The Water Boy
I was sitting in Café, in Matunga, having a nice lunch. And I see the water boy again.
I have noticed this water boy, roaming around with a jug filled with water in his hands and an intense look in his eyes. He is so focussed and looks like a man on a mission(which he is). As he prowls across the tables, his only focus of attention are the glasses on the tables, all the other things: the food, the table, the people, all fading into oblivion. All that he wants to look at are the water glasses. And when he sees that all the glasses still contain water that are well above the secret threshold mark known only to him, he gloats with a sense of achievement of having maintained order in a rather chaotic world.
As soon as he notices a single glass, where the water level has gone down, all his senses are in full alert and he is pulled towards the glass as if the glasses can communicate with the 'water bearer' and automatically draw him to it. He then dutifully pours the water with a flair that has been perfected through countless repetitions, scaring the person sitting at the table into believing that the water is going to spill over, and at the very last microsecond, draws back the jug , leaving the the glass exactly filled to the brim, a stunt matched only by the 'Coffee mixing' style of the roadside chaiwala. He then smiles self contentedly and resumes his beat around the tables.
The waterboy does face some very trying moments. A case at hand would be when TPATT(the person at the table) stops him with a simple gesture of his hand. Now TPATT probably doesn't realise the damage that he has done. It is as if the waterboy has been hit by a water jug in the head. He is shaken, the earth which was a momoment ago under his feet having suddenly vanished,his very purpose destroyed and his very existence questioned. He then rallies himself, ready to tackle the situation. He roams around the vicinity of the table, never leaving the empty glass out of sight, sizing up the opponent and the odds stacked against him: the TPATT, the distance between himself and the glass, the amount of water required to reach the safety levels. He waits for the opportune moment and the instant TPATT looks the other way to speak to the waiter the waterboy strikes immediately. All it takes is another swing of the water jug and there, in a moment, the glass is filled and the waterboy saunters off trumphantly, like a hooded hero, who does not crave attention, but is satisfied by the peace and goodness that his acts have brought unto this world.
I have noticed this water boy, roaming around with a jug filled with water in his hands and an intense look in his eyes. He is so focussed and looks like a man on a mission(which he is). As he prowls across the tables, his only focus of attention are the glasses on the tables, all the other things: the food, the table, the people, all fading into oblivion. All that he wants to look at are the water glasses. And when he sees that all the glasses still contain water that are well above the secret threshold mark known only to him, he gloats with a sense of achievement of having maintained order in a rather chaotic world.
As soon as he notices a single glass, where the water level has gone down, all his senses are in full alert and he is pulled towards the glass as if the glasses can communicate with the 'water bearer' and automatically draw him to it. He then dutifully pours the water with a flair that has been perfected through countless repetitions, scaring the person sitting at the table into believing that the water is going to spill over, and at the very last microsecond, draws back the jug , leaving the the glass exactly filled to the brim, a stunt matched only by the 'Coffee mixing' style of the roadside chaiwala. He then smiles self contentedly and resumes his beat around the tables.
The waterboy does face some very trying moments. A case at hand would be when TPATT(the person at the table) stops him with a simple gesture of his hand. Now TPATT probably doesn't realise the damage that he has done. It is as if the waterboy has been hit by a water jug in the head. He is shaken, the earth which was a momoment ago under his feet having suddenly vanished,his very purpose destroyed and his very existence questioned. He then rallies himself, ready to tackle the situation. He roams around the vicinity of the table, never leaving the empty glass out of sight, sizing up the opponent and the odds stacked against him: the TPATT, the distance between himself and the glass, the amount of water required to reach the safety levels. He waits for the opportune moment and the instant TPATT looks the other way to speak to the waiter the waterboy strikes immediately. All it takes is another swing of the water jug and there, in a moment, the glass is filled and the waterboy saunters off trumphantly, like a hooded hero, who does not crave attention, but is satisfied by the peace and goodness that his acts have brought unto this world.
posted by Shyam Sundar V. at 12:03 PM
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