The Brow of a Worthy and Hard Working Man: DADA

He has never lost his temper. Never missed a day he could have spent with our prime hangout area- the Cafe. Regardless of the tedious jobs that await him, he offers us a smile that is complete and sincere. We call him 'Dada' and he, at a level, owns the cafe. Not legally, nor through any material rights, but as a worker who has enclosed without those walls, overflowing manual and mental efforts.

Scanning a day of his life can teach us a lot more than few hours spent shopping or another day spent sulking about the range of products that isn't in our hands. Dada generally wears a brown or black colour two-piece suit. A beedi accompanies his pocket and he makes sure that he puffs it outside the cafe premises only.

One of the most distinctive features about his persona is his way of talking. He talks like a father, a man who does not ask for much but affection in return. He used to call my friend Augustine Antony 'hero'. Well, which 19 years-old doesn't like being called that? Apart from the modesty that traces its root to every bit and piece of his day, he is a compassionate human being. Every child he meets is his own. The ability to unconditionally care is a wonderful and rare trait. I have never met anyone but Dada who has this characteristic and who expands the horizon of its application to all. While his family life has stayed a mystery to us, we know that he must love them beyond limits. Actually, beyond limits.

Beneath the tough look of this hard working man, there lies a kind heart that can be strong and sensitive at the same time. I sometimes feel that he can proudly represent the 'Karamcharis' of our college. I would rather spend my time talking to this man for hours than walking around the college performing absolutely 'cool' and 'awesome' tasks. When I say that 'strength' is one of the other features that he possesses, I wish to direct your attention towards his honest form of living. Truthful and completely non-violent, Dada is a source of power in the Cafe. I have never heard him criticize another member of the staff or complain about his life. Why does a worker have to complain about his life? Well, I am making a comparison. Recollect all the times many of us have wanted so much more than what lies within his affordability scale and remember how incessantly we have pleaded (often, bordering on rage) for our wants. A look of overarching satisfaction fills his face perpetually. Either he is an ascetic who has renounced his desires for material possessions or he has accepted the structure of his life with unimaginable honour. Both the choices require oodles of bravery. We could learn quite a lot, isn't it?

If only we could spend a day watching the movement of his facial muscles, the shift of his agile hands and the walk of his eyes over the bricks of the cafe, we would know that happiness lies way beyond the reach of material treasures and this man has instilled this in his heart and soul quite indelibly.