The Pied Piper, I Met

Have you ever met the Pied Pier? I have!

I recently bumped into one! He was not the one wearing that English coat or tie or the shiny polished shoes. Instead he wore an old but clean shirt and trouser. He had no boyish charm on his face. Rather the tan and the lines on his face talked of many tales. 

He was not form Hamelin... But that did not stop him to be qualified as the Pied Piper... He was a quintessential Pied Piper... 

It was an early afternoon. The rain Gods had finally given us some respite. The ever present sweat finally had gone...really? I am not sure though. The warmth of the day and the wetness of the atmosphere was just perfect! My mood was up-bit too! I had been postponing my visit to the market, off late. But not today, I thought. So here I was on the streets of the market. The place was hustling and bustling as ever... 

The familiar sights of stacked tomatoes in contrast with the green capsicums always had mesmerized me.  The cauliflower and cabbage, just like the twins, sat next to each other. Orange of the carrots was vying for the attention along with the marooned redness of the beet root! The fresh smell of the herbs enticed one and all! Aaha... I love vegetable market for the visual treat it offers! 

It was time to pick up the vegetables after I was fully drenched in the visual sight! Haggling over the price, I heard a tune. The notes were peculiar and I could make out that those were played on some wind instrument. The pull was so magnetic that I turned around in search of the sound. I searched the entire stretch of the road with my myopic eyes... but without any success! I dropped the bottle gourd and  began my search... as the tune was still in the air. I was captivated, hypnotized! This time I followed my ears... The hearing senses took the leader position. I just followed the leader! The leader did not disappoint me! The magical sound has finally led to its creator...

Here I was, standing next to the Pied Pier... 

I waited till he finished the tune. He was so engrossed in churning out the melody, that he had lost the track of the things happening around him. 

There was a tempo; goods were getting unloaded from it, right behind him. There were men and women who had encircled him. As the last note died in the air, the crowd around erupted in the round of applause. He was little bit startled! Then a faint smile appeared on his face. 

He was selling a "Peepani"... a wind instrument that can be made out of two pieces of paper or two leaves or two flat bamboo chip-lets. I remember having made some with the leaves when I was a kid. And my son had made it out of ice cream sticks as a part of his science project. While many gathered around him to buy the "Peepani", I wondered how this man can make a living out of selling a non essential stuff? How was he able to make both ends meet? I had many questions popping in my mind and ample time to spare as well. 

As the initial rush of the people buying Peepanis receded, I got the time to get close and personal with the Pied Piper. He was "Raju". He sold itsy-bitsy things to make up for the living. His shop was a mobile one, just like today... standing tall on his feet! More than anything else, he loved selling "Peepani". It was his passion for the music that led him to make and sell them. He found that he could dish out new and old songs with equal ease with this piper. And most important thing was that he loved what he was doing. He said it was "Izzat ki roti"...Bread by the sweat of brow and not by begging! 

This pied piper truly had a magical cast on me not because of the tune that he churned out but because of his uncomplicated take on life! 

--------------By MocktailMommy Anagha

Linking this post to #MondayMusings by Corinne of EverydayGyaan