We have a vintage net arm chair in our house which is more than 60 years old.
My great grandfather had brought it in the year 1949 and since then the chair has been a part of our family.
Being almost 65 years old,the chair is comfortable enough to relax you after a long hard day.
But,everything needs a repair and so did the chair,The net of the chair was losing its grip and my father decided to repair it.Caning had to be done on the armchair.
“A blind man from a charitable trust will be coming home to repair it.” My father announced one evening.
My mind was racing with questions,When my parents finally explained,everyone has an art of doing something.It’s Not only eyes that help you do things.My grandfather also comforted me by saying many years ago,When I was not born he had repaired the chair and it was done by a blind man too.
A couple of days later,the person arrived at our home,He was a 55 year old skinny man.He traveled for 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach our place,but said he was used to travelling more farther.
While drinking a cup of tea and discussing about the way he would repair the chair,My father asked him,If he came home comfortably and how had he written the address of our house as instructed by my father to him a night ago.He said he did not require to write down anything as he now remembered the address of our house,My fathers mobile number only after once being told by my father.He even repeated it,which was a surprise to each member of my family.
As he started his work,He told my grandfather that the wood of the chair was very good and isn’t found these days.We all settled down in the living room and our curious minds racing with questions.My father had asked me to record the old man’s work as he helped him with things he required.But instead the old man asked my father to sit and relax,assuring papa he did not need anything.
My grandfather asked him how he lost his eye sight to which he(the old man) explained that when he was 4 years old he was affected by smallpox which took away his sight.
As he continued doing his work as well as talking to all of us.One thing I couldn’t stop notice was that,his hands were busy caning the net of the chair and his face turned in the direction from where he heard our voice and talked to us with a big child-like smile on his face.
There were about 100-150 people like him with various jobs like making agarbatti (incense sticks),selling chalks to schools and caning arm chairs etc.He told us that there are times where he doesn’t have any work for months but said he was happy with whatever he had.
He thanked my father for being generous and told him that people don’t treat blind people with any respect orΒ courtesy.
After being silent for a long time and only listening to his stories,I finally asked him for how long he had been doing his work? He said it had been 20 years.
He also told me,”Madam,It is my guru’s(Teacher) grace that he taught me this art.” (He joined his hands and his face moved upwards)
He continued saying “When I was 6 year old my parents took me to a school,after the school ended,I waited for my parents to take me home,I waited and cried each day,telling myself that they would return,When finally one day my master told me,they had left me here and would never return.I did not believe him and waited.But,as time passed by i accepted it and stopped crying,My parents don’t exist now nor do I have any brothers or sisters.Its just me and my wife(who too is blind) and I’m happy to spend my life with her.
How do you feel when there is no power supply in your house at night?
It is the same i have felt throughout my life.”
He Loved what he was doing,even though the price he got for it wasn’t enough for people like us to live in today’s world.But,he was HAPPY.
He seems like such a sweet man β€
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Yes,He was one of the person who inspired me in many ways and I’m glad I came arcoss this in my life and penned it down. π
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Good 1 !!! & thats the proof that we uses less than 10% of our brain power,,,are you Indian?
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Thank you.
Yes,I am an Indian. π
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thats also gr8!! so thats the reason why you are so intelligent …i got it now!!
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Haha..why did you ask that?
Are you from India as well?
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what do you think?
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You’re an Indian too. π
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ohh my goodness,,,Here again you proved that you are too much intelligent!!how can you know that?
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Hahah..Because you seem to be an intelligent person too..
Cheers π
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hahaha!! you are very smart !! Btw,from which region? hindi windi aati hai kya nahi?
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I’m from Mumbai.
Haanji Hindi windi aati hai. π
What about you?
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mag tar kahi vandach nahi,pan mag yevthi brillient asun .lokana kabar yedya ghalate “simpleheadgirl” ahhe mhanun!! hope U understand it!!
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Sagda kadla mala,pan majji Marathi changli nahi. π
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Oh shit this is fun I understand everything I’m from Mumbai too
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Haha..It is.Happy y know you’re from Mumbai too. π
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manzi pan lai kharab ahe! but y you dont know it?
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I understand everything but,It’s a little hard for me to speak fluently.:)
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haha !! kabal bobaly ahesh ka chuu?
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This time,I don’t really know what you said. π
I’m so sure you too are born and brought up from Bombay. π
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I said that are you suffered from stammering as you cant speak fluently(just kidding)…!!
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I meant I can’t speak Marathi as fluently as English and Hindi. βΊ
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Hey told that SHIVANI that–“Hey Shivani,Tu lagati hai Nani, tu item purani,,,hey Shivani..!!!”..(take it easy hmm..)
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Haha..We are mumbaikars..let’s stay connected. ππ
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R U also NRI?
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No I’m not.
Born and brought up in Mumbai itself.Are You an NRI?
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Again what do you think?
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Reminds me of my grandfather. He lost his eyesight after he got married and had one son. So, he is blindly after his thirties. It was more difficult for him to accept. But after the blindness his other senses got more intense. He had a photographic memory too. He could roam around in his house on his own. He knew all the words on any given book that he had read imprinted in his memory. He never jotted down the addresses, phone nos. and birthdays too.
Once, i remember, i was very little n he asked me to fight shoe polish for him. I, who had an eye sight, looked everywhere but could not find it nor did my sister. But after we had looked about 15 minutes later, he was holding the shoe polish in his hands. We were dumbstruck. I can never forget this event.
He always used to keep keys, papers, little stuff on his own. Some in his numerous coat pockets and sometimes in drawers n his own secret hiding places and would always remember where he kept them.
I lost him six years back. ;( Never a day goes by that I don,t miss him and the stories he used to tell me. Some fiction and some real ones… of his youth. π
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That’s an amazing thing you shared with me. π
I’m so glad your grandfather had grandchildren like you and your sister,who loved him and took care of him.
I too sat with my grandfather to hear his childhood stories before I wrote this blog and when I showed this blog to him,his happiness was over the moon and I was more happy to see him smile.:)
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You are lucky to draw those smiles from him. I miss his face everyday….
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Yes,I am and I will try to write the stories he has told me and would love to share them with all my friends. π
Your grandfather would be happy to see you write amazing things and also how much you miss him.π
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π Thank you for your kind words. π
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It’s My pleasure. βΊ
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I would love to read those stories. π
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ππΉ
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Write such more blogs lady n I must say chetan bhagat, sonia kundra, ravindra, holls waly …….these guyz would have to change their profession. ……. ^_^ diz waz indeed a gr8 one drish…….good goin n! !!!!!!!!!!! Dear
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Haha..Thank you Mann..
No,I’m Drishti Bhatia and I am nothing when compared to amazing authors like Ravinder Singh,Chetan Bhagat or Sonia Kundra. π
Thankyou very very much for your appritiation Pawan π
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But you will very soon……….bas keep continuing this and see where it takes you!!!!!!!!! ^_^
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Thankyou so very much.I’m sure like I have I will always continue to write from my heart as I Love doing it. π
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Oh my… This is inspiring π These people are true role models… We are living in a plastic society and then there are rare gems like this man… When we find them it is our responsibility to learn from them and learn how beautiful life can be if we try hard enough π
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Yes,Our life can be as beautiful as a fairytale if we work hard on things we love or things we do from our heart.
This man gave a different turn to my life. π
THankyou very much for reading it. π
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Absolutely incredible. I have observed that blind people do have amazing listening skills. David heartman was blind and he went ahead to become famous heart surgeon. Appreciate old man’s will power and talent and passion. Great post.
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He inspired me in such a way that if we have the WILL to do something and we stick to it try hard and we never give up,we can do anything in life. π
Thankyou so much. βΊ
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absolutely. i completely agree.
cheers
Sup
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ππΉ
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Really heart-touching story! π
There must be many of them who work on daily wages and get a nominal amount of salary but they are still happy but there are people around the world who are not satisfied with billions of money in their pockets!
Nice post! π
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Thankyou so much.π
Yes,True words.There are people with hardly any source of income,But they are much more happier than people with billions of money.Money cannot always buy happiness and satisfaction in life,It’s other little things that do. π
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True that!πβΊ
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ππΉ
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This one is very inspiring. Its a good post which is a source of inspiration for those who are not happy with what they have in their life…
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I’m so glad you liked it. π
We people always put ourselves down and give up on things instead of seeing how far they have come and how much they have achieved. π
THankyou very much for reading it. βΊ
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Its always nice to read good piece of work and if that work contains a message in it then it is optimum which is the case with this post of your’s… π
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Thankyou very much. βΊβΊ
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A masterpiece yet again;)
I dont really get how do you come up with such touching stories day after another. It seems as if I’m reading a book entitled ‘Tales by Simpleheadgirl’. I hope there is no last page to this book. You are an inspiration
*bow down*
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I don’t know what to say,I’m so flattered after reading your comment.
I hope to write simple things happening in and around my life.:)
Thankyou very very much.
Hope to stay connected. π
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Haha welcome π
N Mumbaikars stay connected, don’t they? π
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Haha..I Yes we do. π
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a really lovely story, that clearly showed how you felt about the old man “with a big child-like smile”, it reflects how much you cherish and respect him, too.
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Thankyou very very much. π
I cherish and respect each person I meet in my life.
Everyone teaches me something in someway. π
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that is an attitude i share with you π
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ππΉ
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*smile*
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That was truly a good read! Good to see that Drishti possesses the kind of drishti that can see through little wonders of life. Well done! Cheers to that man’s spirit and to an ancient chair!!! π
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Thankyou very very much for your lovely comment. π
That man made the chair as new as brought from the store a day before. π
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Yeah, I could see that. So, just sit back, relax and enjoy the grand IPL final happening soon. Sorry, I read your conversations above and got to know little more about you. Hope you won’t mind. Cheers!!! π
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That’s the plan to be done next.
And I don’t mind at all.
Cheers!! βΊ
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You know, I’d love to meet him. He doesn’t remind me of myself – apart from our disability, we’re utterly different. I’m not the type of person to admire someone for that – but seriously, he sounds like a fantastic person. It’s so hard to remember that blind people are treated so differently in other places – I went to Thailand once, to a school for the blind, and it nearly damn broke my heart.
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He is a fantastic person.And his stories fascinated me so much that I couldn’t stop myself from penning it down.Seeing him,I really did not feel sad about him,But I felt sad about myself.Because,even though he couldn’t see,even though he did not have enough money or anything required in a normal life.He was HAPPY and HARDWORKING and SATISFIED.βΊ
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Quite! I would LIKE to be like him in that aspect of being satisfied. But I have it much luckier than a hell of a lot of the people I know, so there’s no way I’d be able to relate to him.
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Maybe everyone would like to be as satisfied as him. βΊ
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Touching, inspiring and heartbreaking.
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Thankyou so much Manvi. βΊ
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Welcome π
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Every aspect of this post was beautiful. The passion and determination of the man to be happy is a difficult decision that he has made. Most of us feel broken or lost by the smallest of obstacles and this comes as an eye-opener for all of us.
The difference between happiness and prosperity is wonderfully depicted here with such dexterous writing. An amazing read as always π
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True words that you said.We find it really difficult to deal with the obstacles we face in life.
Thankyou very very much for reading it. π
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Lovely….
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Thankyou. ππΉ
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I have a nearly similar old chair at my place! π
Nice experience! Thanks for sharing this.
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That’s good to know sarang!
Thanks for reading it. π
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Nice post my friend !!!
. You will be glad to know that i am holding a poem writing competition.
Please do come and participate ……..i will be waiting for terrific entry from your side π
LINK – https://sharol84.wordpress.com/2015/06/07/poem-writing-contest/
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Beautifully written! π
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Anndd, thanks for dropping by & following the blog! π
Have a nice day!
Hannah π
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