.. And now I'm learning butterfly stroke.. Ashok is still learning how to fix punctures, tyres, the juice guy is learning Maths.. Life moves on.. The wheel of learning is also moving steadily :) , (: