When I first moved into my apartment more than sixteen years ago, the area was pretty much in the wilderness. I always wanted to stay away from the hustle and bustle of city life, yet close to the city, so I had no complaints, but there were no two ways about the fact that the access roads to the apartment were still work in progress.
What that meant was that everything needed a car to get somewhere. That was fine for office commuters but presented a challenge for two categories of people.
First was senior citizens who stayed at home most of the time, but needed an easy way to go where they wanted to go whenever they wanted to. Second was people who provided chores services to residents. Both of them found it difficult to get to our place without surpassing the hurdles of access.
This lasted for around two, or maybe three, years after we occupied the apartment. And in that period, two characters who were frequent service providers to residents were etched in my mind.
The first such character was an auto-driver. Let’s name him Balu.
He was diligent in providing services to senior citizens and students. Temple visits, lunch outings or infrequent market or library visits of senior citizens always found Balu to be the auto driver of choice. Tuition classes, day care pickups or extracurricular sports class pick up and drops for students again found Balu to be the auto driver of choice. He was reliable, punctual and safe.
Most importantly, he was at everyone’s beck and call, just a phone call away at most times.
The second such character was the man who provided clothes ironing services. Let’s name him Srini.
He worked like a machine. He knew the run rate of clothes in every house, and, like clockwork, turned up at perfect intervals to pick up the clothes from the laundry bag at his clients’ apartment. He delivered the ironed clothes within 24 or 48 hours without any mistake. He was the launderer of choice. Reliable, punctual and honest.
Most importantly, you could call him in case of anything urgent, and he would turn up without any complaints.
Both Balu and Srini were characters in everyday life that inspired stories in my mind.
How would Balu be with his own children? Did interacting with children of well-to-do apartment dwellers trigger any ambitions in his mind for his own kids? Would he struggle to meet their demands? How would his kids be? These were some of the questions that I set as starting premises for Balu’s story.
Did Srini have a heart that went beyond ironing clothes, like a machine? What is it that motivated him to work that hard for years on end? Did he have some goals in his life? What if he had developed a soft corner for and some expectations from those he worked for? These were the questions that I set as starting premises for Srini’s story.
These two stories, inspired by real life characters, took the shape of Balu Auto and Iron Man Srini, eventually getting published in my book of motley characters ‘Potpourri’. It did turn out that beyond the inspiration, a large part of their stories were imaginary. But it is equally true that if I had not met the real life characters these stories may not have taken shape.
I thank both of them, and many such real life characters, in my mind, often for providing my stories the fodder and inspiration from everyday life. It is an amazing experience to see them take a life of their own when my pen hits paper with them as the canvas.
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