A THING OUT OF THE ORDINARY: A DHABA TRIP WORTH CHERISHING

A few days ago, I went to a five star hotel to meet a few friends. We had tea that was priced a little over ~600. It was served to us respectfully in a gilded ambiance by courteous waiters who carried identical smiles — rehearsed, plastic, artificial. The tea was indeed good, served in equally impressive teaware, the ambiance was spectacular and the waiters were thorough professionals. We had no complaints.

Today, I got a chance to visit a small, nondescript tea stall in Aundh, Pune. I was alone. I enquired and got to know that there was no provision to swipe your card or use Paytm. I was not carrying any cash. As I decided to leave, the owner, an old man, stopped me, and with a warm smile, said, “Sir, card machine nahin hai, Paytm nahi hai... per pohe chai toh hai. Jo hai uska anand leejiye (Sir, there is no card machine, no Paytm, but there’s poha and tea. Enjoy what is available).”

I decided to stay back. He asked me to sit and rushed to get poha and tea. As he joined me on the table, he said, “Don’t worry if you are not carrying cash. Would I ever ask my son to pay?” I was deeply touched by the generosity of this man. As we chatted, I texted a friend to bring cash and then paid the bill. There’s nothing memory-worthy in my visit to the five-star hotel, but this trip to the roadside dhaba is something I will cherish forever.