Yes, write about me if you want to. Why should I have any problems with that? Not many people are interested in people like us anyway. Yes, I agree with you. We can all learn a lot from one another’s life stories or experiences…
I came to Mumbai in 1983. I was a young boy back then. One of my relatives brought me here. I live in a small village in Bihar. I did study in a school for a few years. But after coming here I started earning my living.
I mastered the art of making keys by watching and learning from my seniors. It took me quite a while to perfect this skill but now people come specifically to me when they want to make a duplicate set of keys. I can confidently give them a guarantee that my keys will work as well as their original set of keys.
I am able to live with my family here in Mumbai only because I have a small house of my own in Marve. I bought it for Rs. 50,000/- at that time. I make approximately Rs.500/- in a day. But there are days when I don’t make too much money as well. Savings? Behenji, people like us cannot dream of saving any money. “Khana peena, ghar ke kharche nikal jaate hai, wohi bahut badi baat hai. Saving vaving kuch kar nahe sakte hum log.” I would never have been able to sustain myself here if I had to pay rent. That much I know. Very well. “Khud ka ghar hai na, isliye chal raha hai sab.”
I have three children – two daughters and one son. Both my daughters are married and live in comfort. My younger daughter’s husband is currently living in Dubai. So she lives with us now. Once her husband settles down with a proper job in Dubai, she too will go away. I am waiting for my son to grow up and earn a decent income. Once he does that, I can then think of going back to my village and spending the rest of my life there in peace.
Initially, when I came to Mumbai, I used to like it. But now I am tired of this city. Yes, I know I am able to earn a decent income here. I know I will never be able to earn as much in my village. But life in Mumbai is not so easy. The reality is this. People will go to five star hotels and spend Rs.10,000/- or more on a single meal. But they will haggle with us for 10 or 20 Rs.
No, the municipal corporation people don’t harass me at all. Why should I lie about them? I have never bribed them at any time. Neither have they asked me to remove my shop from the pavement. I am very particular that I don’t hinder the movement of people. See my stall – people can walk even through this narrow passage and I don’t create a clutter on the roadside. I ensure that I keep my area clean.
The municipal corporation does not trouble us. It is the shopkeepers who keep cursing people like us. They will buy a small shop here on the main road for one crore rupees but they will keep cursing us saying that we are blocking the way for their potential customers.
Look beyond my shop behenji. This road has a traffic junction. It takes quite some time for people to simply cross over from that side of the road and come to this side. Half the people prefer to cross the road after walking further down the other side of the road. They don’t understand that. The traffic blocks the path to their shops. But they can’t complain about that can they? So they keep quiet about that. But they see us around their shops. So they keep cursing us every day. How can we move our shops from here? Where can we go? We have been doing business here for decades now. These shopkeepers have come here only recently. Yet this is how they treat us.
All this drains us mentally and emotionally. “Kya hai Bambai me? Bus din bhar kaam karo, in logo ke taane suno aur raat hote hi ghar jao.” There is no joy here. Nowadays, I just feel like going back to my village and living there in peace. But I don’t know if I can do so. So right now, I am just doing what I have been doing for years. No, I cannot afford to take any holidays. I come here at 10a.m. and go home at 8p.m. There is a direct bus that takes me to Marve. So connectivity is not an issue.
Here, your set of keys is ready. I will not charge you for the keychain. Yes, send me the link of your blog. I know how to use Whatsapp. Will these pictures do? Ok. I understand. You want separate pictures of my tools and my shop. Is my selfie okay? I have given you three missed calls. You go home and check if you have got the missed calls. I will send you good pictures of my shop. My name is Ashok Shah. Yes, you can write my name in the story. I don’t see any harm in that.
Don’t worry. I know it is getting dark. “Mai bola na. Mai bhejunga. Achha photo nikalkar bhejunga.” I won’t forget. “Aap bharosa karo. Mai aapko bhej doonga aapko jaisa photo chahiye waisa.” Yes, it’s fine if you take three months to publish my story. I am in no hurry. I will show the story to my children and other family members when you publish it. Namaste to you too.