Saturday, August 04, 2007

The people one meets...

So I'm sitting home listening to some classic Indian soundtracks (Taal and Aashiqui - they never get old), waiting for Dominos to deliver. The doorbell rings, and the guy in the blue-and-red shirt is desi, early 50s. While I'm paying him, he comments on the song playing (Nahin Saamne), and starts to hum. I compliment him on his attention to detail. He tells me that he used to play keyboards for R. D. Burman. He played the piano for one of RD's greatest songs, "Chingaari Koi Bhadke". The passion with which he spoke about it, made me invite him in to throw a few notes on my Yamaha. Couldn't help but notice that he did the whole prayer and respectful touch to the musical instrument, before he started playing - something so simple, yet so rare in today's world. He played with finesse and comfort, really well.

Thanking me for the short, but sweet opportunity, he drove on back to deliver the rest of his cloggers.

Oblivion is a painful thing, is it not?

1 comment:

Zeenat Rasheed said...

wow, now thats an experience you dont have everyday.. so sad that a person with such talent and experience is out delivering pizzas. i always hate seeing elderly people doing such menial jobs. but yknow what you probably made an old man really happy by acknowledging that side of him :)