Friday, 15th, June 2007
"PLEASE HELP ME !", said a voice behind me. I looked around and saw a man, must be in his early 20s, handing out a little package. He said it was a wallet and he was selling it. I ignored him and walked into the ATM.
[The Backdrop:
It was a Friday evening and I was on my way from office to a friend's place. A lot of uncertainity on whether we would make it to Shivaji (first day of release) tonight. At last we (Sanju, Rajiv, Selvam, Candy and me) managed to get some tickets . I parked my bike outside the Anna Nagar ICICI ATM hoping to withdraw some cash for the movie. ]
I walked out of the ATM, the wait in the queue relaxed me a bit, after the hectic tension-prone journey amidst the peak traffic. I came out to find the same guy trying to sell that wallet to other prospects. I called him and asked "How much for it ? "Rs. 90" he said. In my quest to bargain I asked "Would you give me two for Rs.150 ?". His reply "No sir, this is the last piece I have, and to be honest I'll just make Rs.10 if I sell it to you for Rs.90". I gestured to see the wallet to check its quality, and felt it was a good bargain. So paid him the money and got my wallet. I had actually seen this guy a few weeks back in the same area trying to sell wallets to people coming out of a restaurant. There was an honest appeal in his sales call that prompted me to ask him his name. "Senthil" he said. Seeing his communication abilities, I'm sure he could have got into a better job. And I asked him "So why did you take up selling wallets?". His reply, "He's preparing for UPSC exams and this was a part-time evening activity to get him going". I appreciated it and wished him a best future.
Then I took off, feeling content and like an angel after HELPing a young man by making his last deal of the day. There was something terribly wrong about my bike now, looked down, and .... oh GOD, it was a flat tyre !
I looked around and said "PLEASE HELP ME !"
"PLEASE HELP ME !", said a voice behind me. I looked around and saw a man, must be in his early 20s, handing out a little package. He said it was a wallet and he was selling it. I ignored him and walked into the ATM.
[The Backdrop:
It was a Friday evening and I was on my way from office to a friend's place. A lot of uncertainity on whether we would make it to Shivaji (first day of release) tonight. At last we (Sanju, Rajiv, Selvam, Candy and me) managed to get some tickets . I parked my bike outside the Anna Nagar ICICI ATM hoping to withdraw some cash for the movie. ]
I walked out of the ATM, the wait in the queue relaxed me a bit, after the hectic tension-prone journey amidst the peak traffic. I came out to find the same guy trying to sell that wallet to other prospects. I called him and asked "How much for it ? "Rs. 90" he said. In my quest to bargain I asked "Would you give me two for Rs.150 ?". His reply "No sir, this is the last piece I have, and to be honest I'll just make Rs.10 if I sell it to you for Rs.90". I gestured to see the wallet to check its quality, and felt it was a good bargain. So paid him the money and got my wallet. I had actually seen this guy a few weeks back in the same area trying to sell wallets to people coming out of a restaurant. There was an honest appeal in his sales call that prompted me to ask him his name. "Senthil" he said. Seeing his communication abilities, I'm sure he could have got into a better job. And I asked him "So why did you take up selling wallets?". His reply, "He's preparing for UPSC exams and this was a part-time evening activity to get him going". I appreciated it and wished him a best future.
Then I took off, feeling content and like an angel after HELPing a young man by making his last deal of the day. There was something terribly wrong about my bike now, looked down, and .... oh GOD, it was a flat tyre !
I looked around and said "PLEASE HELP ME !"
