More Than Meets the Eye

"Kindly make the payment to confirm the booking," someone from the hotel I was to stay in that week in Delhi pinged me.

Over the week running up to my going to Delhi, I discovered I was talking to a male staff who did night shifts. He was polite and respectful and very helpful as I plied him with questions and requests. 

I was worried about the flood situation in Delhi but he assured me that the hotel was in a good locality. 

I was reaching the city early - by 6.30, and needed a place to leave my luggage and freshen up. Though initially he told me checking in time was 12.30 pm and that I could always book from the previous day, I pointed out it was an overkill for me. He must have consulted the owners and welcomed me saying it won't be a problem. "Will you be there? I don't want any confusion once I get there," I told him. He said he would be there.

I reached and met a young boy who got me the room that I was going to continue to stay in, though that was not what I was expecting. Then I got some yummy macaroni for breakfast, made by the same guy. "We don't have a cook, we are looking for one," he told me modestly when I appreciated the besan chilla he made the next day. I also enjoyed the ginger chai I got from him. "I can only make these few things," he added with a chuckle.

The third day, I asked him about him - where are you from? "I am from Haryana. Next month I am coming to your city," he told me.

"Oh... Going to work there?" I asked, thinking he was probably going to work in a hotel in Chennai.

"I got through NEET. Most probably Madras Medical College. I prefer CMC Vellore. But counselling hasn't started. My rank is less than 6000, so I should get my choice," he said with quiet confidence. My jaw dropped - mentally. I was awed. 

"You worked and wrote your test?" I asked in disbelief.

"Haan, I work night shifts, so I had time during the day."

I nodded sagely but no, I was even more awed. 

"Writing it twice must have been tough," I egged on.

"Haan, it was very tough," was all he said.

Whatever drove him to work when studying, he was neither blaming his circumstances, nor the politicians. He was doing what he could, without any fuss. And his hardwork paid with a rank that he was confident would get him a seat of his choice!

Even when you think you have seen the world, you haven't seen anything. There are still gems hiding under ordinary stones, not caring whether you discover them or not. They shine for themselves and light their world. If it shines on us, we are lucky to have caught a glimpse.