RELAY RACE

“Don’t! Please don’t irritate me like this, that is too much first thing in the morning. If it is such an important wedding, figure out how you can plan going to it, all by yourself. I do not have any more leaves left and it’s already late. The customer might have come out of the airport by now.” I took a deep breath and ran down the stairs.

Throwing myself into the car in a hurry, I tried to move the car even faster. But in vain! The street that I live in is already narrow for two-way traffic. Adding to the pain, the sewage workers have narrowed the street even further with a protruding sewage lid. My neighbor Chandru was now on top of that lid, multi-tasking stretching exercises and brushing teeth, in the middle of the road! Is there anything more to add? I somehow managed to squeeze into the main road. Thinking about my neighbor Chandru, why blame him alone? Everybody here has the same irresponsible attitude. I understand that India is a crowded country. But whoever is talking about private space, when will they start thinking about giving that rightful space to people around? By the time they start thinking about it, the available space is going to have been narrowed down further. Forever, our life is going to be squeezing in and squeezing out. What to do?

As I got to the airport entrance, I became a little nervous as to why the customer has not called yet. I was scared that he had gotten another cab and left. If that happened, I would not be sure how to handle the situation with my manager. He just gave me my second warning last week. With a heavy sigh, I dialed the customer’s number.

A childish voice answered, “Happy morning, brother. Where are you?” “Sorry, sir. I am a little late. I am going to get the parking ticket/fare just now. In 2 minutes, I will be at the coffee shop, opposite to the arrival gate, sir.”

“Okay, brother. No problem. Drive relaxed. I will wait.”

“Thanks, sir.” I breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Holy God, thanks for saving me!”

As there were 2 other cars in front of the coffee house, I parked well ahead of the coffee house and looked at the people around. I tried to visualize the voice that said, “Happy morning brother” and put a face to it. I could not find a matching identity! I decided to dial his number again. The person who picked up the call with a coffee cup in his hand was significantly younger than me. As I disconnected the call, he looked around and smiled back at me. “Did you have breakfast, brother, or shall I order something for you?”

“No, but it’s okay, sir. Once you are done with your coffee, let’s go. I will wait till then.”

“OMG. You have still not eaten breakfast? Let me order a plate of *idli/vada. We can go after you finish it.”

“It’s okay, sir. If we don’t leave in 10 minutes, the parking rates will reach the next slab and they will charge Rs.150 for parking.”

He looked straight into my eyes and then smiled. “We can pay that, brother. There is nothing significantly more important than food in life.” I now joined the smile. With his words, he earned respect in my mind. He should definitely be a person with a true heart to care for others!

“Thank you so much, sir. Please order coffee alone and I will take these biscuits,” I said.

I looked at him while taking the biscuits from the bottle. Average height. A bright face that must have been shaved only today morning. The eyebrows were less hairy and practically invisible. Maybe that is why the manliness was missing in his face. But his smile over-rides everything that is negative on his appearance. His attire was in classic business formals, but the combination was new. The color and the designs were the ones that we usually reject during our shopping. But he made a rare combo out of it! It looked really unique. I thought about complimenting him for it, but decided not to. What if he misunderstands my appreciation as a technique to cover my late coming? 

He handed over the coffee to me. “Here you go. Brother.” It was weird for him to keep calling me a “brother.” I placed the coffee on the side table and offered my hands for a handshake “Just call me Ravi, sir. Why the formality?” He shook my hands firmly and said, “You can also call me Prem. I was born and brought up in Kanyakumari. And you?”

We started a more casual conversation as I finished drinking my coffee. When I went out to start the car, he did not follow me and did not get into the car for 5 minutes after that. I got a little worried and went back to the coffee shop in search of him. He was chatting with the chef, behind the coffee house. He ended by saying, “It’s not an easy job to fill somebody’s heart, soul and belly with so much energy, first thing in the morning. Thanks so much, sir. Let your splendid service continue as it is, to our society forever,” and then finally got into the car.

For a chatterbox like me, holding back from asking a question was tough. But I somehow managed it till he pays the parking ticket/fare in the airport exit. “Did we not pay the coffee shop for what we had? Is it necessary to go over and beyond that to compliment them as ‘splendid service to the society’ and all that?”

“Money can never touch the heart, Ravi. Beyond cooking and serving good food, we need to have good thought and heart in everything that we do.”

Unsure of the meaning of what he said, I looked up at him in the rearview mirror. His smiling face was waiting for my next question. I was not sure what to say next. My inner mind said, “Why do you want to create a problem, Ravi?” and so changed the topic. “Are we riding to the hotel now sir?”

“Yes, Ravi. Until I leave by tomorrow morning, will you be driving me or will you be shifting the duty to someone else?”

“No, sir. I will be driving you till you reach the airport tomorrow morning. Would you like to go somewhere tonight?”

“Yes. Choose the best food truck which supplies smashed *paratha for dinner. I have been craving it for some time now. For lunch, let’s pick a buffet option. And you eat no-vegetarian, meat? Right?

“It’s okay, sir. I have a packed lunch from home.” I unfolded the lie, after a little bit of hesitation.

“Is that tasty fish curry, Ravi? Is that why you are subtle?”

That question somehow triggered my wife’s angry face today morning. A simper was the best response that I could give back.

As soon as I parked the car in the hotel parking, he got out and started speaking with someone on the phone. I took his suitcase inside the hotel, placed it behind the reception desk and turned around. On seeing what was happening in the hotel entrance, for the first time I started laughing at him.

One of the hotel employees (maybe from the kitchen?) was struggling to carry too many boxes at one time. Out of courtesy to help him, Mr. Prem tried to carry some of those boxes into the hotel. But his fate! The hotel employee took advantage of Mr. Prem and started to load more of those boxes and utilized Mr. Prem to carry further loads, like a porter.

I couldn't control laughing. “Usual respect for people extending too much to help others. What to do?” I slowed down the laugh, as he was my customer.

For what had happened, he should have at least maintained silence at the reception desk. Instead, he started fresh with the receptionist girl. “Wow. Your saree is awesome. I mean, the cross stripes, the vibrant colors. They have blended great.”

Now she was also not able to refrain from laughing over her discipline to the customer. She chuckled and said, “It’s our work uniform, sir. Everybody here wears this.”

He looked around but was still was not ready to give up. “It might be the uniform. But the way in which you have dressed it to perfection, the color matches you have done to your watch, chain and even the water bottle! Wow. Just mind-blowing!”

The receptionist now gave him a skewed expression with her lips and said, “Better luck next time, sir.” Then she brought back the smile gesture for guests and gave the room keys to Mr. Prem. As a receptionist, she probably sees a lot of stalkers in her daily work. He is one among them for her.

As I rolled his suitcase, we got into the lift and pressed “5.” Before the door could close, a lady rushed into the lift with deep breaths. She had to have run into the lift from some distance. She thanked everyone around, still trying to control her breath.

Mr. Prem’s smile opened up wide now and he said, “No problem. Which floor would you like to go to?”

“5th.”

“Awesome. I am also heading to the same floor. BTW, which room?” 

Now the lady got an inside alert from her mind. She looked up and stared at Mr. Prem and did not respond to him.

Getting out of the elevator, I did not see Mr. Prem affected by any means by the insult that the lady made. He went inside his room, rolled his suitcase to one corner and started to unpack. “Give me half an hour, Ravi. I will be ready. There is a business meeting at Sheraton at 10 AM. After lunch, we have another meeting in Temple steps around 3 PM.”

With deep thoughts about him, I walked back to the car. I am usually good at judging personalities and characters by the kind of conversations they get engaged in and the kind of topics that they choose. But I was still confused and could not arrive at a personality conclusion with Mr. Prem. I drove him to Hotel Sheraton, and while handing over the keys to the valet parking agent, I was again surprised with the next comedy session that Mr. Prem created in the entrance.

In the hotel entrance, he tried to help an elderly couple. He held the door for them to come out. People holding the door for others is not a common thing in India. On seeing him hold the door, the elderly couple got confused and stood in their spot. After some time, they realized what he was trying to do and came out. But on the way out, they let the door hit him on the back. He slipped, but he managed not to fall and went inside.

But he did not stop there. For the entire day, he kept on smiling at all strangers and greeting them with messages like, “Hello. How are you?” “Have a nice day,” and “Wow. You are looking beautiful today.” In response, if the people gave him a weird look or stared at him or thought he was crazy, he did not bother about any of that. He continued doing it all day, as his primary duty.

And for elderly people who were afraid of using escalators, he trained them to walk into them and help them exit out of them. One such lady whom he helped on the escalator tried to use him as a shopping assistant. He had to guide her through to all corners of a huge mall, carrying her luggage as well.

And it went on and on and on: the kind of adventures he was establishing and the disastrous experiences he was getting as a response! I was not sure what to say about him. He seemed to be a good man at heart, but I was not sure if he was a stalker or one of those innocent idiots. Whatever! As long as he did not pull me into the troubles that he is creating voluntarily, I was fine.

After finishing his much-desired smashed *paratha for dinner, we returned to the hotel. He got out of the car and said, “Thank you so much for safely bringing me back to the hotel, Ravi. You please ride home safe and I’ll see you in the morning.” Then, he went inside.

I smiled at his back. Definitely a unique and interesting character. Keeps appreciating and complimenting people, regardless of their age or social status. I started the car and switched on the radio. After driving a little bit, I noticed HIS briefcase in the back seat. I immediately made a U-turn to hand it over to him.

I was surprised when I reached the hotel room. The door was locked outside. When I checked in with the reception desk, they said, “He didn't leave the key with us, sir.” I glanced around with the thoughts of where he could have gone. I had seen him walking into the hotel. There was no reason for him to be in the public restroom. I went into the meeting room and found it to be empty. When I finally decided to head out and return it in the morning, I heard his voice somewhere close by.

He was standing next to the elevator and was talking to someone. As I got close, I became surprised. He was talking to the lady who rushed herself into the elevator this morning. He was saying, “That is neither the right solution nor the right decision. Look at how differently you can structure the message and make him understand.” The lady was patiently listening to him. WOW! Mr. Prem has got real talent. He is not a stalker. He is something more than that!

He now noticed and came towards me. “Oh. Did I miss the briefcase in your car? But why did you strain yourself to come back, Ravi? You could have brought it in the morning.” He took the briefcase from me and said, “Goodnight, Ravi. Ride safe. See you early in the morning.” As I walked back, he returned to the lady to continue the conversation. 

I reached home and was excited to watch my favorite movies, which were due for a long time. I added all of them to a playlist, organized them and played the first one. I actually enjoy these kinds of peaceful and lonely times at home. Relatives, organizing these “out of city” marriage events have an excellent hidden purpose in it, the personal times that we enjoy out of them feels great. 

During the climax of the first movie, I heard my phone ring. With a little bit of irritation, I paused the movie and answered the call. “Sorry for bothering you, Ravi. Did I wake you from sleep?” It was Mr. Prem.

“No, sir. Tell me. Do you need anything?”

“I have to go somewhere urgently. Would it be possible for you to come to the hotel now?”

“Sure, sir. Give me 10 minutes.”

When I reached the hotel, I found him standing near the reception with a bunch of people around him. He hung his face down and gave the reaction of a guilty person. One among them was shouting in anger at the reception staff and Mr. Prem at the same time. Just then, I noticed the elevator lady sobbing next to the angry man. Oh! Shit! Whatever I had been afraid of seemed to have really happened. Mr. Prem seemed to have created a domestic case situation here.

The angry man said, “A family is not able to stay in peace in this hotel! What kind of safety and comfort do you guys have here? I am going to move to a new hotel right now. As it is your hotel’s fault, I demand you guys cover travel, new hotel bills and also issue me a refund.”

“I am extremely sorry to say this, sir. But our hotel policy does not have provisions to cover them.”

He became even more furious now. “So, you are asking me to sit here and patiently watch this guy harass my wife. Is that what you are saying?”

“We didn't mean it that way, sir. We have already moved his room to the ground floor. We have also gotten an apology letter from him. We assure you that there will be no more trouble from him.”

“How can you assure it, when all this has already happened only in front of you people, in your hotel? This is not happening. I know how to handle this legally. I will go pack my bags and check out shortly.”

Now Mr. Prem spoke up. “It’s okay, sir. Let me check out and lookout for an alternative place to stay. It is not safe for you to roam around with your wife in these late-night hours.”

“Why the hell do you care about my wife? What are you aiming at? If you are ready to leave, just shut up and leave. I know how to take care of my wife.”

Without even uttering a word, Mr. Prem went to his room, packed his bags and walked silently to the car. During the ride, the situation was so gloomy that we both preferred to be silent. He kept looking outside the window with thoughts all over his face. It seemed to be a good option to control the emotions. As it was too late at night, there were no vacancies in any of the hotels that we went to. I convinced him to somehow rest for a few hours at my house.

In spite of me requesting multiple times that he sleep in the bedroom, he preferred to stay on the couch. “Just sleep for two hours. I will wake you up on time,” I said.

“Why trouble you, Ravi? Instead of being stuck on the road, I was able to rest in your house. Thanks so much for that.”

“Why exaggerate, sir? I have just given the basic help that I could. Just forget everything and take a nap.”

After switching off the light, both of us just sat in silence for the rest of the night. Even during the ride to the airport in the morning, he preferred to remain silent, continuing the same stare outside the window. I felt so bad to see him dejected like this. Annoyed about it, I shot that weird basic question at him.

“Sir. Please excuse me for asking this. Why are you purposefully landing yourself into all these troubles? I mean, what is the need for holding the door for people, helping them on escalators, greeting every stranger with words like - “Hello, how are you?, You look great, Have a great day, etc.”? Over and beyond all the troubles that you bring yourself through these activities, don’t these activities sound too artificial to you? Is there a true benefit for anybody here?”

He turned and looked sharply into the center of my eyes. His lips were ready to burst out a response. But he turned his face again towards the windows and continued to look outside. Again, the gloomy atmosphere continued till the airport.

As he started to move his bags out of the car, he turned around and said, “Maybe it is because you have always had the giver’s viewpoint, that you think all these are artificial or faked, Ravi. Have you ever assumed how a receiver of these benefits would feel? Especially if it is a person who is going through their worst phase in life and decides to end his/her life? Maybe, these small compliments and support that you provide them might even trigger positive energy and boost them to face LIFE as is. You never know, right?”

The hidden reality in his message slapped me on the face. What kind of ignorant question have I asked? Maybe Mr. Prem is that person whose life has turned around through some stranger? Maybe not? It took some time for me to digest his perseverance and intent on all his activities the previous day. In his world, it makes perfect sense. During the time I was still absorbing the message, Mr. Prem waved at me with a goodbye, adjusted the usual smile back on his face and went inside the airport. He is now ready to start everything over, from the beginning. Obviously, it is a fresh new day.

I slowly moved the car, feeling something heavy on my mind and soul: a feel of something awful that I have done, that hurts you as a person. I switched on the radio and started to immerse myself into a melody song. Felt a little better. I could not recognize which movie/album it was or who the singer was. The musician or singer would have probably not thought about the impact that it would create to a person like me in some corner of the world. It is only the person who is energized out of it will know the power of the song. I gave a huge sigh of relief.

Suddenly, I realized that the car had not been moving for a while. There was heavy traffic outside. An auto driver who went to look at it came back with frustrated words. "A big truck has toppled in the junction. It seems it will take at least 2 hours to clear that out. With this metro construction work blocking the other side of the road, there is no other way to go” I looked around and found there are so many vehicles piled up behind me and the frustration was creeping into everyone.

There was not much frustration for me. No strict timelines ahead for the day. I switched off the car and pushed the seat back to rest. Watching the frustrated people around me in silence, I suddenly got an idea. I jumped up on my seat and pulled my phone out of the pocket. I posted a general message in all my social media profiles to avoid this route. I got out of the car, looked behind me, then toggled my map app and added alternative route options as a separate message. With the number of social media friends that I have got, I wasn’t sure if this message would be of use for anybody!

But I felt goosebumps like I have achieved something great to begin the day. I thought back to something else that Mr. Prem said: “Money can never touch the heart, Ravi. We need to have good thoughts and heart in everything that we do.” What a great statement?

These incidents that I have witnessed from yesterday have made me look at life from a new perspective. I don't know how long they will continue to influence me to live this new perspective on life. Let me allow it to run as long as it is able to. Even if I am forced to stop in between, will I not pass on this stick to somebody else in this relay race (like what Mr. Prem did to me) before I lose focus and return to my routine/meaningless life?

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