RICH PUB

Rich Pub

"There are places where an already frenzied youth comes to get more. Here, entertainment is the bread and butter of the locals and locals are so sparse that they can be counted on fingers with respect to tourists. This is goa, where rebels of the society are welcomed with open arms.

"For Indians, winter may not hold much festivity but Westerners' holiday had just begun. It was beginning of the December afterall. All the pubs are full, except mine. Youths spew trouble in the city, but here in the suburbs, all is quiet. But the door has to open, I do earn a living.

"A man entered. Dressed in fancy attires, I knew him too well. Mr Maheshwari, the owner of Ducan enterprises, a multinational company. I approached him.

"Good evening, Sir."

"Ah.........nice to meet you, Scout. Now give me the polar opposites." He said.

"Polar opposites are the most expensive and the cheapest rum of this pub given at the same time, his own discovery. To appease him, I had kept a single bottle of desi daru, the alcohol that costs only 20Rs per bottle and is highly toxic.

"You are a gem Scout, reminded me of the old days." A smile came on his sulky demeanor. In my mind, I complimented myself.

"Thank you, Sir."

He always seeks audience from me to listen to his troubled life.

When he begins, "Listen, Scout, when that Hag wanted to divorce for my share............" No force, " and take all of my kids away......" can stop him, "betrayal can never get any worse......" in this world. Now, that's a totally different thing about how wrong I was.

A throng of some random College students barged inside my little pub and slid all the chairs around a single table. Suddenly, my quiet little pub where soft music played in the background was filled with bantering kids. Suddenly, I felt my quiet life slipping away from my hands.

A boy asked, "Hey waiter! What is the cheapest booze in this place?" I felt demoted, Sir. As you know, I am the owner cum bartender cum waiter of this pub.

I told them that the cheapest 'booze' would cost them 2000 Rs atleast.

All five of them were eyeing me, but none of them shared a smile. I, myself was not particularly delighted.

"So, what is a 60 Rs gin doing on your shelf?" A girl having colored hairs pointed to a bottle on my shelf.

"It is not for sale," I replied.

"Why are you displaying it then?" She was observant and argumentative. If my answer is not good enough, she would take this matter further, just for the sake of it.

"Sorry?"

"If you have it, then sell it," She said.

"I scowled. I sell all sorts of liquor because my customers have an unexpectedly wide range of demands. People who need some peace and quiet, away from the noisy world outside come here. They often order cheap liquor for the old time' sake. Time stops and a moment dedicated to self is passed. These are my loyal customers. I cannot just betray them.

"Word travels fast. I was not intended to do my best. I couldn't just pick a fight, Mr. Maheshwari was there and I had a feeling that he was watching me. Besides, I do have pride. I could banter, though.

"You just stated the obvious, My lady."

"My lady?" She chuckled.

"Yes, add a 'connotation' at the end and you can even swear before them. Believe me, I am experienced. But, if they saw before it, it will be interesting.

"You flirt, bartender?" Another girl stated. Her hands were on the table but her fingers were engaged fiddling with her phone. The back straight. Her face was unreadable, though. The responsibility of the atmosphere was on me.

"No, my lady." I gave a half sly smile.

"She rested herself on the chair and gave a wide smile, speaking nothing. Others smiled likewise.

"So, how do you earn?" She asked.

"I knew the jest of her question, but how could I answer her?

"The boy sitting beside her said, "I like the tranquility of this place. There is no one flirting with my cute girlfriend and making a fuss. I see what sort of people come here."

I felt a minute urge to see Mr. Maheshwari on the boy's statement. From the sidelines, I saw him enjoying himself and caring as much as his wife cared for him.

I grinned.

"That's true. People who seek solitude from their busy lives enter my little pub. Do you see that gentleman?" I eyed on Maheshwari. They followed me.

"He is the owner of a multinational company but is suffering from family problems. He comes here every once in a while."

They nodded.

"So, we are rare customers." The poker-faced girl spoke.

Noticeable silence followed. This is not what I wanted to say.

"Yes."

"Cool...." The boy who had called me 'Waiter' said.

"You may go. We will order soon." The argumentative girl said.

"I must say, they were peculiar. Going back to my bar, I made a cocktail for Mr. Maheshwari and considered asking them again. The best bartenders do not discriminate on their customers. They just do their jobs. Still, I rejoiced, deciding not to get good reviews.

"I approached Mr. Maheshwari's table who ordered the cocktail I had already made. I served.

"Listen, Scout, they are waiting for ya(he was drunk), pay them a visit."

I nodded and daintily pocketed the desi daru. He began to enjoy his cocktail while I surfed the net. I was not going until I had to.

"Why don't you come here, bartender?"

Now, I had to go.

"You should have come here when you were free. We have decided our order." You guessed it, the argumentative girl.

"But we want a little bit of discount." The boy sitting beside her said. I do not think he spoke anything before.

"There are no discounts at this moment."

"We have 1000 Rs only. What do you suggest?" Another girl asked.

They wanted something which could be shared while sating their appetite. But who carries 1000 Rs and expects a full stomach in Goa? This place is expensive.

"You may buy cheese sandwiches." I said. They flipped the menu and checked it. Sandwich is a great recommendation for breakfast and snacks, but it is horrible for lunch and dinner and the clock had just struck 9'o clock at night.

They began to discuss. But in no time, they decided otherwise.

"Listen, we want something that fills our stomach. Anything else?" The other girl said again.

"Two veg. Chopsey."

They flipped the menu again.

"No." Four out of five said in unison.

Now, I was the center of attention. From the sidelines, I had noticed Mr. Maheshwari enjoying the show.

"Tandoori roti and Aaloo Sabji."

"Too expensive."

"Five chicken Lollipops."

"I am vegetarian." The silent boy said.

"I do not like chicken." I do not know who spoke but, How can someone hate chicken?

They had begun to get on my nerves. I heard a giggle, perhaps.

"Three chicken lollipops, one fish fingers, and one fried rice."

"Not the fried rice" The vegetarian boy said.

"Paneer tikka?" I asked.

He thought a little and approved, finally.

I confirmed the order and while the food was getting cooked, I approached my first customer.

"I was also a waiter once," He said with a smile.

"These things happen everywhere," I replied.

He gave the bill and set off.

Time went by, I served the food and they filled my pub with gossips, laughter, and noise. But time was merciful on me, for it ended soon.

I gave them the bill. College students are always broke. I had no hopes of a tip.

"879 Rs please." I said.

"They handed me two 500 Rs notes. I began to fiddle with the change. They got up and began to leave.

"Your change?"

"Keep it as tip." The boy who had called me 'waiter' said. His smile radiated wisdom. His friends were smiling, likewise. And then, they walked away......."

"Was this the story of your lowest tip?" Hari, the cook, asked.

"No, but I had no expectation of it. I got 121Rs, not a bad tip in other areas of goa."

I paused.

"Tip is not payed, it is a gratitude for your service. I was not doing my best, still they gave me as much as they could."

He looked into me for a while and said, "Now, I see."

My head was laying a slight bit lower and I was biting my lips. Perhaps, some other signals of body language had exposed clues of my guilty conscious.

But the life will go on. An year has passed and you are still the host of a pub where cheap liquor is kept for special customers and expensive for public." He said.

We chortled and drank a sip of the cheap 60 Rs Gin the argumentative girl wanted.

"Y'know, you can overthink." He took a sip.

"I can." I gulped a bottle down.