These days everyone has a bucket list. Mostly where they want to travel to and such. While travelling to Udupi I too made one. First on the list was to eat Udupi food in the town of Udupi. Second was to get a puncture repaired in Kerala by a Keralite !! Bad thing to wish, but there is a charm in it! As it had to go, I got a puncture somewhere on the road and that too in Kerala !! In my life I have had may be 4 or 5 punctures. Out of which, I have changed the tyre only once before. Centuries ago I had got my first puncture - this one I had repaired. It was when I had travelled to Nagpur from Pune on my bicycle, alone. I just had given my 10th grade exam. [Someone told me that the summer in Nagour is extreme hot, so I went there to see how bad it is!] Then once I was travelling with a friend and the car got a puncture, so I had helped him change the tyre. So now, this was the second time I was going to change the tyre! Now as I got the puncture, I got my car to a side and got the stepney out and raised the car on the jack. Nearby there was a small hut that was selling the Indian National Snacks - tea and cream rolls. A couple of guys were sitting on a bench there. One of the guys walked up to me and asked if I needed help. I told him, let me try, if I can't manage, I will come to you. He smiled and walked away to chat with his friend. Now was the time to unscrew the punctured tyre, and I got confused whether I should turn it clockwise or anticlockwise. I checked on YouTube, it was anticlockwise. I tried. The screw didn't move a fraction of a radian! I decided to ask this guy, I took a couple of steps towards him and as he looked at me with raised eyebrows, I simply moved my hands clockwise and anticlockwise, he had a big smile on his face and he indicated that it should be anticlockwise. I returned and tried again. The screw wouldn’t budge. He saw that and walked up to me and as I moved away, he simply unscrewed it in about 2 seconds !! He then changed the tyre in next 30-40 seconds. I am sure I would have taken an hour to do that!!
As he finished he told me that I will have to buy a new tyre as this one is not repairable, and walked away to his friend to continue their chat. I kept the punctured tyre in the dicky, locked the car and walked up to him. " Thank you very much sir, You helped me a lot." I said with folded hands Namaskar. " No problem." He said with a very sweet smile. " Bhaisaab, you helped me, Now please tell me what can I do for you." "No, nothing, there is no need." " Oh nono, please tell me something that I can do for you " "Treat me for a chai - tea" He said waving his hand towards the tea stall. I got him a tea and we started talking. He was a truck driver and had come there for some family wedding, and had stepped out for a tea and chat. I was thinking. I really wanted to return his favour. I was not happy with treating him just a Chai. He clearly was not a guy who wanted money. And I felt offering him money would be actually insulting to him. You see, we performers are good in one thing. We understand if the audience is getting into our performance or not! Many a times it can happen, you are performing at your best, yet the audience is not moving. Something is not clicking. Then you have to use your special tricks to get the audience grooving on your music. I got exactly that feel here with him. So I told him, come with me to the car. I play flute and I want to play something for you. He and his friends came with me. I picked up one of my smaller flutes and played the famous Hero tune for him. He hot a wider smile on his face. Both of them were quite curious about this guy who was playing the Hero tune for them roadside! But still I was not happy. It hadn't clicked. I had to do something more to make him really happy. And then suddenly it came to my mind. "Sir, I want a selfie with you. Will it be ok for you?" And it clicked….!! He was damn thrilled that I was asking for a selfie with him! He had the most innocent smile on his face. He looked at his friend with a pride and we posed for a selfie. He was happy, I was happy. I thanked him once again and drove off. The world is a stage for me, Every moment is a performance. All I want to do is to create good music and good memories for my audience. I hope the God and audience will keep me blessing forever.
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