Iam going to sriram’s house for dinner. He is my good old suburban school mate, Rajesh G’s brother, living here in denver. The last time I was there, we had some good time talking about the days we have spent together in coimbatore. Sriram and I used to go to Aptech in RS Puram, in my bicycle back in 1988 to do computer courses. We talked about the day, while returning home from class, when we both stopped by at the pazha mudhir nilayam, RS Puram to have a glass of fresh juice. Since I had Rs.20 with me and I offered to buy both of us a glass ( Rs.10 each ). The real scene unveiled when I was about to leave the glass on top of the table, after finishing it….$*(&%(*$&(*&$W….I slipped the glass and it was broken to pieces…while I we didnt think it was a big deal…the shop owner noticed it and he stepped down from his high raised seat…and said with a cool tone…”Just give Rs.5 for that leave…”. I was incidentally surprised by the fact that it cost Rs.5 for glass and Rs.10 for juice!!!…I thought Sriram could spare 5 bucks for me and I turned over and gave a cool look at sriram, which implied I was asking to pay it. It took a second or two for me to digest, when he replied, ‘Sudhar…na sutham’…which means he had literally nothing in his pocket. So we rendered a awful look at the shop owner, who inspite of our desperate looks, said, we had to pay that damn Rs.5. On top of that, he went on to suggest that one of could stay there, while the other one could go ‘somewhere’ to get 5 rupees. I dont exactly remember if it was embarassing for me…perhaps I wasnt grown enough to even be embarassed for that momemt….but Iam sure sriram was. So we finally decided we couldnt go back either of our home, since it will take a full 40 mts or so go and come back. I finally managed to go to a friends house nearby and shamefully borrowed Rs.5 ( I refused to accept Rs.10 from him!!! ) and payed for the expesive Glass ( not the juice )…we headed back home at around 7 PM…doubles in my Hero cycle. It doesnt seem that big a deal today, but it was a special moment that we will cherish for ever! Good night.
[ To Express, To Reflect, To Give Back ]
