Tiny Gestures , Lasting Ripples
The month of March always brings me back to the bustling Chikka
Gadiyaara—the small clock tower Square
in the heart of the city at the southern end of Devaraja Market. It is a ritual
I never miss. Amidst the familiar row of stationery shops that have served
generations, I carry fond memories of countless visits, from my school days to
the present, to shops like Gowri Shankar Book Depot and Vishwanatha Book Depot.
However,
Adinarayana Shetty & Sons stands
among the oldest, a wholesaler’s haven stocking everything from Camlin to
Pilot, Flair to Staedtler. Bangalore Press Calendar to Palaniappa, Srirangam to
Vontikoppal Panchangam .A fortnight ago, I visited them to buy the new Panchangam. Inside, the shopkeeper was
busy attending to an old man, clearly a small shop owner from one of the city's
extensions.
The
elderly man, likely in his seventies, had his face etched with the deep,
weathered lines of a life lived under harsh conditions. He was meticulously
arranging his large consignment of assorted stationery, diaries, and notebooks.
In his hand, he clutched two large bags, so worn out and colourless from
relentless, heavy usage that they seemed an extension of his own skin.
Yet,
it was his eyes that intrigued me; they held a quiet, intense depth—a profound
blend of vigour and utter calm.
As the shopkeeper was busy checking and rechecking the long
list, I had to wait. Sensing my impatience, the old man turned to me and asked,
"What is your requirement,
sir?"
"Two Srirangam Panchangams," I
replied, my voice reflecting the irritation of a long wait.
As the shopkeeper began reading out his items, the old man
carefully ticked them off his own list. When the final item was verified, he
instructed the shopkeeper to add two Srirangam panchangams to his list,
taking care to ask the cost first. As the items were about to be packed
together, he took the panchangams
from the shopkeeper and handed them to me.
"100 Rupees, sir," the
old man said, stretching out his hand to receive the money from me , even as
his own massive bill was yet to be prepared.
As he turned back to his work, he offered a smile that revealed
a lifetime of toil and habits—brown paan marks staining his teeth. He was a
portrait of raw humanity, a living story waiting to be told.
I turned to leave, but an involuntary glance back stopped me in
my tracks—to cherish the moment so unexpected, which I wished to freeze into my
memory
But the harsh weather of the afternoon
interrupted my illusion. I snapped back to the present. Clutching my new panchangams, I hurried back toward the
auto stand.
,
Only those who have walked the long, arduous road of life bearing
the weight of hardship can truly
recognize the feelings of others..It
takes a person having profound, firsthand understanding of life
& a seasoned heart to look past his
own struggles and find solace in helping someone else. True
empathy often comes from those who have endured the most. I was lucky to benefit from such pure kindness
& courtesy on this occasion.
