In our everyday
lives, this idiom/proverb is so very true. Be it our friends, our favourite
type of cousins or relatives, our acquaintances – we somehow end up being
around or connecting with people who have something in common with us.
And with this
confidence, I tell you, that I flock together (at an odd virtual level) with a
lot of the weirdos of this world!
Take for instance,
the case of a contractor who once came to my house for some renovation work and
ended up cribbing to me “Auraton ko akkal kahan hoti hai madam” in reference to
a squabble with his wife. He also coolly painted a wall pink – despite us
telling him to use beige. When we tried to reason with him, he told us “Mujhe
laga pink chahiye hoga” with no evidence whatsoever to support this feeling!
Or the case of my fabulous replacement maid – Vandana Maushi :)
Or that disgusted
call centre employee who wanted to know “which credit card is holding you now
madam”.
Or even a taxi
driver who once overheard an entire conversation I had with my mom regarding buying
a house and remarked quite confidently that I don’t look like I could afford a
house in Bambai! [If you want to know his exact words – “Maidum, aap bambai
mein ghar to nahi le paoge” – (Kyun Uncle) – “mein logon ko dekhte hi samajh
jaata hun”]
Or,
The curious case
of my regular electrician.
Mr Diaz. About 45
years old. He is unkempt, shabbily dressed and has only half a front tooth
which makes him look permanently under pressure. But contrary to his outward
image, he’s a very calm and cheerful person. His English is particularly
engaging. Whenever I call him for some work, he always answers the phone with:
“Hello, Now what happened?”
So on cue, one
fine day, my geyser fell ill! Mr Diaz landed up, inspected the geyser and said
“There is a problem with the geyser”. (He seemed to have forgotten that I had
indeed called him to address a problem with the geyser). And then continued
with “Geyser is gone”. And continued still further with “Your geyser ko repair
is needed”.
By this time,
already blown away by his phenomenal discovery, I had started to fumble
with words. And before I found a few correct words, he started working his
magic on the geyser. He sorted the geyser out; gave it the love it needed and
it was back to heating up water like a pro! He took his fees (which is generally
just ANY figure that pops up in his head – regardless of the actual quantum of
work he puts in). And then he left saying “what this is, all times your electric
problem happens”, accompanied with a long chuckle and a shaking of the head.
Sigh.
A couple of weeks
later I received a Whatsapp message from an unknown number - “Hi how geyser”
You know who it
was from, right? :) I didn’t reply. I didn’t want to start a Whatsapp messaging habit with him. He later called in the evening and asked me in a clearly
annoyed voice “Why reply you didn’t do to my what up message that time” – I
told him I don’t use Whatsapp much (Tee hee) and discussed
how the geyser was working fine - “it will work only no after I repair it
myself”.
The phone call got
me thinking. I had very quickly, easily and coolly stereotyped Mr Diaz as
someone who’d not know his ways with tech advancements, or have business skills
like following up or even be someone who is open to trying new things. Yet, he
had clearly stumped me with his ‘what up’ message.
And it’s then that
it dawned! He’s like me. Of course we are not totally similar. But we both have
our weird eccentricities and idiosyncrasies. And maybe that’s why I actually
noted these exchanges and quirkiness. My husband too has been around mostly
whenever Mr Diaz has come home. But he never seems to notice all these small
minor things :)
And this is when
the other thought hit me. Birds of the same feather flock together, don’t they?
At some celestial or virtual or surreal level, all similar people within our
immediate universe, somehow find a way to connect with each other, even if for a little while,
in any way and add to the innumerable experiences that the world goes through :) And it takes one to recognize the other ;)
I often get asked how I end up encountering weird people regularly in life. Well, I hope you've found your answer. I am weird. And so, I find a way to find other weirdos and together, we quirk up the world just a little bit more for you! :)
