Human "Beings" - 1 :: NAYAGAN

Dear All

Whether it is raining or shining, approximately at 7.30 AM, I spot this gentleman close to our flat (kodambakkam).

I know him for the past four years and almost daily - quite reverentially - I wave my hand towards him which he reciprocates along with a friendly smile. He is not some one who is visiting to wish me or any other human being in my area - but is quite focused on the purpose of his visit - which is indeed a serious business for him !!

He rides on a old TVS scooty and when he puts the side stand in front of my flat, it is quite easy to spot out the big clumsy bag in the front side of the vehicle - right from our front view balcony. He normally wears a Bermuda Shorts and a simple T Shirt. After waving his hand at acquaintances, he bends down and picks up the array of biscuit packets from the bag and starts serving the stray dogs which already have gathered around him with their wagging tails.

He has complicated his daily routine sufficiently enough for any one of us to get amazed - if we bother to get into details. He serves certain biscuit varieties for particular dogs, bread pieces for a specific blessed one which does not like biscuit as much, a tumbler of milk for another blacky......(yeah, he does bring a container with milk in his big bag that seems to contain an eternity). The more interesting part is to observe the dogs stand in front of him with lot of discipline waiting to be served his / her breakfast and not interfering / competing with the fellow dogs.

When I started my friendship with him few years back, he proudly told that he has a special arrangement with a bakery to take the cake pieces / crumps at a discounted rate. On a particular day, I found him visiting our flat in the evening (approximately by 8 PM) - perhaps he could not spot some of his chums during his morning visit. The only difference in him during that night visit was that he was in his formal dress and was accompanied by his (bit too modern) daughter in a SANTRO car.

He is a man who has retired from his employment (some senior position in a reputed company) and is currently working in hotel ling industry just to keep himself engaged and active. I am pretty sure that he must be spending at least Rs.200 per day from his pocket for his morning passion. {Forgot to tell, our street is just one of his long morning journeys}.

This man does not seem to be very religious. Neither he seems to be an active member of Blue Cross or any other organization of its kind. He does not seem to have any interest in institutionalizing his hobby by training some body OR inducing casual acquaintances like me into his hobby.

It is as if he has taken up this responsibility whole-heartedly, unconditionally and without expecting any thing in return. It is quite admirable to see his level of authority with the watch men of flats (including ours) who some time support him during the service time and I saw him once blasting our watch man for not attending to a sick dog in spite of his instructions !!

Now, this man - one of the unsung hero (Nayakan) of our times - is a sample of the human "being" that I was talking about yesterday....!!

Few more to follow......Stay Tuned.....

Love // Suren