Incredible India - A boy called Irfan

It has been quite a while since I wrote anything at all, leave alone a blog post. I've been having all these self apprehensions and complexes about writing. At times, I didn't want to write and  I didn't find a motivation to write. It seemed like whatever creativity was there inside me was fast drying up. Work was taking its toll on me too. It was at this juncture that I finally decided to take the vacation that I had been putting off for two and half years. I didn't have to think much before I packed my bags and left for Goa with a halt at Bangalore on the way. I knew I had to find a story when I returned.

After a couple of days in Bangalore (one and half to be precise), I felt freshened up. Meeting many of my batch mates after years felt good. And as I boarded the Yeshvantpur Vasco Express on 17th, I knew that this trip was going to be something!

21st was my last day in Goa. During the four days I was in Goa, I had roamed about Ponda, Margao and Vasco all alone. The idea of travelling all alone had always intrigued me and I was now experiencing the same. Let me tell you, I found it an awesome experience. If you can manage Hindi, you could go almost anywhere in India I think! I had been putting off the trip to Panjim ( They don't say Panaji over here; it's Panjim!) for the last day. It was there I found my story in form of a little boy called Irfan!!!

Irfan is one of the brightest kid I've ever come across. Not more than ten, he was managing a small shoe stall on his own inside the Panjim Market. In a market full of small makeshift shops selling everything from shoes, clothes to hair pins, each shop manned by seasoned owners who would quote a price of 500 rupees for a sandal they got for 50 bucks, where you have to bargain till your throats are dry and yet you will feel that you didn't get a good price, I had a grin on my face when I saw Irfan manning one of the first shops as your enter the market. I must admit I felt some arrogance and smiled inside as I thought I could get the better of him. Little did I know what he had in store for me!!!

I had been looking for sandals (or rather slippers) for my one and half year old nephew all over the places I've been to but with no success. And here in Panjim, they were having cute little crocs for the kids!

"Oye chottu, bachchon keliye sandals he?" (hey boy, you got sandals for kids?) I asked him.

"Hena sir, crocs hey. Kitne saal ka he?" (Yes sir, we got crocs. How old is the kid?) He replied in fluent Hindi and with a voice that meant business.

Thus began the conversation that will last with me for quite some time. I found a pair of cute little crocs, the most beautiful that I had ever come across. I asked him the price and he gave me a plain answer - 100 rupees. I liked the price tag but decided to bargain since while in Goa (or rather any place in India), nobody quotes the real price the first time. I tried my best with all the possible bargaining chips I had with me starting from off-season in Goa to the the train I had to catch later on but he didn't bat an eyelid!!! He didn't even look at me!!! Here was a kid who could give marketing grads from the best B-Schools of the country a run for the money they spent on their education!!!

I decided to move to the other shops ahead. Other shops were quoting as high as Rs 180/- for the same pair of crocs and even after bargaining, the least price I could find was 110!!! After roaming inside the market for another couple of hours, I finally decided to buy the crocs from the little boy. When I finally returned to the his shop, he welcomed me like a new customer. Maybe he didn't remember me. And if at all he did, he didn't   show it a bit. We started the bargaining process yet again and we were back to square one. Or rather I was. He didn't budge even a little. This time around, there was another boy in the shop. He might have been around 15 but Irfan was clearly the boss here. He was dictating orders to the older boy, in a commanding voice that would have put team leaders to shame!!!

I felt small standing next to this little kid. Here was someone with confidence in his voice. But I wasn't ready to yield yet. I kept saying that I would pay only 90 rupees for the croc. But he conveniently ignored me and moved to another couple who had arrived at his shop. I lingered there itself, gazing at other items in the shop. I saw larger crocs on the display and asked for the price.

"Kaunsa chahiye aapko? 150 ka chahiye toh 150 ka dikhatha hun, 200 ka chahiye toh 200 ka dikhatha hun, 250 ka chahiye toh 250 ka dikhatha hun!!!" (Which one do you want? If you want the one that cost 150, I'll show you that; I can show you one that cost 200 or 250 also!!!)

And he went on explaining the various crocs on the display and why the difference in price. I admit I was awed at this little salesman!!! I felt humbled and was ready to accept defeat. I decided to take the small crocs for 100 bucks. He took the crocs from the display and asked the older boy to hand him a cover. But he seemed to be busy with the couple who had arrived earlier. Our little hero went inside, pushing the other boy aside, took a cover and wrapped my crocs inside it. I paid him with a note of 100 rupees and asked him his name.

"Irfan", he replied.

In a move that took me by surprise, he shoved a folded note of 10 rupees inside my hand!!! Here was a boy of not more than ten, who had just rubbished all the cliched notions of selling and marketing put forward by the business gurus and had just won a customer and his heart!!! 

"Ek photo kheenju?" I asked him.

"Mere?" He inquired.

I nodded. A smile appeared on his face for the first time. He posed for me and looked into the camera with a straight face. When I had clicked his pic, he wanted to see how it had come. I showed him and  his smile broke into a wide grin. I placed my hand on his head and ruffled his hair with affection and walked into the slight drizzle that had started, knowing that I had finally found my story.

FootNote: I had bought crocs of size 19 fearing that they would be too big for my lil boy. But when I reached home, it turned out that they were too small for him!!! Now the pair rests among other items in the shelf, without any use.

ToeNote: A week into my sabbatical, which I had took for the sole purpose of freshening up and reclaiming my life, all I'm doing is sleep and browse. I feel more lazy and tired than when I was putting in 6 days a week!!!

NailNote: I had started the post with all kind of thoughts about what to write and how to write. But it seems I haven't gotten over my writers block yet. The words were hard to come and I still get a feeling in the guts that somehow the post isn't finished and something is amiss!!!